Thursday, July 20, 2023

OPPENHEIMER: OUR NEXT FIELD TRIP

TOPIC:  NATIONAL SECURITY SCIENCE

The Manhattan Project in historical context.


<-Schematic of the Nazi atomic bomb.

A lifelong pacifist, Albert Einstein Feared a Nazi Bomb: click HERE so he signed the warning letter written by émigré Leó Szilárd addressed to President Franklin Delano Roosevelt: "the Nazis might be developing nuclear weapons."

Click HERE for the German Nuclear Weapons Program

Click HERE for Nazis and the Bomb

After Hitler lost WWII and the Nazi Atomic Bomb no longer a threat,  Leó Szilárd and Albert Einstein opposed the use of the bomb in Japan.




Leó Szilárd letter (signed by Einstein) addressed to President Franklin D. Roosevelt


The new Oppenheimer movie has just been released giving us a rare opportunity to revisit one of history's most pivotal moments: the Manhattan Project.   Patricia found tickets available Sun July 23 at 2 pm (IMAX) at Edwards Aliso Creek.   ... let us know if you want to go. We'll gather together for a meal after the screening.  Ron has recommended Urban Plates, an excellent restaurant just a few steps from the theater. The film runs 180 minutes, so dinner about 5pm.


Click on the trailer below.


Tom found this very interesting article:  Click HERE for the Oppenheimer movie cast discussion: 

If you find any interesting add ons, we will post them here.


Photo: Courtesy of Los Alamos National Laboratory


109 East Palace by Jennet Conant, one of my favorite books, tells the Manhattan Project story from Dorothy's office on East Palace Avenue in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Every scientist bound for the Secret City of Los Alamos came through her office, and were then spirited away, up the hill, to the secret lab site. 

As a kid, I lived in Monte Vista, Colorado, just 154 miles north of what is now Los Alamos National Laboratory.   


Later, as a teacher,  I met Richard Feynman, the "Boy Genius of Los Alamos" who told the story that...
There was a problem when scientists were away from Los Alamos during the project. All documents, research and notes were to be placed in their office safes each night, but when they were away, their research was often needed. So Richard Feynman learned to crack safes.  


It became Feynman's job to access this material when scientists were off 
campus.


Oppenheimer wrote of Feynman as:  "the most brilliant young physicist here, and everyone knows this."







Los Alamos National Laboratory presents a documentary about J. Robert Oppenheimer. Click on the trailer below.

Have you heard the story about the Russian spy at Los Alamos?  (Scroll to the bottom.) It was later discovered there were four.

Photo credit: Los Alamos National Laboratory

No comments:

Post a Comment

TAI CHI WITH KUNG FU FAN FORM

Created in 2001 by Li Deyin, this form combines movements from soft taiji (taiga/bagua) and hard (kung fu) styles. It includes movements fro...