Oppenheimer's Legacy
J(ulius) Robert Oppenheimer (b. April 22, 1904, New York City--d. Feb. 18, 1967, Princeton, N.J., U.S.), U.S. theoretical physicist and science administrator, noted as director of the Los Alamos laboratory during development of the atomic bomb (1943-45) and as director of the Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton (1947-66).
Accusations as to his loyalty and reliability as a security risk led to a government hearing that resulted in the loss of his security clearance and of his position as adviser to the highest echelons of the U.S. government. The case became a cause célèbre in the world of science because of its implications concerning political and moral issues relating to the role of scientists in government.
Oppenheimer was the son of a German immigrant who had made his fortune by importing textiles in New York City. During his undergraduate studies at Harvard University, Oppenheimer excelled in Latin, Greek, physics, and chemistry, published poetry, and studied Oriental philosophy. After graduating in 1925, he sailed for England to do research at the Cavendish Laboratory at the University of Cambridge, which, under the leadership of Lord Rutherford, had an international reputation for its pioneering studies on atomic structure. At the Cavendish, Oppenheimer had the opportunity to collaborate with the British scientific community in its efforts to advance the cause of atomic research. Max Born invited him to Göttingen University, where he met other prominent physicists, such as Niels Bohr and Paul Dirac, and where, in 1927, he received his doctorate.
After short visits at science centres in Leiden and Zürich, he returned to the United States to teach physics at the University of California at Berkeley and the California Institute of Technology.
In the 1920s the new quantum and relativity theories were engaging the attentions of science. That mass was equivalent to energy and that matter could be both wavelike and corpuscular carried implications seen only dimly at that time. Oppenheimer's early research was devoted in particular to energy processes of subatomic particles, including electrons, positrons, and cosmic rays. Since quantum theory had been proposed only a few years before, the university post provided him an excellent opportunity to devote his entire career to the exploration and development of its full significance. In addition, he trained a whole generation of U.S. physicists, who were greatly affected by his qualities of leadership and intellectual independence.
The rise of Hitlerism in Germany stirred his first interest in politics.
I am reading Bomb by Steve Sheinkin. At the beginning of the book, Oppenheimer, who is the main chemical scientist in the novel, sees the effects of the Great Depression on his pupils when they cannot buy chemistry textbooks. During Oppenheimer’s time as a professor, the Nazis discovered the splitting of the uranium atom. When Albert Einstein found out that about the discovery the Nazis did, he informs President Roosevelt about how the Nazis plan to develop atomic weapons. Harry Gold who is a Communist spy, starts to work with the KGB. And starts to steal ideas and projects from the American Uranium Committee.
According to Einstein’s equation, the physicists of the Manhattan project hypothesized that a minute mass can create a vast amount of energy.... ... middle of paper ... ... Works Cited The “German Nuclear Energy Project” Wikipedia.
Before the war and when Oppenheimer was a teacher, quantum and relativity theories were capturing the attention of science (www.Britannica.com) . Oppenheimer's early studies were devoted mainly to energy processes of subatomic particles, including electrons,positrons, and cosmic rays. He also did innovative work on not only neutron stars but also black holes. His university provided him with a excellent opportunity to research the quantum theory, along with exploration and development of its full significance. This helped him train an entire generation of U.S.
With his experience he had many doubts about the Hydrogen Bomb, whether it would work. “Oppenheimer and others on technical and moral grounds had initially opposed building the H-bomb, seeking instead an international moratorium on its development” (Teller and Ulam).
After being taken by the Germans convinced others that they still had the lead in developing a fission weapon. It all started with the “Hungarian conspiracy” that had everyone convinced that the creation of a nuclear bomb was possible, but that the German government was already doing research in this field of study on such a weapon. To the rest of the world, the thought of Adolf Hitler might be the first to gain control of a weapon this destructive would be terrifying to the United States. Right, then they decided that the administration of President Franklin D. Roosevelt must be warned about the dangers and that the United States must begin its research department. As the planned gave way, Einstein was to write a letter to President Franklin D. Roosevelt about the possibilities and dangers of the atomic weapons, and later was taken to the president.
Oppenheimer, Daniel. "Diane Arbus." Jewish Virtual Library - Homepage. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Mar. 2011. .
There was also many scientists that helped Oppenheimer obviously. Enrico Fermi played a big role in making the bomb as
Gravity (n): extreme or alarming importance; seriousness. As people grow and mature, they encounter experiences that force them to make decisions full of great gravity. These decisions cause them to be extremely careful when choosing their own paths in life. In August of 1945, atomic bombs descended upon Hiroshima and Nagasaki, killing over 40,000 casualties. As America decided to drop the atomic bombs, a massive controversy was created within the country. Most officials attempted to hide the fact of the atomic bombs, hoping that secrecy would prevent problems. As well, many feared of the consequences, such as death, extended war, etc., would arise due to the effect of these bombs. Finally, many believed that releasing the bombs aided in the ending of the war, while others believed it only caused more destruction.
“Early in 1939, The worlds scientific community discovered that German physicists had learned the secrets of splitting the uranium atom and word spread quickly and several countries began to duplicate the experiment.” Albert Einstein warned President Roosevelt that Germany may have already built an atomic bomb. Roosevelt did not see an urgency for such a project, but agreed to proceed slowly. In 1941, British scientists pushed America to develop an atomic weapon. America’s effort was slow until 1942 when Colonel Leslie Groves took over. He quickly chose personnel, production sites and set schedules to invent the atomic
The author tells of how waves are effected by quantum mechanic. He also discusses the fact that electromagnetic radiation, or photons, are actually particles and waves. He continues to discuss how matter particles are also matter, but because of their h bar, is so small, the effects are not seen. Green concludes the quantum mechanics discussion by talking about the uncertainty principle.Chapter 5: The need for a New Theory: General Relativity vs.
Harry Hess was born on May 27, 1906, in New York City. He attended Yale and received a Bachelor of Science degree there in 1931. In 1932, Hess received a Ph.D from Princeton. He also became a professor at Princeton in 1934. He even got involved in NASA for a little bit of time. After a well spent life, Hess later died of a heart attack on August 26, 1969, in Massachusetts.
The Manhattan Project was the code name for a science project conducted during World War II by the United States with the partial support of the United Kingdom and Canada. The ultimate goal of the project was the development of the first atomic bomb before Nazi Germany. The scientific research was directed by physicist Julius Robert Oppenheimer while security and military operations were carried out by General Leslie Richard Groves. The project was carried out in many research centers being the most important of them the Manhattan Engineer District located on the site now known as Los Alamos Manhattan Project was the code name for a science project conducted during World National Laboratory. The project brought together a wealth of scientific luminaries as Robert Oppenheimer, Niels Bohr, Enrico Fermi, Ernest Lawrence, etc. . . . Since, after experiments in Germany before the war, it was known that atomic fission was possible and that the Nazis were already working on its own nuclear program, several bright minds met. Many Jewish ex...
In 1939 rumor came to the U.S. that Germans had split the atom. The threat of the Nazis developing a nuclear weapon prompted President Roosevelt to establish The Manhattan Project. Oppenheimer set up a research lab in Los Alamos, New Mexico and brought the best minds in physics to work on the problem of creating a nuclear weapon. Although most the research and development was done in Los Alamos, there were over 30 other research locations throughout the project. After watching the first nuclear bomb test Oppenheimer was quoted as saying simply “It works.”.
Miller, A. (1975) Albert Einstein and Max Wertheimer: a Gestalt psychologist's view of the genesis of special relativity theory. History of science; an Annual Review of Literature, Research and Teaching 13 (2): 75–103.
Richard P. Feynman was born in 1918 in Brooklyn; in 1942 he received his Ph.D. from Princeton. Already displaying his brilliance, Feynman played an important role in the development of the atomic bomb through his work in the Manhattan Project. In 1945 he became a physics teacher at Cornell University, and in 1950 he became a professor at the California Institute of Technology. He, along with Sin-Itero and Julian Schwinger, received the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1965 for his work in the field of quantum electrodynamics.