Chapter 9 Von Neumann's Last years Summary and Analysis

In the late 50s, von Neumann spent much of his time on the hydrogen bomb project. Although von Neumann was instrumental in the development of the digital computer, at the time of his work on the hydrogen bomb, the advanced, modern, digital computer did not really exist. The calculations were so difficult that von Neumann speculated that a computer would be necessary to complete the bomb. His speculation turned out not to be entirely correct and he was able to do the calculations himself over a period of six months. At this time, von Neumann was also a very adamant advocate of extensive testing of nuclear weapons. In this he differed from many of his colleagues who were worried about the secondary effects of nuclear testing. Von Neumann also worried about he possibility...