# Who first put forth the idea that splitting atoms would make a powerful weapon

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-first-put-forth-the-idea-that-splitting-atoms-would-make-a-powerful-weapon/1003367>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [June 26, 2024, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-first-put-forth-the-idea-that-splitting-atoms-would-make-a-powerful-weapon/1003367 "2024-06-26T15:52:40Z")\
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**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\
**Post date:** [June 26, 2024, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-first-put-forth-the-idea-that-splitting-atoms-would-make-a-powerful-weapon/1003367/3 "2024-06-26T16:15:57Z")

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I have a chapter on Atomic Power in our forthcoming book, so I researched this. While Wells seems to be the first predicting some kind of bomb, the comparison between the energy released by a single fission event and chemical combustion makes the possibility of a bomb pretty obvious.

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