Nuclear Research, Atomic Research, Sub-Atomic Research Quotes
Morrison was then a graduate student of Oppenheimer. The quotation is important, not because it shows how quickly the “father of the atomic bomb” realized that a nuclear bomb could be made and how, but how relatively easy and rapid it was for a competent theoretical physicist could conceptually design a nuclear weapon if they first had knowledge of the Hahn / Strassmann Experiment and the Meitner / Frisch explanation of what had happened ({640924}). Note Leo Szilard’s letter at about the same time--{640925}.
The Scientific Project that developed the Atomic Bomb. The quotation is very interesting for two reasons. The first is the cover story that people were told in the New Mexico communities surrounding Los Alamos. Second, it shows the incredibly extensive and detailed degree to which the Scientific Director was involved in the details of the Manhattan Project. The more that Oppenheimer could do, the less the army needed to do and the cultural gap between the army and the scientists was huge. Whatever the military handled ending up being insensitive to the scientists and their families as the military was used to simply making decisions and ordering its troop to live with the decisions. Oppenheimer, in one of the great leadership and management achievements in history was trusted by all the scientists and by General Groves and the Civilian advisors. As a result, when he did something it would be accepted and there was much hardship the scientists had to live with in this isolated area with few amenities and he was believable when he told the scientists and their families that this was the best that could be done at the time. The Army mid level officers and security agents were never happy with the project and kept identifying possible “security risks” on the staff. Every one they identified turned out to have been totally loyal. There was one spy—a British scientists working for the Russians, but he had all his credentials and history in order and was never identified as a potential security risk.
