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Robert Oppenheimer (1904-1967) was an American theoretical physicist who was a manager in the [[Manhattan Project]] in [[Los Alamos]], [[New Mexico]].  He was a bright student and popular teacher, but never made significant contributions to the field of physics and was repeatedly passed over in the awarding of [[Nobel Prize|Nobel Prizes]].  The media generally liked Oppenheimer's politics and gave him credit as "the man who built the atomic bomb," when in fact Oppenheimer was merely a high-level manager and did little of the theoretically or actual experimental work behind it. {{fact}}

Robert Oppenheimer (1904-1967) was an American theoretical physicist who was a manager in the [[Manhattan Project]] in [[Los Alamos]], [[New Mexico]].  He was a bright student and popular teacher, but never made significant contributions to the field of physics and was repeatedly passed over in the awarding of [[Nobel Prize|Nobel Prizes]].  The media generally liked Oppenheimer's politics and gave him credit as "the man who built the atomic bomb."

 

Oppenheimer's responsibilities in the Manhattan Project were managerial rather than scientific, and lasted only about two years (from 1943-45).  Three to four scientists under Oppenheimer's supervision leaked secret information about the atomic bomb to the communist Soviet Union.  These include Klaus Fuchs, Theodore Hall, and David Greenglass.<ref>http://www.lanl.gov/history/wartime/spies.shtml</ref>  Secret Soviet Union documents reviewed in the 1990s reveal a fourth spy, code-named Perseus, who was also at Los Alamos during Oppenheimer's tenure.  This spy has never been identified and could have been Oppenheimer himself.<ref>''Id.'' (without specifying Oppenheimer as Perseus)</ref>.

Oppenheimer's best-known scientific contribution was to suggest a limit to the size of neutron stars. Larger neutron stars would collapse into [[black holes]] according to the theory of relativity.   

Oppenheimer's best-known scientific contribution was to suggest a limit to the size of neutron stars. Larger neutron stars would collapse into [[black holes]] according to the theory of relativity.