Oppenheimer releases in UAE: 5 facts about the 'father of atomic bomb'

The physicist could not bag the Nobel because before World War II, his published work was not considered significant enough

Trends Desk

Published: Thu 20 Jul 2023, 5:35 PM

Christopher Nolan’s film Oppenheimer, which hit the theatres in the UAE today, July 20, follows the story of physicist Robert Oppenheimer, the man referred to as ‘the father of the atomic bomb’.

Oppenheimer was the scientific director of the Los Alamos Laboratory in New Mexico, US, during World War II and oversaw the development of the first atomic bomb as part of the Manhattan Project.

Here are five fascinating facts about Robert Oppenheimer:

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A polyglot

Robert Oppenheimer knew as many as six languages. These included Latin, French, Greek, German, Dutch, and Sanskrit. He learned Dutch in just six weeks to deliver a lecture in the Netherlands and studied Sanskrit at the University of California (Berkeley).

The physicist was also an avid reader and read books that were outside his field of science. Oppenheimer told his friends about finishing all three volumes of Das Kapital by Karl Marx while he was on a train trip to New York, according to Live Science.

Child prodigy

Born on April 22, 1904, Oppenheimer developed an interest in science early in life. By the age of 10, he had started studying physics, chemistry, and minerals. Oppenheimer was even invited by the New York Mineralogical Club to deliver a lecture when he was just 12. In September 1922, aged 18, Oppenheimer enrolled at Harvard University and graduated in three years.

Besides studying science at Harvard, Oppenheimer also took courses in religion, philosophy, literature, and languages.

Early work

In 1939, Robert Oppenheimer and his friend Hartland S. Snyder published a paper titled, ‘On Continued Gravitational Contraction’. This work used Albert Einstein’s Theory of Relativity and for the first time described how black holes could form, according to Scientific American. Oppenheimer focused his early research on energy processes of subatomic particles and soon made his name in the field of theoretical physics. He was also praised by great scientists like Albert Einstein and Niels Bohr, as per the Los Alamos National Laboratory.

Oppenheimer could not win a Nobel prize

Oppenheimer was nominated for the Nobel Prize for Physics thrice – in 1946, 1951, and 1967. But, he could never win the prize. According to James Kunetka, historian and author of the book “The General and the Genius”, Oppenheimer could not bag the Nobel because before World War II, his published work was not considered significant enough. The book looks into the lives of Oppenheimer and Lieutenant General Leslie Richard Groves Jr, who oversaw the Manhattan Project.

According to Alan Carr, senior historian at Los Alamos National Laboratory’s National Security Research Center (NSRC), Oppenheimer never made a major discovery or proved a significant theory. “The Nobel Prize requires more than just a remarkable idea. It requires evidence,” Carr said.

Blacklisted

Robert Oppenheimer was against the development of the hydrogen bomb fearing the destruction it could bring. This displeased businessman Lewis Strauss, who took charge as the chairman of the Atomic Energy Commission in 1953. Strauss called for a security hearing to investigate Oppenheimer’s loyalty. The Atomic Energy Commission, with help from the FBI, tapped Oppenheimer’s phone and claimed that he was a security threat. This led to the government revoking Oppenheimer’s security clearance in 1954. Due to this, he could no longer be a part of the Atomic Energy Commission, as per History Channel.

In 2022, almost five decades after his death, Robert Oppenheimer was exonerated as the US Secretary of Energy overturned the decision to revoke his security clearance in 1954. In a statement, Energy Secretary Jennifer M Granholm said that the decision of the Atomic Energy Commission was the result of a “flawed process” that violated its own regulations, reported The New York Times.

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