The Most Dangerous Equation

W constitutes a dangerous equation? There are two obvious interpretations: Some equations are dangerous if you know them, and others arc dangerous if you do not. The first category may pose danger because the secrets within its bounds open doors behind which lies terrible peril. The obvious winner in this is Einstein's iconic equation e = nic~, for it provides a measure of the enormous energy hidden within ordinary matter. Its destructive capability was recognized by Leo Szilard, who then instigated the sequence of