HIGHTSTOWN, N.J. (AP) - One of the developers of the atom bomb
has died.
Physicist John Wheeler was 96.
After working with the Manhattan Project on the A-bomb, Wheeler
helped Edward Teller develop the even more powerful hydrogen bomb.
Unlike his colleagues who regretted their roles after bombs were
dropped on Japan, Wheeler was sorry it hadn't been ready in time to
hasten the end of the war in Europe. His brother died in action
there in 1944.
Wheeler at times rubbed elbows with the colossal figures in
science, including Albert Einstein.
In 1967, Wheeler came up with a less-scientific name for a
collapsed star so dense that even light could not escape. He called
it "a black hole."
His daughter says he died yesterday at home in New Jersey.
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