He accepted an assistant professorship in physics at the University of California, Berkeley, and maintained a joint appointment with California Institute of Technology. In the ensuing 13 years, he "commuted" between the two universities, and many of his associates and students commuted with him.
Oppenheimer became credited with being a founding father of the American school of theoretical physics. He did important research in astrophysics, nuclear physics, spectroscopy and quantum field theory. He made important contributions to the theory of cosmic ray showers, and did work that eventually led toward descriptions of quantum tunneling. In the s, he was the first to write papers suggesting the existence of what we today call black holes.
When World War II began, Oppenheimer eagerly became involved in the efforts to develop an atomic bomb, which were already taking up much of the time and facilities of Lawrence's Radiation Laboratory at Berkeley. At the end of January President Truman decided to pursue with full vigour the design and manufacture of an H-bomb.
He probably could not have decided any other way at the time. However, it is most deplorable that time and again nations have decided in favour of another step in armament without first trying to obtain mutual agreement with other nations to refrain from new escalation of death.
After President Truman had overruled the committee, Oppenheimer tried to resign as Chairman of the Committee, but the resignation was not accepted, probably wrongly. Senator Joseph McCarthy charged nearly anyone he could think of with being a Communist, and hence a traitor to the United States.
Since McCarthy's charges had contributed much to the defeat of the Democrats in the Presidential elections of , the new Republican government let him have free rein for a long time. That Robert Oppenheimer would be one of the victims was foreshadowed in a scurrilous article in Fortune in The author had collected much material from disgruntled officers of the Air Force who were opposed to Oppenheimer's defense policy.
Although they had won the battle for massive retaliation they wanted to defeat the 'enemy' completely. A former employee of the Joint Congressional Committee on Atomic Energy in a nearly paranoic letter, accused Oppenheimer of being a Communist and working against the interest of the U. Oppie had also made some personal enemies, and on the basis of all this, in December , President Eisenhower ordered that Oppenheimer's clearance for secret government work be terminated.
This was communicated to him by the AEC in December Oppenheimer answered the charges in a long letter, and both charges and answer were published in the New York Times, on 13 April, Oppenheimer chose to have a security investigation which was organized essentially like a Court of Law with a Board of three judges, and lawyers both for the government and.
He chose to face this investigation in spite of the fact that he was quite convinced from the beginning that he would lose his case. The ensuing, long-protracted security investigations became a cause celebre. Many of his scientist friends came out in his defense, a few against him.
Government on defense policy between and They have been avidly read by friend and foe, at home and abroad. Both the Security Hearing Board, by a vote of 2 to 1, and the AEC, by a vote of 4 to 1 decided to withhold security clearance from Oppenheimer. In the final majority opinion by the Commission the only real argument against granting him clearance was the grotesque story involving Haakon Chevalier in Intrinsically this 'espionage attempt' was of no importance whatever; the counter-intelligence corps did not even bother to investigate the lead until May But apparently Oppenheimer, in an effort to shield his friend Chevalier, and at the same time not to endanger his position as Head of the Los Alamos Laboratory, had first invented a very foolish 'cock-and-bull-story' and then later denied it.
The importance attached to this incident is the more astonishing as 1 these facts had all been known to General Groves who had cleared him for wartime work; 2 the same facts were scrutinized by the whole AEC in and again clearance was granted for the most delicate atomic energy work.
It is hard to imagine that this old story could have attained so much greater importance between and An eloquent discussion was given by Bush, the wartime leader of the U. Personally I felt that the AEC which I had always regarded as our, the scientists', agency in the government, had become a hostile body. The AEC soon made efforts to reconcile the scientific community.
Perhaps most important was the appointment of John Von Neumann, the noted mathematician, as a second scientific member of the Commission. He was universally respected, by the friends of Oppenheimer as well as those of Teller. Soon afterwards Joseph McCarthy's agitation ended when a Senate Committee investigated his own behaviour as a committee chairman, and this led to McCarthy's censure by the Senate. The political climate generally improved. The most important recognition, however, was the presentation to him of the Fermi Award of the AEC, the highest honour that body can bestow.
The decision to present the Award was made by President Kennedy, the actual presentation by President Johnson in December On the presentation President Johnson said in part: 'Dr. Oppenheimer, I am pleased that you are here today to receive formal recognition for your many contributions to theoretical physics and to the advancement of science in our nation.
Your leadership in the development of an outstanding school of theoretical physics in the. United States and your contributions to our basic knowledge make your achievements unique in the scientific world. In his acceptance remarks Oppenheimer said, 'I think it is just possible, Mr President, that it has taken some charity and some courage for you to make this award today. The Institute had always included prominent physicists: Albert Einstein had been one of its Charter Members appointed in Bohr and Dirac had been frequent visitors, and Pauli spent the war years there.
A number of other well-known physicists had worked at the Institute at one time or another. But on Oppenheimer's arrival, the physics department of the Institute changed. While its emphasis had been on well established professors before, it now became a centre for young physicists. Five research associates from Berkeley came with him in Thereafter the Institute was open to dozens of post-doctoral fellows, from the United States and abroad. Even more than Berkeley in the 's, the Princeton Institute became the centre for physics.
Nearly everybody who was anybody passed through its stimulating atmosphere. Murray Gell-Mann, Marvin L. Goldberger, Geoffrey F. Chew, Frances E. There was a distinguished permanent staff including Pais, Dyson, Placzek, T. Lee and C. The distinguished visitors of old times continued to come.
Oppenheimer brought to the Institute his whole method of inspired teaching. He no longer did much research of his own, but he constantly inspired his collaborators. In I gave one of these seminars, on some calculations concerning the Lamb shift.
I spoke for less than half the time and this, I was told, was a much larger fraction of the time than was customary in the seminar. The rest was discussion by the many bright young physicists, and especially by Oppenheimer himself. Ideas developed fast in this atmosphere of intense discussion and stimulation. Vigourous discussion as well as emphasis on fundamental problems remained Oppenheimer's style.
All through his life he was able to convey to all around him a sense of excitement in the quest of science. He could also irritate the people who worked with him. His great mind was able to read and digest physics much faster than the minds of his less gifted colleagues. In scientific conversation he always assumed that others knew as much as he.
This being seldom the case and few persons being willing to admit their ignorance, his partner often felt at a disadvantage. Yet, when asked directly, he explained willingly. They have a sense of guilt when they try to acquire it. This keeps them busy. It seems hard to live any other way than thinking. He could be critical, sharply critical at times, of their efforts.
But there was no greater satisfaction for him than to see such efforts bear fruit and then to tell others of the work that someone had done. In addition to his work at the Institute, he was a leading spirit for many years at the Conferences on Physics which started from a small basis and then expanded into international scope.
For this meeting Oppenheimer wrote the outline of topics for discussion entitled "The foundations of quantum mechanics".
As was to happen so often in the following years, Oppenheimer showed himself to be the three-fold master: by stressing the important problems, by directing the discussion and by summarizing the findings. In the discussion of this point, Robert Marshak got up to propose that there should be two kinds of mesons. It was, one may recall, in September of that year that Cecil F. The Shelter Island Conference witnessed the opening of a new chapter in quantum electrodynamics.
Willis Lamb, one of Oppenheimer's Ph. D students , gave an ac-. Rabi reported on a deviation in the hyper-fine structure of hydrogen and deuterium from theory.
Immediately Oppenheimer emphasized that here one might be faced with self-energy effects. This subject was close to his mind: as early as he had been concerned with atomic level displacements due to radiative effects.
Oppenheimer's remarks, and a talk by Kramers, stimulated me, immediately after the Shelter Island Conference, to explain the Lamb shift as a residual self-energy effect due to the interaction of the electron with the electromagnetic field. My theory was only non-relativistic. But at the next conference, at Pocono Manor in April , Schwinger and Feynman discussed their different, relativistic solutions for the self-energy effects.
The Old-Stone-On-Hudson meeting, a year later, discussed further development of the theory. At these conferences Oppenheimer was the undisputed leader. Pais found some comments in old notes from the Pocono Conference.
By Oppenheimer: 'Now it doesn't matter that things are infinite. Oppenheimer continued to play a leading role in the Conferences, which from then on developed into the Rochester Conferences. The latter soon became international. They were among the first conferences which brought together the scientists from East and West.
And they have continued to do so, through easy and difficult political times. This role of science to bring together people of different countries and different political opinions, was very much Oppie's desire.
Thus, when in the American Institute of Physics inaugurated a new journal, Physics Today, the dialogue between theory and experiment was symbolized on the cover of its first issue by a picture of a pork-pie sombrero, Oppenheimer's well-known symbol, tossed on a cyclotron. When in the Scientific American devoted an issue to summarize that incredibly full half-century in science, , it was fitting that Oppenheimer should write its general introduction.
In the 's, the Institute at Princeton continued to play its leading role. One of the main problems was the profusion of new particles which had been discovered. Pais was one of the men who brought some order into this chaos.
Astrophysics and statistical mechanics were also successfully pursued at the Institute. Oppenheimer was always there to stimulate, criticize, encourage and clarify. Even to the last days I saw him a few months before his death, when he was already very ill he followed all of particle and theoretical physics with avidity, and discussed the problems with profundity, and with curiosity about the next step. Ever since the Second World War, Oppenheimer's own writings and talks were concerned with general subjects rather than with physics.
There is an impressive list of them, about He was invited to give lectures at many universities, and in other distinguished settings, like the Reith Lectures of the B. In his lectures he cast a spell over his audience with his marvellous command of the English language.
It was a pleasure just to listen to him and watch how he formulated his thoughts. He added much wit and a store of. Probably his greatest concern was the relation between modern science and the general culture of our time. He was troubled that the tremendous increase of knowledge makes it impossible for an intelligent, educated man to cope with even the more important parts of knowledge.
His concern resembled that of C. Snow about the 'two cultures', but was more profound, partly I think because Oppie himself was a creative scientist. He worried about the increasing gap between specialized knowledge and common sense, the increasing gap between neighbouring sciences, and even between different branches within his own science of physics. He said: 'Even in physics we do not entirely succeed in spite of a passion for unity which is very strong.
This activity has again been well summarized by Pais: 'Briefly, then, what Oppenheimer had in mind was this.
First, he addressed himself to what is loosely called the intellectual community. He wished to foster a common understanding primarily within this community. Second, as a example of what in his opinion could profitably be shared, he mentions the lesson of quantum theory which we call complementarity. He wished and in fact tried to explain this lesson to the biologist, the statesman and the artist because he believed that what to the physicist is a technique represents at the same time a general way of thinking that could be liberating to all.
Third, he saw a two-fold duty for our education system. In the face of increasing demands on education we should continue to stress that the cultural life of sciences lies almost entirely in the intimate view of the professional. At the same time, "no man should escape our universities without. As a start, we must learn again, without contempt and with great patience, to talk to one another; and we must hear. As a move toward bridging the gap between various disciplines he invited many psychologists and historians for temporary visits to the Institute.
He talked enthusiastically of the progress psychologists were making in understanding the process of learning. Another subject of great concern to him was atomic power and the politics related to it. He gave many lectures on this, before colleges, general audiences and to young people. He wrote about it in the prestigious journal Foreign Affairs. He discussed the decision to drop the atomic bomb, international control of atomic energy, and Secretary Stimson's role in the development of the bomb.
His opinion was always moderate; he thought that the development of the bomb and its drop had been inevitable, but that the world should make every effort that the bomb should not be used again. He also wrote about specific subjects, such as the functions of the International Agency on Atomic Energy to which he was much devoted. Some of his writings are in response to the many honours he received, and the many interviews he was asked to give. Others are personal tributes to other scientists: he was a very good friend who would not forget his friends.
Other writings are predictions of the development of physics in the future, summaries of conferences and of develop-. His reputation as a scientist and a symbol was at least as great in Great Britain and France as it was in the United States. He paid frequent visits to both countries, and was much honoured in both. Again I would like to quote Pais: 'Any single one of the following contributions would have marked Oppenheimer out as a pre-eminent scientist: his own research work in physics; his influence as a teacher; his leadership at Los Alamos; the growth of the Institute for Advanced Study to a leading centre of theoretical physics under his directorship; and his efforts to promote a more common understanding of science.
When all is combined, we honour Oppenheimer as a great leader of science in our time. When all is interwoven with the dramatic events that centred around him, we remember Oppenheimer as one of the most remarkable personalities of this century. Oppenheimer will be remembered by the world and by his country.
He will leave a lasting memory in all the scientists who have worked with him, and in the many who have passed through his school and whose taste in physics was formed by him.
His was a truly brilliant mind, best described by his long-time associate Charles Lauritsen: 'This man was unbelievable. He always gave you the answer before you had time to formulate the question.
Quantum theory and intensity distribution in continuous spectra. Nature, Lond. On the quantum theory of vibration-rotation bands. On the quantum theory of the problem of the two bodies.
Quantentheorie des kontinuierlichen Absorptionsspektrums. Naturwissenschaften , 14, On the quantum theory of the polarization of impactradiation. Zur Quantentheorie kontinuierlicher Spektren.
With M. Zur Quantentheorie der Molekeln. Three notes on the quantum theory of aperiodic effects. On the quantum theory of the capture of electrons. On the quantum theory of electronic impacts.
On the quantum theory of the Ramsauer effect. On the quantum theory of the autoelectric field currents. Uber die Strahlung der Freien Elektronen im Coulombfeld. With Harvey Hall. Why does molecular hydrogen reach equilibrium so slowly? Note on the theory of the interaction of field and matter. Two notes on the probability of radiative transitions.
Selection rules and the angular momentum of light quanta. With P. Note on the statistics of nuclei. Relativistic theory of the photoelectric effect by Harvey Hall: Part II--Photoelectric absorption of ultragamma radiation.
Note on light quanta and the electromagnetic field. With J. On the range of fast electrons and neutrons. Impacts of fast electrons and magnetic neutrons. The production of the positive electron. With Leo Nedelsky. The production of positives by nuclear gamma-rays. With W. On the theory of the electron and positive. On the limitation of the theory of the positron. With C. On the scattering of Th C" gamma-rays. Are the formulae for the absorption of high energy radiation valid? Notes on the production of pairs by charged particles.
The disintegration of the deuteron by impact. Note on the transmutation function for deuterons. On the elementary interpretation of showers and bursts. With Robert Serber.
The density of nuclear levels. On multiplicative showers. With G. Nordheim, L. The disintegration of high energy protons. With R. Note on the nature of cosmic ray particles. With F. Note on nuclear photo effect at high energies. Note on resonances in transmutations of light nuclei. Note on boron plus proton reactions. On the stability of stellar neutron cores. On massive neutron cores. Groves and J. Robert Oppenheimer after the successful Trinity test J.
Robert Oppenheimer J. Robert Oppenheimer and Gregory Breit. Ernest Lawrence, Glenn Seaborg, and J. Robert Oppenheimer John von Neumann, J. Related Profiles Leroy M Hartmann. Henry F. Reginald C. Captain, Alsos Mission. Esther Turovlin. Secretary, Chicago, IL.
Shirley Lewallen. Typist, Hanford, WA. Franklin Matthias. Gilbert Church. Crawford Greenewalt. Franklin Delano Roosevelt. Harry S. Major Charles W. Glenn Seaborg.
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