Linus Pauling: I am a scientist. I am interested in the world, this wonderful world that we live
in. And I am especially interested in human beings.
This world that we live in is really a wonderful one, we have found out how wonderful
through the discoveries of scientists. The greatest of all these discoveries is the
discovery of the way to release the great stores of energy that are in the nuclei
of atoms. I think that this is going to make the world an ever-better place to live
in. It is, of course, the discovery also that led to the development of nuclear weapons,
atomic bombs, hydrogen bombs.
These weapons are terrible. One great bomb that has been detonated has an explosive
energy that is 16 times greater than that of all of the explosives used in the second
World War. I don't know how many of these bombs exist. Numbers such as 10,000 in the
United States stockpile and a similar number in the Russian stockpile have been mentioned.
I am sure that the United States has enough of these terrible weapons to destroy the
world and that Russia has enough to destroy the world.
We must not have a nuclear war. We must begin to solve international disputes by the
application of Man's power of reason in a way that is worthy of the dignity of man.
We must solve them by arbitration, negotiation, the development of international law,
the making of international agreements that will do justice to all nations and to
all people, that will benefit all nations and all people. And now is the time to start.
