The impact of the advances in physics between 1900 and 1938 could have never been predicted at the time of their discovery. The discoveries being made would change not only the world of physics, but also the world as a whole. Because developments were being made in the fields of fission, atoms, and atomic energy, government officials now had to take into consideration the possibility of atomic warfare when making related to international policy. The first of the major world powers to realize the military use of the discoveries in physics was Germany. Soon after, the United States and Britain would begin organizing research teams in the field of fission and nuclear warfare. The fates of these research projects were constantly in question. The decision by Germany, the United States, and Britain to continue research would be influenced by many factors including the progress of other countries research, each countrys confidence in their ability to complete the atomic bomb, and each countrys confidence in the inability of other countries to produce the atomic bomb.The discovery of fission, in December of 19381, would begin the worlds quest to unleash the power of the atom and formulate a way to utilize that power for atomic warfare. This discovery, made in Germany, gave the Germans a head start on the extensive research still to be done in order to produce an atomic bomb. This advantage would soon prove to be short lived. While this discovery overwhelmed the physics world with amazement, it also caused great concern among many physicists and government officials because of the implications in atomic warfare it held. This fear would become the most basic reason for the United States and Britain to pursue atomic research, particularly for military use. Germany was unaware of not only the pressure they were exuding, in the form of fear, on other countries, but also the research that was beginning out of this fear. Germanys ignoranc...
