The Man Who Created the Deadliest Weapon in History (J. Robert Oppenheimer and the Atomic Bomb)
The Man Who Created the Deadliest Weapon in History (J. Robert Oppenheimer and the Atomic Bomb)
The atomic bomb is the most deadly weapon ever created, and today, you will meet the man responsible for realizing the most deadly weapon in human history.
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Content
0.42 -> A man watches the first nuclear explosion
in human history successfully go off,
5.04 -> transforming the world with the beginning
of the atomic age. A few words come to mind,
9.9 -> from the ancient Hindu text
known as the Bhagavad Gita.
13.2 -> “Now I am become death, the destroyer of worlds.”
16.62 -> It would have been impossible without
him - the father of the Atomic Bomb,
19.98 -> J. Robert Oppenheimer. But who was he?
22.8 -> Was he a merchant of death, the designer
of the deadliest weapon of all time?
26.82 -> Or was he a principled scientist
who hoped to prevent future wars?
30.48 -> Was he a dedicated American patriot who wanted to
make sure his homeland got the weapon that could
35.1 -> finish the Axis powers? Or was he a secret
ally of the United States’ next great enemy?
40.32 -> The answer isn’t clear - and to find the
truth, we have to go back to the beginning.
43.86 -> Julius Robert Oppenheimer’s story begins in New
York City on April 22nd, 1904. He was born into a
50.82 -> non-observant Jewish family. His mother worked as
a painter, while his father was an impressive man
55.2 -> in his own right - a wealthy textile importer who
had immigrated to America from Prussia in 1888.
60.72 -> The family would soon be joined by J. Robert’s
younger brother Frank, and they would move to
65.34 -> an impressive apartment on the Upper West
Side. Between Ella Oppenheimer’s love for
69.18 -> art and Julius’ wealth, it was no surprised
that the apartment was soon covered with some
73.14 -> of the most famous works of art in the world
- including paintings by Picasso and Van Gogh!
77.7 -> But the family would ultimately
be known for science, not art.
81 -> As J. Robert and Frank began their elementary
studies they were sent to a prep school - but
85.68 -> not just any prep school. In 1911, J. Robert
entered the Ethical Culture Society School - an
91.08 -> experimental school founded by social reformer
Felix Adler. Its goal was not just to raise smart
96.48 -> children, but children grounded in ethics who
would go on to do great things. It was part of a
102.24 -> larger secular humanist movement that was gaining
momentum in education in the early 20th century,
106.8 -> and it would heavily influence the lives of the
Oppenheimer sons. But while J. Robert would learn
111.3 -> much about ethics in school, his interests lay in
academics. He would breeze through his studies,
116.16 -> gaining a particular interest in mineralogy
- and of course, chemistry. He even skipped
120.66 -> several grades, and by the time he was
18, he was ready to take his next step.
124.56 -> Because Oppenheimer was coming to Harvard.
126.96 -> Despite being derailed by a serious illness he
got while prospecting in Europe, which delayed
131.88 -> his plans by a year, J. Robert Oppenheimer
was ready for the ivy league. However,
135.96 -> while he was recovering, he spent time
in New Mexico - where he would fall in
139.14 -> love with the Southwest. This was a region he
would come back to in the future, of course,
143.04 -> but for now he was happy to return to New England.
While he gained a general education at Harvard,
147.9 -> he aggressively sought advanced chemistry courses
and even sought to make up for the year he was
152.58 -> delayed by taking extra classes. He was so
ambitious that he decided to switch to Physics
157.56 -> for graduate school - and was admitted solely on
the basis of his independent studies, skipping
162.24 -> multiple entry-level courses. In only three
years, he would graduate Harvard with honors.
167.1 -> But his education was just beginning.
169.14 -> Nearly dying in Europe didn’t deter
Oppenheimer from crossing the Atlantic
173.46 -> once more - as he decided to attend Christ’s
College in Cambridge. While he was rejected
177.96 -> by his initial choice of a laboratory mentor,
Ernest Rutherford, he decided to simply head
182.28 -> to England anyway - and just try to hustle
his way into another internship while he was
186.42 -> already there! He was ultimately accepted by
British Nobel laureate JJ Thomson, who found
191.28 -> Oppenheimer’s mind sharp but his lab discipline
lacking. Oppenheimer was assigned a tutor to get
196.44 -> him up to speed on lab procedures - something
he loathed. It would be a common pattern in
201.3 -> Oppenheimer’s life - he was a genius, but one who
didn’t like to be told to do things the slow way.
205.86 -> But he also displayed a few dark tendencies.
208.56 -> Oppenheimer’s tutor Patrick Blackett was a
disciplined man - and only a few years older than
213.72 -> Oppenheimer. The two clashed, and at one point
Oppenheimer doused an apple with noxious chemicals
219 -> and left it for Blackett to eat. This nearly led
to Oppenheimer being placed on academic probation,
223.92 -> but things were smoothed over. It wasn’t the
only time Oppenheimer displayed strange behavior
229.08 -> patterns. The young scientist was obsessive about
his work, often neglecting his basic needs when he
234.24 -> was obsessed with a puzzle. He smoked intensely,
forgot to eat, and once reportedly strangled a
239.88 -> friend when the friend shared the news that he
was engaged! It would be the start of a life of
244.86 -> psychological issues for Oppenheimer, but he was
unconcerned by the difficulties this would cause.
249.24 -> After all, as he once told his younger
brother, “I need physics more than friends”.
253.92 -> But even this challenging environment would
not prove enough for Oppenheimer’s curiosity
258.24 -> and ambition, and he would soon head to one
of the world’s hubs for physics - Germany.
262.38 -> He enrolled in the University of Gottingen in
1926, to study under the legendary Max Born.
268.02 -> Often known as the father of quantum mechanics,
Born was a sought-after mentor who attracted
272.7 -> some of the best minds in the world - including
German theoretical physicist Werner Heisenberg
277.26 -> and Italian nuclear scientist Enrico Fermi.
Oppenheimer had finally found a place where
282.78 -> he could be truly challenged, and he was
enthusiastic about his studies - maybe too
287.22 -> enthusiastic. He would take over seminars with
his passionate rhetoric, and a group of students
292.02 -> at one point threatened to boycott the class
unless Born managed to quiet Oppenheimer down.
296.4 -> But dark clouds were brewing.
298.8 -> Oppenheimer studied in Germany
at the height of the Weimar era,
302.58 -> when Germany was becoming a post-war hub of
culture, industry, art, and science - albeit
307.74 -> one struggling with a devastated economy after
the First World War. But intolerance was rising,
312.96 -> and Oppenheimer no doubt felt it as a Jewish
man. No one knows what kind of Nazi oppresion
318 -> he experienced during this time, but it didn’t
leave him inclined to stick around. He earned
322.26 -> his doctorate at the young age of 23 in 1927,
but not before reportedly interrogating his test
327.9 -> administrator. He and Born co-published a famous
paper, the Born-Oppenheimer Approximation, which
333.66 -> presented a method for neglecting nuclear motion
in calculations without losing much accuracy.
338.46 -> And then, it was time for him to depart.
340.92 -> Oppenheimer had left America as an ambitious and
troubled student, and returned a famous physicist
346.02 -> who was highly in demand. So in demand, that
there was soon a fight over exactly where he
350.52 -> would land. The United States National Research
Council wanted him to join their team at CalTech,
355.08 -> while Harvard wanted him back working for them.
Oppenheimer, not liking to be told what to do,
359.94 -> predictability went down his own path -
and split his fellowship between the two
364.02 -> universities on both coasts! While at CalTech, he
would become friends with fellow physicist Linus
368.7 -> Pauling - but a potential affair between
Oppenheimer and Pauling’s wife brought an
372.54 -> end to that. The two would never work together
again - not just because of personal disputes,
377.04 -> but because Oppenheimer’s future was destined to
stay far away from Pauling’s pacifist beliefs.
381.78 -> Fate had a different plan for Oppenheimer.
384.3 -> He soon began work as a professor at
the University of California, Berkeley,
387.84 -> but not before some more travels in Europe and
purchasing a ranch in New Mexico. As a professor,
393.12 -> Oppenheimer was known to be eccentric and hard
to get to know. His students were notorious for
397.68 -> becoming extremely invested in his classes, often
adopting his mannerisms and spending more time on
403.2 -> his assignments than any other. He continued
to push the boundaries of physical science,
407.22 -> often collaborating with the government.
In his personal life, he was known to be
411 -> apolitical and disinterested in world affairs
at first. So invested in his own studies,
415.92 -> he reportedly didn’t even learn about the Great
Depression until six months after it began.
420.78 -> But then, something changed.
422.58 -> By 1934, Oppenheimer had become more aware of
politics - and was particularly passionate about
427.86 -> opposing the fascist tide sweeping Europe. As
the Nazis took power, Oppenheimer dedicated a
433.14 -> portion of his salary to supporting German
scientists who wanted to escape Germany. He
437.82 -> would also become involved in union affairs
and raise money for various left-wing causes.
441.9 -> This led many people to wonder if he was becoming
another member of the US Communist Party, which
447 -> was growing in support among academic circles
- but this accusation had little to no backing.
451.8 -> Oppenheimer was never much for romance,
either - but that was about to change.
456.12 -> Oppenheimer’s turn to the left coincided with him
getting involved with women who shared his views.
461.34 -> First was Jean Tatlock, a daughter of a Berkeley
literature professor and radical journalist. The
467.16 -> two had a short but passionate relationship - and
it would be less than a year later before he would
471.72 -> meet Kitty Puening. Another young radical, she was
married when she had an affair with Oppenheimer,
476.88 -> and quickly divorced her husband and took
off with the physicist. Looks like J.
480.72 -> Robert Oppenheimer embraced more than one
type of chemistry during his Professor years!
484.98 -> And the new Katherine Oppenheimer would
be a key influence on her husband.
488.88 -> Katherine was much more than a
political activist - born in Prussia,
492.84 -> she would become a renowned biologist and
botanist in her own right. She was also
496.74 -> deeply involved in several radical groups.
She and Oppenheimer would have two children,
500.58 -> but Oppenheimer’s issues with personal
relationships cropped up again - he would
504.54 -> have affairs with Tatlock while married. This
meant he was essentially cheating on one communist
509.4 -> with another - and this frequent contact with
members of the party would come back to haunt him.
513.96 -> Because he was about to undergo the
most critical job interview of his life.
517.68 -> As the Nazi party consolidated its control
over Germany and then launched World War II,
522.66 -> Oppenheimer only became more dedicated to opposing
them. But his own government wasn’t exactly on his
527.94 -> side either - the FBI opened a file on Oppenheimer
in 1941, chronicling all his contact with members
533.82 -> of the Communist Party. While they didn’t
find that he engaged in any criminal conduct,
538.26 -> they did find that he was a member of
multiple organizations they considered
542.22 -> “Subversive” - including the now-mainstream
American Civil Liberties Union. Oppenheimer
547.62 -> was not targeted by law enforcement, but he was
put on a list of potential targets for custodial
552.42 -> detention in the event of a national emergency
- aka, if civil liberties were suspended!
558 -> But the government was about to need
him for a very different reason.
561.3 -> By October 1941, the US was still neutral, only
supplying the allies with the equipment they
567 -> needed, but everyone knew that sooner or later the
US would come join the fray. The sneak attack on
572.46 -> Pearl Harbor wasn’t on anyone’s mind, but it
was clear that the imperial ambitions of the
576.78 -> Axis Powers would keep growing. So not only was
President Franklin Roosevelt planning for war,
581.7 -> he was planning for the next big weapon -
an atomic bomb. National Defense Research
586.44 -> Committee Chairman James B. Conant was put
in charge of the early phases - and he had
590.82 -> previously been a lecturer at Harvard when
Oppenheimer was studying there. So he knew
595.2 -> his old student had a mind that needed to be
on board with this plan if it was to succeed.
599.7 -> And soon, the project would
become vital to the US war plan.
603.36 -> When Oppenheimer was first brought on board,
he was tasked with doing neutron calculations.
608.1 -> While Oppenheimer was definitely working
on the building blocks of an atomic bomb,
611.88 -> it was all very theoretical - and he threw himself
into it with his typical zeal for physics puzzles.
617.04 -> Security wasn’t nearly as tight at that point, and
he even shared many of his theories with students
621.96 -> at Berkeley. But now, the US was at war, and
in June 1942 the Manhattan Project was founded.
628.08 -> The scientific efforts were transferred to the
military, and Oppenheimer was chosen to head the
632.7 -> project. This was an odd choice for many people -
Oppenheimer didn’t have a Nobel Prize, didn’t have
638.28 -> any background in the military, and was seen as a
theoretical genius without practical applications.
643.2 -> But the new leader of the military division,
Brigadier General Leslie Groves, was steadfast
649.14 -> in his choice - defending Oppenheimer against
concerns that he was a political liability.
653.58 -> And this would bring Oppenheimer
back to his second home.
656.82 -> While the Manhattan Project was still in its early
stages, everyone knew that their final goal was to
662.04 -> set off an atomic bomb. This would require a safe
location far away from any nearby cities - and
667.86 -> that called Oppenheimer to New Mexico. They took
over the site of a private school near Santa Fe,
672.72 -> and the Los Alamos Ranch School became the
Los Alamos Laboratory. While this was a very
677.76 -> isolated location, with poor water supply and
few road connections, the government went to work
682.44 -> building the infrastructure required for the base.
With the military taking charge, the scientists
687.42 -> involved were expected to be commissioned
into the military. There was just one problem.
691.86 -> J. Robert Oppenheimer was NOT military material.
695.58 -> The problem wasn’t that he would likely argue
constantly with his commanding officer - it
699.96 -> was that he was underweight and had a chronic
cough due to past bouts of tuberculosis. This,
704.88 -> along with several other scientists
objecting to being commissioned,
707.76 -> led to a compromise where Los Alamos would be
operated by the University of California under
712.2 -> the supervision of the War Department,
and the project soon grew by leaps and
716.4 -> bounds - with several thousand people being
involved in development over the years!
720.54 -> And they werem’t all just from
the United States, either.
723.9 -> Many German scientists who defected joined the
project, and they brought with them intelligence
728.82 -> from Nazi Germany. Hitler was known for his
grandiose plans and was just as ambitious when
734.1 -> it came to weapons as the Americans. It was
well known that he wanted a nuclear bomb of
738.42 -> his own - but no one knew how far along the Nazi
efforts were. It was only after the war that it
743.4 -> was found they were nowhere near the Americans,
but this caused a great sense of urgency in the
747.9 -> Manhattan Project, and some additional
projects were proposed. A plan to poison
752.34 -> German food supplies with radioactive material
was rejected - not because of ethical reasons,
757.62 -> but because the scientists believed that it
couldn’t be done on a large enough scale.
761.16 -> And a Plutonium-powered gun nicknamed “Thin
Man” was developed, but ultimately trashed
766.02 -> because reactor-produced plutonium was found to
have too high a concentration for use in a gun.
771.12 -> Which meant there was only
one project left to focus on.
774.3 -> Oppenheimer shifted his focus to an implosion-type
weapon that would compress the explosive material
779.76 -> and be delivered via a simple device. This
was the bomb that would become Little Boy,
784.56 -> the very first nuclear bomb ever dropped in
combat. But first, they needed to make sure
789.36 -> it worked. The final design was delivered
on February 28th, 1945. As it became clear
794.94 -> the government would actually achieve their
goal, commissions were formed to determine
798.84 -> whether it would eventually be used in combat
and how it would be handled after the war.
802.98 -> But first, they needed to make sure it worked.
805.56 -> It was July 16th, 1945, and years of hard work
were about to come to a close. The scientists had
811.74 -> completed the first nuclear bomb prototype, and it
would be detonated deep in the New Mexico desert.
816.54 -> The site was nicknamed Trinity, and Oppenheimer
was one of the many scientists present to see
821.22 -> their experiments come to fruition - or result
in shocking failure. Oppenheimer was accompanied
826.26 -> at the test not just by military officials - but
by his brother, Frank, now an acclaimed scientist
831.06 -> in his own right. No one knew what would happen
when the bomb went off. Maybe the device would be
835.74 -> a dud, or maybe it would be all too successful -
creating a devastating explosion that would not be
840.36 -> contained. But Oppenheimer no doubt was confident
- he had never seen a puzzle he couldn’t crack.
845.64 -> But even he wasn’t prepared
for what he was about to see.
848.64 -> As the last seconds ticked by
and the announcer shouted “Now!”,
852.12 -> the bomb went off and there was a massive burst
of light. This was followed seconds later by
857.04 -> a deep roar as the sound of the explosion
hit them. Oppenheimer reportedly relaxed,
861.84 -> the fear of failure leaving him. According to
Frank, his first words after were “I guess it
866.46 -> worked” - a suitably practical response for
a man of science. But in the years to come,
871.26 -> Oppenheimer would admit very different words
came to mind. The Bhagavad Gita phrase “Now I
876.3 -> am become Death, the destroyer of worlds” flowed
into his mind as the enormity of the moment came
881.28 -> over him. The deadliest weapon in human history
had just been tested- and he was its creator.
886.86 -> But now it was out of his hands.
888.9 -> Oppenheimer had little regrets at first about
his role in designing the bomb, and hoped it
893.4 -> would help to eliminate the despicable Hitler.
There was just one problem - the war in Europe
897.54 -> was over! Nazi Germany had been defeated through
the efforts of the Allies and the Soviet Union,
902.28 -> and Germany was currently under military
occupation. But the war with Japan was
907.14 -> still raging on - and the United States was
eager to test their new weapon in combat. As
911.58 -> Japan had still not surrendered and plans
were underway to mount a ground invasion,
915.54 -> it was determined to instead drop the first
bomb, Little Boy, on the infrastructure-heavy
920.64 -> city of Hiroshima. It devastated the
city and killed over 100,000 people.
924.96 -> But the US wasn’t finished yet.
927.06 -> It was only days later when a second larger
bomb was dropped over Nagasaki, and Japan
931.38 -> surrendered soon after. But while the nuclear
scientists were happy to see the US triumph,
936.06 -> many were horrified by this - seeing the second
bombing as unnecessary overkill. Oppenheimer in
941.46 -> particular was haunted by his role in the
Manhattan Project, even as the war ended
945.24 -> and the boys came marching home. It was a few
months later when he was granted a meeting with
949.32 -> President Truman and expressed the opinion that
felt like he had blood on his hands. Truman did
954.18 -> not respond well, seeing it as an insult against
the President’s call to drop the bomb. He kicked
958.98 -> Oppenheimer out of the White House - but still
awarded him a Medal for Merit the following year.
963.12 -> And now, a new era would begin
for J. Robert Oppenheimer.
966.78 -> The Manhattan Project was highly classified
through the war, but the bombings of Hiroshima
971.28 -> and Nagasaki made it all very clear. The
government declassified many of the details in
975.54 -> the year after the war - including the identity
of the man who made it possible. And suddenly,
980.28 -> Oppenheimer was the one thing he never expected to
be - a celebrity. He appeared on magazine covers,
985.8 -> and found just about everyone seeking his opinion.
The problem was - the government might not always
990.6 -> like his opinion. He started advocating
for international control of nuclear arms,
995.04 -> to prevent an arms race. He wanted more power
to go to the newly-formed United Nations.
999.72 -> And so J. Robert Oppenheimer’s time with
the government would come to an awkward end.
1004.34 -> He returned to teaching, but found he couldn’t
go back to his old habits. Instead, he took up a
1009.2 -> position as the head of the Institute for Advanced
Study in Princeton - an ambitious institution that
1014.12 -> played host to some of the greatest minds of the
era, including Albert Einstein. He finally had a
1018.62 -> setting that could challenge him again - and it
didn’t hurt that it came with accommodations,
1022.22 -> including a 17th-century mansion that came
with servants and allowed him to indulge in
1026.72 -> his parents’ passion for collecting
artwork. Now that the war was over,
1029.96 -> Oppenheimer was able to return to
theoretical work, his true passion.
1033.62 -> But it wouldn’t be long before
the government came calling again.
1036.98 -> In the year after the war, the US wanted to avoid
an arms race - and to keep the US monopoly over
1042.26 -> nuclear power. Oppenheimer was appointed to
a commission to determine global standards
1046.7 -> for nuclear power, and a plan was developed
to oversee enforcement - including requiring
1051.44 -> inspections of other countries’ resources. This
was rejected by the Soviets, and the arms race
1056.42 -> was on. Oppenheimer would soon be appointed as
head of the new Atomic Energy Commission, helping
1061.22 -> to determine policy and ensure safety standards.
But it soon became clear he was out of step with
1066.5 -> the government - recommending restraint, as the
government plowed towards a full-on arms race.
1071.24 -> The Soviets tested their first atomic bomb in
1949, and it would be all downhill from there.
1076.46 -> The government wanted more and stronger
nuclear weapons - including the first
1080.78 -> hydrogen bomb. This thermonuclear weapon
would dwarf the previous bombs in power,
1084.92 -> and Oppenheimer strongly recommended
against proceeding with it. Not only
1088.64 -> were the human casualties horrifying to
him, but he knew this would cause an arms
1092.12 -> race that would potentially endanger the
survival of the human race. Oppenheimer
1096.5 -> convinced the commission to reject the plans
- and then they were overruled by Truman.
1100.76 -> He would stay involved, but
it was clear Oppenheimer was
1103.28 -> no longer in charge of the US nuclear program.
1105.32 -> With his battle to stop the arms race lost,
Oppenheimer shifted his focus to minimizing
1110.12 -> the impact. He wrote reports on the dangers
of nuclear fallout, and helped to develop
1114.38 -> plans for the first nuclear alert system and
air defense program. He worked with the State
1118.82 -> Department on global disarmament, attempting to
prevent thermonuclear testing. But it was clear
1123.38 -> the military was calling the shots now, and the
Cold War with the Soviet Union was in full swing.
1128.06 -> And as the Cold War ramped up, so did suspicion.
1130.94 -> Oppenheimer was still highly influential, and was
having a major impact in terms of making people
1136.1 -> aware of the dangers of the weapons he had helped
create. That gained him a lot of enemies - not
1141.08 -> just in the military, but in other branches of
the government. They included J. Edgar Hoover,
1145.4 -> the ambitious head of the FBI, who had been
trailing Oppenheimer and investigating his
1149.72 -> ties to Communists since before the war.
Hoover was convinced Oppenheimer was a
1154.1 -> covert member of the party - and clearly, the
fact that Oppenheimer didn’t want America to
1158 -> have the biggest and deadliest bombs possible
meant that he was in league with the Soviets.
1162.14 -> And now, Oppenheimer’s
moment of truth had arrived.
1164.84 -> Few things were more feared in the early
days of the Cold War than a summons from
1168.98 -> the House Un-American Activities Committee -
and in June 1949, it was Oppenheimer’s turn.
1174.14 -> He was questioned by the House committee about
his links to the Community Party USA - including
1179 -> the fact that many of his mentors and
students had affiliations to the party.
1182.36 -> He maintained that he never belonged to the
party, but his brother Frank admitted he was
1186.56 -> affiliated - and that led to him losing his job
at the University of Minnesota and being thrown
1191.42 -> out of the Physics community. But J. Robert
Oppenheimer had escaped mostly unscathed.
1196.28 -> For now.
1197.06 -> If there was one thing J. Edgar Hoover hated,
it was losing a match with a target. He would
1202.4 -> wait several more years, but in November 1953,
Hoover received a letter claiming that Oppenheimer
1207.56 -> was not only a communist - but an agent of the
Soviet Union. Things moved quickly after that,
1212.36 -> as Oppenheimer’s security clearance was suspended
and he was told to resign. Oppenheimer refused
1217.34 -> demanding a formal hearing instead. A secret
hearing held in 1954 saw no actual proof of
1222.98 -> Oppenheimer not being loyal to the United
States, but many officials reported on his
1226.88 -> anti-nuclear opinions and odd behavior, and in
the end the government got what they wanted.
1231.56 -> While Oppenheimer was never prosecuted, he
was essentially done in government work.
1235.94 -> Oppenheimer testified freely about
his affiliation with party members,
1239.48 -> to the point where it bordered on “naming
names”, but it wasn’t enough to save his
1243.56 -> role in the government. Most historians believe
he at least had sympathies for the communists,
1247.94 -> but never acted on them beyond affiliations
with American leftists. In the years
1252.14 -> after losing his government credentials,
Oppenheimer seemed to slip into retirement,
1255.98 -> spending time on the US Virgin Islands. But
eventually, he would return to advocacy,
1260.48 -> campaigning against dangerous science, but he
kept a low profile in the anti-nuclear movement.
1265.34 -> But his last act was coming
sooner than anyone knew.
1268.4 -> Oppenheimer was eventually welcomed
back in some form by the government,
1271.94 -> being given an award by John F.
Kennedy. But only a few years
1275.6 -> later he would be diagnosed with throat
cancer. After two years of treatment,
1279.2 -> he passed away in February 1967 at age 62. His
wife would follow him only five years later.
1285.86 -> And few men left a more complicated legacy.
1289.1 -> During the latter days of his life, Oppenheimer
was rejected by many as a communist sympathizer.
1294.32 -> Today, anti-war activists often reject him as
the man who unleashed the nuclear demon. His
1299.36 -> loyalties were complicated, but there is no
evidence he ever aligned with enemies of the
1303.5 -> United States or compromised its secrecy.
He created the nuclear bomb - and was then
1308.24 -> horrified by it. Today, Oppenheimer may be best
understood as a man who would not rest until his
1313.4 -> questions were answered - only to see that
some genies can’t be put back in the bottle.
1317.42 -> For more on Oppenheimer’s legacy, check out “50
Facts About Nuclear Weapons You Didn’t Know”,
1322.52 -> or watch “US Plans for a Nuclear Attack”
for the Cold War worst-case scenario.
Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4b4B6qrDPdI