J. Robert Oppenheimer
J. Robert Oppenheimer was an American theoretical physicist who directed the Manhattan Project and the laboratory that developed the first atomic bombs. He is regarded as the father of the atomic bomb.
Early Life and Education
Oppenheimer was born in 1904 in New York City into a wealthy family. His father was a German immigrant who had made a fortune in the textile business.
He studied at Harvard University and graduated in 1925. He studied at Cambridge and took his doctorate at Göttingen in 1927.
He taught at the University of California, Berkeley and at Caltech. He made important contributions to the quantum theory and the astrophysics.
The Manhattan Project
Oppenheimer was appointed the scientific director of the Manhattan Project in 1942. He chose the remote site of Los Alamos in New Mexico for the laboratory.
He gathered the leading physicists of the period to work on the project. The team developed the fission bomb in less than three years.
The first atomic bomb was tested at the Trinity site in July 1945. Oppenheimer recalled the words from the Bhagavad Gita about the destroyer of the worlds.
The bombs were dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August 1945. The weapons ended the war and opened the nuclear age.
The Security Hearing
Oppenheimer served as the chairman of the General Advisory Committee of the Atomic Energy Commission. He opposed the development of the hydrogen bomb.
His opposition and his past association with the left-wing caused the suspicion during the anti-communist campaigns. He was subjected to the security hearing in 1954.
His security clearance was revoked and he was excluded from the government work. The decision was a personal and a professional blow.
The hearing became a symbol of the McCarthyist persecution. The scientific community protested the treatment.
The Legacy
Oppenheimer became the director of the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton. He lectured and wrote on the science and the culture.
He received the Enrico Fermi Award in 1963 as a gesture of the rehabilitation. He was restored to the honour by the later administrations.
He died in 1967 in Princeton. The film Oppenheimer has introduced his story to a new generation.
He is regarded as one of the most important of the physicists of the twentieth century. The moral questions of the atomic bomb remain a central issue.
The Scientific Work
Oppenheimer made important contributions to the quantum theory and the astrophysics. He studied the structure of the atom and the nature of the cosmic rays.
He worked on the theory of the neutron stars and the black holes. The work anticipated the later developments in the astrophysics.
He taught at Berkeley and at Caltech and trained a generation of the physicists. He was one of the leading theorists of the period.
The Security Hearing
Oppenheimer opposed the development of the hydrogen bomb. He was subjected to the security hearing in 1954.
His security clearance was revoked and he was excluded from the government work. The decision was a personal and a professional blow.
He received the Enrico Fermi Award in 1963 as a gesture of the rehabilitation. The honour was restored by the later administrations.
The Later Career
Oppenheimer became the director of the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton. He lectured and wrote on the science and the culture.
He received the Enrico Fermi Award in 1963 as a gesture of the rehabilitation. He was restored to the honour by the later administrations.
He lectured on the relationship of the science and the society. He warned of the danger of the nuclear weapons.
The Legacy and the Memory
Oppenheimer died in 1967 in Princeton. The film Oppenheimer has introduced his story to a new generation.
He is regarded as one of the most important of the physicists of the twentieth century. The moral questions of the atomic bomb remain a central issue.
The security hearing became a symbol of the political persecution. The scientific community protested the treatment.
The Early Career
Oppenheimer studied at Harvard University and took his doctorate at Göttingen. He taught at Berkeley and at Caltech.
He made important contributions to the quantum theory and the astrophysics. He studied the structure of the atom and the cosmic rays.
He was appointed the scientific director of the Manhattan Project in 1942. He chose the site of Los Alamos for the laboratory.
The Personal Life
Oppenheimer married Katherine Puening in 1940 and the couple had two children. He was a cultured man with the interest in the literature and the languages.
He read the Sanskrit texts and quoted the Bhagavad Gita. The philosophy influenced his reaction to the atomic bomb.
He died in 1967 in Princeton. The film Oppenheimer has introduced his story to a new generation.
See also
- Manhattan Project
- Atomic bomb
- Los Alamos
- Nuclear physics
References
- ↑ Bird, Kai and Sherwin, Martin J. American Prometheus. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2005.
- ↑ Oppenheimer, J. Robert. The Open Mind. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1955.
- ↑ Rhodes, Richard. The Making of the Atomic Bomb. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1986.
- ↑ Monk, Ray. Robert Oppenheimer: A Life Inside the Center. New York: Doubleday, 2012.