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[marilyn.monroe]

Physicist John Wheeler Dies at 96
"Mr. Wheeler, who rubbed elbows with and argued with colossal figures in science such as Albert Einstein and Neils Bohr, provided a link to the not-too-distant past in his field."

"In 1939, Mr. Bohr arrived in the U.S. with the news that German scientists had split uranium atoms. With Mr. Bohr, Mr. Wheeler sketched out a theory of nuclear fission. By 1941, Mr. Wheeler was part of the Manhattan Project -- a group of eminent scientists charged with building an atomic bomb for the U.S.

Unlike some colleagues who regretted their roles in the project, Mr. Wheeler regretted that it was not ready in time to affect World War II in Europe. His brother, Joe, was killed in combat in Italy in 1944."

"In a 1967 conference in New York, someone shouted a suggested name for it from the audience: black hole. Mr. Wheeler made the name stick."

"...the black hole "teaches us that space can be crumpled like a piece of paper into an infinitesimal dot, that time can be extinguished like a blown-out flame, and that the laws of physics that we regard as "sacred," as immutable, are anything but."

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB120819259648513203.html?mod=googlenews_wsj

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