Australian physicist Mark Oliphant played a decisive role in proving that an atomic bomb could be built with far less uranium than most leading scientists of his time believed possible. While figures such as Albert Einstein, Niels Bohr, Max Born and Robert Oppenheimer doubted its feasibility, Oliphant was determined to show otherwise.

At Birmingham University in 1939, Oliphant brought together two brilliant refugee physicists, Rudolf Peierls and Otto Frisch. Together, they demonstrated that a bomb could be made with under 25 pounds of uranium-235—rather than the 100 tons others assumed necessary. Their secret memorandum, later known as the Frisch–Peierls Memorandum, became one of the most important documents in the history of nuclear science.

Oliphant edited the subsequent MAUD Committee Report, reducing dense technical findings into clear, digestible language for policymakers. It was this clarity that helped persuade Winston Churchill’s government that an atomic weapon was both possible and urgent. Frustrated by U.S. inaction, Oliphant later carried the message to America in 1941, personally convincing Ernest Lawrence and other scientists to take the idea seriously. His efforts helped set in motion the collaboration that became the Manhattan Project.

Oliphant’s drive, plain-speaking, and ability to turn complex physics into practical proposals made him one of the true catalysts of the atomic age.

From one of Australia’s most respected and prolific authors, comes a rousing true story of two great Allied generals of the Pacific War, 1941-1945, who face off against the Imperial Japanese Army – and each other.

Ronald Dale Barassi

Football’s Number One Big Occasion Performer

The horse’s name was Bill. In performance and character, he stood above all the other 200,000 Australian Walers sent to the Middle East in the Great War. He was massive.