Yes, I think scientists definitely have more concerns in the matters of ethics while creating a weapon such as the nuclear bomb. Scientists are responsible and credited for each of their creations. Each and every invention has an effect on society, whether for the good or the bad.
Ethics is the moral conduct of the action. It is about knowing what is right and wrong. Before shaping their ideas into an actual object or a service, scientists definitely have to think about the use of it. They also might have to consider the side effects or the harm they may cause. This may become a burden on them because the invention is essential but also has great side effects on a certain population. Also, the scientists have a majority say in the working and experimenting of it because they were the ones who came up with its concept. If the experiment does not come out to be how the scientist wanted or there was a mistake and it causes some sort of harm to others, most of the time the scientist is blamed. When we talk about the development of nuclear bombs, the risk increases by at least fifty times. The splitting of an atom releases immense energy, enough to destroy a radius of around 7 kilometres which is about the size of an entire city. Having the power to make such an instrument that can cause destruction can itself be a huge thing. If this power happens to fall into the wrong hands, even scientists cannot stop it. An example of this can be the nuclear weapon developed in the US after Albert Einstein warned the president about plans of it developing in Germany under the Nazis. This was probably made for defense in the upcoming World War II. Here, Franklin D Roosevelt created the Manhattan Project ( secret US committee ) that developed these bombs in secret. These bombs were later dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki killing around 200,000 people. Though Albert Einstein was not directly involved due to him being a German and a political activist, he felt greatly responsible for what took place. “I was well aware of the dreadful danger for all mankind if these experiments would succeed.” He wrote, Japanese Magazine, 1952. I feel Politicians have comparatively fewer ethical concerns to worry about than scientists in terms of experiments and inventions as they don’t have a major role in its development.
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