EDWARD TELLER The "Father of the H Bomb" explains the difference between the atom bomb and the hydrogen bomb in this signed and typed letter TLS: "Edward Teller", 1p, 5½x8½. On stationery of the Hoover Institution on War, Revolution and Peace, Stanford University, Stanford, California, 1980 June 9. To Sean Hinchcliffe, Las Vegas, NV. In full: "Thank you for your letter. Your information about the invention of the atomic bomb is just a little incomplete. I worked on the atomic bomb along with many other scientists and I also worked on the hydrogen bomb. In both these cases many men gave ideas and did work which made these developments possible. The atom bomb is based on splitting tiny pieces of matter - the atomic nuclei of heavy atoms. The hydrogen bomb is a reverse of this, and works because hydrogen nuclei are joined together. I hope this answers your question." Edward Teller (1908-2003), often referred to as the “Father of the Hydrogen Bomb”, was born in Hungary and educated in Germany before fleeing the Nazis. He worked on the Manhattan Project, which developed the atomic (fission) bomb, but was already looking forward to the even greater power which might be unleashed by nuclear fusion. Teller influenced U.S. Presidents of both parties with his advocacy of nuclear weapons, nuclear energy, and the Strategic Defense Initiative. Teller made headlines in 1954 when he testified that he, personally, did not trust nuclear physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer enough to renew his security clearance. As a result of this hearing, Oppenheimer, another one of the pioneering scientists behind nuclear weapons, had his United States security clearance revoked. In his memoirs, Teller observed: "I deeply regret the deaths and injuries that resulted from the atomic bombings, but my best explanation of why I do not regret working on weapons is a question: What if we hadn't?" Lightly creased. Horizontal fold touches the ascenders of the "E", "T" and both "ll"s. Light paper clip mark at upper left blank margin. Fine condition. Framed in the Gallery of History style: 28x20½.