Difference between revisions of "J. Robert Oppenheimer"
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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. | ||
| − | Oppenheimer lived in Berkeley, [[California]], and socialized with close [[communism|communist]] friends. When Oppenheimer opposed development of the [[hydrogen bomb]] in the 1950s, an investigation into whether he lied about his communist connections resulted in the revocation of his security clearance.<ref>http://www.yale.edu/lawweb/avalon/abomb/opp06.htm</ref> This infuriated [[liberal]]s who then never forgave [[conservative]] scientists like [[Edward Teller]] for having testified against Oppenheimer, even though Teller was not cited in the decision to revoke Oppenheimer's security clearance. | + | Oppenheimer lived in Berkeley, [[California]], and socialized with close [[communism|communist]] friends. When Oppenheimer opposed development of the [[hydrogen bomb]] in the 1950s, an investigation into whether he lied about his communist connections resulted in the revocation of his security clearance.<ref>http://www.yale.edu/lawweb/avalon/abomb/opp06.htm</ref> This infuriated [[liberal]]s who then never forgave [[conservative]] scientists like [[Edward Teller]] for having testified against Oppenheimer, even though Teller was not cited in the decision to revoke Oppenheimer's security clearance {{fact}}. |
Oppenheimer helped [[Congress]] draft the first laws covering the use and control of atomic energy. | Oppenheimer helped [[Congress]] draft the first laws covering the use and control of atomic energy. | ||
Revision as of 19:53, March 27, 2007
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 his contributions to science were not comparable to those of a the leading Manhattan Project scientists.[1] In general, the media Oppenheimer's politics and gave him credit as "the man who built the atomic bomb."
Oppenheimer managed the laboratory at Los Alamos from 1943 to 1945. As described by the United States Department of Energy's historical account:[2]
- J. Robert Oppenheimer shouldered burdens both large and small, managing the numerous mundane matters such as living quarters, mail censorship, salaries, promotions, and other "quality of life" issues that were inevitable in an intellectual pressure-cooker with few social amenities. Oppenheimer relied on a group of advisers to help him keep the "big picture" in focus, while a committee made up of Los Alamos group leaders provided day-to-day communications between divisions.
Three to five 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.[3] Secret Soviet Union documents reviewed in the 1990s reveal two more spies, code-named Quantum and Perseus or Pers, who were also at Los Alamos during Oppenheimer's tenure. These spies have never been identified, and one could have been Oppenheimer himself.[4].
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 lived in Berkeley, California, and socialized with close communist friends. When Oppenheimer opposed development of the hydrogen bomb in the 1950s, an investigation into whether he lied about his communist connections resulted in the revocation of his security clearance.[5] This infuriated liberals who then never forgave conservative scientists like Edward Teller for having testified against Oppenheimer, even though Teller was not cited in the decision to revoke Oppenheimer's security clearance[Citation Needed].
Oppenheimer helped Congress draft the first laws covering the use and control of atomic energy.
In 1963, his clearance was reinstated by President Johnson. In the same year, the Atomic Energy Commission awarded him the Enrico Fermi Award.[6]
The 2002 book "Sacred Secrets" produced documents from the FBI and the Soviet NKVD that allegedly prove the Oppenheimer's Communist Party membership and his ardent advocacy of sharing nuclear secrets with the Soviet Union.[7]
Notes and references
- ↑ such as Bethe, Bohr, Fermi, Feynman, Libby, and Wigner, who won Nobel prizes.
- ↑ http://www.mbe.doe.gov/me70/manhattan/basic_research.htm
- ↑ http://www.lanl.gov/history/wartime/spies.shtml
- ↑ Id. (without specifying Oppenheimer as Perseus)
- ↑ http://www.yale.edu/lawweb/avalon/abomb/opp06.htm
- ↑ J. Robert Oppenheimer receiving the AEC Enrico Fermi Award, photograph and description, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory]
- ↑ [1]
External link
- Merkulov to Beria, 2 October 1944.