【内容介绍】

　　1945年8月6日8时16分02秒，人类历史上第一枚用于实战的原子弹在广岛上空被引爆，爆炸当量相当于1.25万吨TNT。3天后，原子的伟力降临长崎。8月15日，日本宣布无条件投降，两枚不起眼的炸弹为死伤人数过亿的第二次世界大战画上了句号。

　　论及原子弹的诞生，很多人的第一反应往往是美国于1942年发起，倾举国之力的“曼哈顿工程”。但事实上，要想追溯原子弹的孕育之路，还需要把时间往前推半个世纪。

　　在《横空出世：核物理与原子弹的诞生》中，作者理查德·罗兹从J.J.汤姆孙发现电子，拉开人类对原子构成认识的帷幕讲起，之后，在物理学史上最群星闪耀的半个世纪里，卢瑟福、居里夫人、爱因斯坦、玻尔、海森伯、薛定谔、查德威克、奥托·哈恩和莉泽·迈特纳等一个个科学巨人粉墨登场，随之而来的是质子和中子、放射性、质能关系、量子世界以及核裂变的发现。人类，窥见了原子核中蕴含的巨大能量。

　　与物理学的飞速发展相伴的，是世界政治格局的风云变幻。第一次世界大战、法西斯主义的兴起、对犹太人的迫害无时无刻不在影响和改变着物理学界：物理学天才亨利·莫塞莱阵亡在一战战场，大批犹太裔科学家远走美国……第二次世界大战的爆发使曾经的师友站在了对立面上，展开了一场研发原子弹的竞赛。在奥本海默和莱斯利·格罗夫斯的领导下，科技、工程和经济实力拥有压倒性优势的美国启动了规模前所未有的曼哈顿工程。本书以丰富的人性、政治和科学细节，详尽记述了在科技、工程、资源需求等方方面面的挑战下，原子弹研发艰难的推进历程。与之相伴的，是二战战局的波澜起伏，以及哪一方率先成功就可能先发制人的紧迫感。1945年7月16日，原子弹在“三位一体”核试验中试爆成功，并在不足一个月后被用于实战。战争，结束了，但大国的核博弈和核对峙即将开始。

　　《横空出世》是历史上仅有的三本包揽美国图书界三大图书奖普利策图书奖、美国国家图书奖、美国书评人协会奖的非虚构类图书之一（历史、传记、回忆录等品类也包括在内），也是迄今唯一包揽这三大图书奖的科普图书。本书首版时仍有多位参与原子弹研发的诺贝尔奖得主健在，他们中的几乎所有人都对本书赞誉有加。

　　作者简介

　　理查德·罗兹

　　Richard Rhodes

　　美国历史学家、作家，斯坦福大学国际安全与合作中心客座教授，哈佛大学、麻省理工学院等多所美国著名大学访问学者，写作项目长期获古根海姆基金会、麦克阿瑟基金会、阿尔弗雷德·斯隆基金会等美国著名基金会资助。

　　罗兹迄今已出版图书23本，创作剧本1部。他以《横空出世：核物理与原子弹的诞生》为代表的“核历史四部曲”奠定了他核历史研究领域国际权威的地位。除核历史外，罗兹尤为擅长创作人物传记和勾勒人物群像，出版过好莱坞著名影星和发明家海蒂·拉玛以及生物学家爱德华·威尔逊的传记，均广受好评。

　　罗兹最具影响力的作品《横空出世：核物理与原子弹的诞生》是历史上仅有的三本包揽美国图书界三大图书奖普利策图书奖、美国国家图书奖、美国书评人协会奖的非虚构类图书之一（历史、传记、回忆录等品类也包括在内），也是迄今唯一包揽这三大奖的科普图书。

【 Content Introduction 】

At 8:16:02 on August 6, 1945, the first atomic bomb used in actual combat in human history was detonated over Hiroshima with an explosive yield equivalent to 12,500 tons of TNT. Three days later, the power of the atom descends on Nagasaki. On August 15, Japan announced its unconditional surrender, bringing an end to World War II with more than 100 million casualties.

When it comes to the birth of the atomic bomb, many people's first reaction is often the "Manhattan Project" initiated by the United States in 1942. But in fact, to trace the birth of the atomic bomb, you need to go back half a century.

In "Out of Nowhere: Nuclear Physics and the Birth of the Atomic Bomb," author Richard Rhodes writes from J.J. Since Thomson's discovery of the electron opened the curtain on our understanding of the composition of atoms, the most glittering half-century in the history of physics has seen the emergence of scientific giants such as Rutherford, Marie Curie, Einstein, Bohr, Heisenberg, Schrodinger, Chadwick, Otto Hahn and Lizer Meitner. This was followed by the discovery of protons and neutrons, radioactivity, the mass-energy relationship, the quantum world, and nuclear fission. Humans have seen the enormous amount of energy contained in an atomic nucleus.

The rapid development of physics is accompanied by changes in the world political pattern. The First World War, the rise of fascism, and the persecution of Jews have influenced and changed the physics world all the time: physics genius Henry Moseley was killed in the First World War battlefield, and a large number of Jewish scientists left the United States... The outbreak of World War II pitted former teachers and friends against each other and launched a race to develop the atomic bomb. Under the leadership of Oppenheimer and Leslie Groves, the United States, with its overwhelming technological, engineering, and economic power, launched the Manhattan Project on an unprecedented scale. Rich in human, political, and scientific detail, the book Chronicles the difficult process of developing the atomic bomb in the face of technological, engineering, and resource challenges. It was accompanied by the ups and downs of World War II and a sense of urgency that whichever side succeeded first might strike first. On July 16, 1945, the bomb was successfully detonated in the "Trinity" nuclear test and was used in combat less than a month later. The war is over, but the nuclear game and confrontation between the great powers are about to begin.

Born Out of the Blue is one of the only three non-fiction books (history, biography, memoir and other categories are also included) in the history of the American book world's three major book awards Pulitzer Prize, the National Book Award, and the American Book Critics Association Award, and is the only popular science book to have won these three book awards. When the book was first published, several Nobel laureates involved in the development of the atomic bomb were still alive, and almost all of them praised the book.

About the author

Richard Rhodes

Richard Rhodes

American historian and writer, visiting professor at the Center for International Security and Cooperation at Stanford University, visiting scholar at Harvard University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology and many other famous American universities, writing projects have long been funded by the Guggenheim Foundation, the MacArthur Foundation, the Alfred Sloan Foundation and other famous American foundations.

Rhodes has published 23 books and written one play. His "Nuclear History Tetralogy" represented by "Out of the World: Nuclear Physics and the Birth of the Atomic Bomb" established his position as an international authority in the field of nuclear history research. In addition to nuclear history, Rhodes is particularly good at writing biographies and portraits of people, having published acclaimed biographies of famous Hollywood movie stars and inventors Hedy Lamarr and biologist Edward Wilson.

Rhodes's most influential work, "Out of the Room: Nuclear Physics and the Birth of the Atomic Bomb," is one of only three non-fiction books (history, biography, memoir and other categories are also included) to win the three major American book awards, the Pulitzer Book Award, the National Book Award, and the American Society of Book Reviewers Award, and is the only popular science book to win these three awards.