The Life of J.

Robert Oppenheimer: Father of the Atomic Bomb

Don V. Green Howard Demars Physics 1010: Elementary Physics 10/15/2013

The Life of J. Robert Oppenheimer: Father of the Atomic Bomb

We knew the world would not be the same. A few people laughed, a few people cried. Most people were silent. I remembered the line from the Hindu scripture, the Bhagavad Gita; Vishnu is trying to persuade the Prince that he should do his duty and, to impress him, takes on his multi-armed form and says, No I am become Death, the destroyer of worlds. I suppose we all thought that, one way or another. (Oppenheimer J. R., 1965). Julius Robert Oppenheimer, referred to as the Father of the Atomic Bomb stated the previous words after the first artificial explosion at the site Trinity. Oppenheimers life contained many events that helped push forward the advances in physics and eventually lead to the discovery of the atomic bomb. Oppenheimer was born on April 22, 1904 in New York City, New York. His parents were Julius Oppenheimer, a textile importer from Germany, and Ella Friedman, who was a painter. During his childhood he completed multiple schooling years in one year, and only completed half of the eighth grade. Before finishing his high-school years he became interested in chemistry, which is what he decided to major in in college, at Harvard. (Cassidy, 2005). Due to his late start into Harvard, due to sickness, he was allowed to take six courses each term and was admitted to skip basic classes on the terms of taking physics also. Percy Bridgman, Oppenheimers thermodynamics professor attracted young Oppenheimer towards elemental physics. (Cassidy, 2005). At twenty years of age, Oppenheimer was accepted in Cambridge but left in 1926 due to complications, where he studied under Max Born at the University of Gttingen. (Cassidy, 2005) March 1927, at the age of 23, Oppenheimer obtained his Doctor of Philosophy, under the supervision of Born. (Cassidy, 2005) The young Oppenheimer at the University of Gttingen published his most cited work with Born, the Born-Oppenheimer approximation, which separates nuclear motion from electronic motion in the mathematical treatment of molecules, by allowing nuclear motion to be neglected to simplify calculations.

The Life of J. Robert Oppenheimer: Father of the Atomic Bomb

(Cassidy, 2005). Besides the Born-Oppenheimer approximation, Oppenheimer did important research in other fields also. Oppenheimers scientific advances were not specific in one type of science. He made important research in theoretical astronomy, spectroscopy, quantum field theory, and nuclear physics. The neutron, meson and neutron star were all found later after Oppenheimers work. He made multiple contributions to the theory of cosmic ray showers, eventually leading to descriptions of quantum tunneling. He also worked with a student, Melba Phillips, on artificial radioactivity surrounding deuterons. In the late 1930s Robert Oppenheimer became interested in astrophysics and explored the properties of white dwarfs. (On the Stability of Stellar Neutron Cores, 1938). On Massive Neutron Cores was a paper written by Oppenheimer, and his student George Volkoff, regarding the mass of stars beyond which neutron stars would have gravitational collapse. After this discovery Hartland Snyder and Oppenheimer predicted what are known today as black holes, in 1939, and promoted the work of John Wheeler in the 1950s in his work on astrophysics. However, Oppenheimers major interest in science was the theory of continuous spectrum and in 1926 he published a paper concerning the quantum theory of molecular band spectra. He developed a way to decipher the calculations of its transitional probabilities. He obtained the absorption coefficient at the K-edge, by calculating the photoelectric effect for hydrogen and X-rays. His calculations accorded with observations of the X-ray absorption of the sun, but not hydrogen. Years later it discovered that the sun was largely composed of hydrogen and his initial calculations were correct. (Bethe, 1968). J. Robert Oppenheimer was asked to join the Manhattan project, a crash program for the atomic bomb approved by Franklin D. Roosevelt, in 1942. Oppenheimer accepted and dove right into his new task as the head of the projects secret weapons laboratory. In late 1942, the director

The Life of J. Robert Oppenheimer: Father of the Atomic Bomb

and Oppenheimer decided, for security, they need to find a secret location in a remote area. Set with this task, Oppenheimer found an area at the Los Alamos Ranch School, where the Los Alamos Laboratory was built. (Smith & Weiner, 1980). Victor Weisskopf, a group leader at Los Alamos during the Manhattan project, states this about Oppenheimer being a leader, Oppenheimer directed these studies, theoretical and experimental, in the real sense of the words. Here his uncanny speed in grasping the main points of any subject was a decisive factor; he could acquaint himself with the essential details of every part of the work. He did not direct from the head office. He was intellectually and even physically present at each decisive step. He was present in the laboratory or in the seminar rooms, when a new effect was measured, when a new idea was conceived. It was not that he contributed so many ideas or suggestions; he did so sometimes, but his main influence came from something else. It was his continuous and intense presence, which produced a sense of direct participation in all of us; it created that unique atmosphere of enthusiasm and challenge that pervaded the place throughout its time. After the development of the atomic bomb, Oppenheimer, on the night of the bombing of Hiroshima Oppenheimer announced that he was regretting that the weapon wasnt available to be used against Nazi Germany. Also many felt that the second bombing after Nagasaki wasnt necessary from a military point of view and Oppenheimer decided to travel to Washington to hand deliver a letter to Henry L. Stimson, Secretary of War, expressing his desire and wish to see nuclear weapons to be banned. (Monk, 2012) After his services on the Manhattan Project, Oppenheimer was awarded the Medal for Merit from the President Harry S Truman in 1946. (J. Robert Oppenheimer, Atom Bomb Pioneer, Dies, February 19, 1967). Julius Robert Oppenheimer through his life changed the way the world works today. His many advances in science changed the way scientists work today and the way war is fought.

The Life of J. Robert Oppenheimer: Father of the Atomic Bomb

Even though he didnt agree with the use of nuclear weapons after they were first initially used, they brought a big change in science. His other discoveries in astrophysics, quantum field theory, and many others will let Oppenheimers name, and legacy in science, live for many, many years. Days before the Trinity test Oppenheimer stated the following, In battle, in the forest, at the precipice in the mountains, On the dark great sea, in the midst of javelins and arrows, In sleep, in confusion, in the depths of shame, The good deeds a man has done before defend him. (Hollinger, 2005).

The Life of J. Robert Oppenheimer: Father of the Atomic Bomb

Works Cited
Bethe, H. (1968). The Road from Los Alamos. New York: New York: Springer Science+Business Media. Cassidy, D. (2005). J. Robert Oppenheimer and the American Century. New York: New York: Pi Press. Hollinger, D. A. (2005). Afterward. In C. Carson, & D. A. Hollinger, Reappraising Oppenheimer: Centennial Studies and Reflections (pp. 385390). Berkeley, California: Office for History of Science and Technology, Univ. of Californi. J. Robert Oppenheimer, Atom Bomb Pioneer, Dies. (February 19, 1967). New York Times. Monk, R. (2012). Robert Oppenheimer: A Life Inside the Center. New York; Toronto: Doubleday. (1938). On the Stability of Stellar Neutron Cores. In J. Oppenheimer, & R. Serber, Physical Review 54 (p. 540). Oppenheimer, J. R. (1965). on the Trinity test . Smith, A. K., & Weiner, C. (1980). Robert Oppenheimer: Letters and recollections. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press.