# Young Holsten — The World Set Free character guide

> Young Holsten in The World Set Free by H. G. Wells.

**Role:** major

**Also known as:** Holsten, Young Holsten, III Holsten, no Holsten

**First appearance:** 0012-i-the-new-source-of-energy

## Who they are

A brilliant physicist whose discovery of atomic energy cracks open human history, leaving a world 'made nascent' and ready for new associations.

## Relationships

### [Lawson](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_world_set_free_se/characters/lawson)

_professional_

Lawson mentors Young Holsten in scientific research, guiding his work on revolutionary energy technologies.

### [The Judge](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_world_set_free_se/characters/the_judge)

_professional_

The Judge presides over legal proceedings involving Young Holsten, representing the old order confronting scientific change.

### [The Judge](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_world_set_free_se/characters/the_judge)

_professional_

The Judge presides over legal proceedings involving Young Holsten, representing the old order confronting scientific change.

### [Lawson](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_world_set_free_se/characters/lawson)

_professional_

Lawson mentors Young Holsten in scientific research, guiding his work on revolutionary energy technologies.

## In the story

### [The World Set Free](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_world_set_free_se/chapters/the-world-set-free)

Discovers atomic disintegration and reflects on its implications.

### [Prelude: The Sun Snarers](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_world_set_free_se/chapters/prelude)

Holsten is the scientist who discovers atomic disintegration, a pivotal event that enables the technological transformation of society.

### [§ VII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_world_set_free_se/chapters/vii)

Introduced as a fifteen-year-old prodigy with a 'savage appetite to understand,' studying fireflies and phosphorescence in Italy.

### [§ VIII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_world_set_free_se/chapters/viii)

The chuckle-headed, scrub-haired lad from the Highlands who is deeply inspired by Professor Rufus's lecture on radioactivity.

### [I: The New Source of Energy](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_world_set_free_se/chapters/i-the-new-source-of-energy)

Discovers atomic disintegration in 1933, records his thoughts in a diary, and later testifies in the Dass-Tata patent trial.

### [§ I](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_world_set_free_se/chapters/i)

The scientist who achieves atomic disintegration in 1933, suffering a blistered chest and injured finger. He reflects on his discovery while walking on Hampstead Heath and tries to explain its implications to Lawson.

### [§ II](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_world_set_free_se/chapters/ii)

Holsten is the central figure, grappling with the moral and existential implications of his discovery as he walks through London.

### [§ III](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_world_set_free_se/chapters/iii)

Holsten is called as a witness in the Dass-Tata patent trial, treated dismissively by the judge and counsel despite his scientific contributions.

### [§ IV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_world_set_free_se/chapters/iv)

Holsten's assertion about the law being 'hundreds of years old' is cited as a starting point for the chapter's analysis.

### [§ IX](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_world_set_free_se/chapters/ix)

Not directly present; Barnet recalls the wounded soldier's cry, echoing Holsten's earlier reflections on atomic destruction.

### [III: The Ending of War](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_world_set_free_se/chapters/iii-the-ending-of-war)

The world-famous scientist who attends the Brissago conference to contribute his amateur statecraft.

### [§ I](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_world_set_free_se/chapters/i)

The world-famous old man who attends the conference to contribute his amateur statecraft.

### [The Conference at Brissago](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_world_set_free_se/chapters/iii)

Present at the conference, asked by the king to open vistas of scientific possibility; represents the scientific mind.

### [IV: The New Phase](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_world_set_free_se/chapters/iv-the-new-phase)

Referenced indirectly through the mention of Holsten's discoveries, which Dass had annexed the selvage of.

### [§ I](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_world_set_free_se/chapters/i)

Referenced as the discoverer of atomic disintegration, whose work precipitated the crisis.

### [§ II](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_world_set_free_se/chapters/ii)

Mentioned as a highly specialised genius present at the Brissago conference.

### [§ X](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_world_set_free_se/chapters/x)

Mentioned indirectly through the Dass patents, which were based on one of Holsten's discoveries.

### [§ V](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_world_set_free_se/chapters/v)

Referenced as the discoverer of atomic disintegration, whose work is seen as a pivotal escape from potential societal collapse.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_world_set_free_se/characters/young_holsten
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_world_set_free_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_world_set_free_se/characters