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Max-Born-Institut Berlin (MBI)

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52<br />

<strong>Max</strong> <strong>Born</strong> • Paul Corkum<br />

from Galileo<br />

to the atomic bomb<br />

Carl-Friedrich von Weizsäcker, Karl Jaspers and many others had hoped for has actually taken<br />

place. Yes, <strong>Max</strong> <strong>Born</strong>’s fears are still as valid as they ever were. I shall use the words of Carl-<br />

Friedrich von Weizsäcker in his memorable speech on the 50th anniversary of the first nuclear<br />

weapons test in the Nevada desert, in which he coined the expression: “A straight path leads<br />

directly from Galileo to the atomic bomb.” Where will this road take us?<br />

When we today commemorate the Nobel Prize awarded to <strong>Max</strong> <strong>Born</strong> fifty years ago, then we<br />

must include a consideration of all these aspects of his personality – the passionate scientist, the<br />

teacher and also his appeal to take on individual social responsibility in the humanistic sense.

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