Sunday, September 30, 2012

"Now we're all sons of bitches"

                                             (Courtesy of www.Youtube.com)


                This man is J. Robert Oppenheimer, also known as the father of the atomic bomb.  The film clip shows an interview with him speaking on the detonation of the first atomic bomb. Through his facial expression and words you can truly feel his regret and fear he has for his child (the atomic bomb).  On July 16th 1945, the first bomb was launched, and less than one month later two more were used in World War II. The government came to Oppenheimer, wanting him to help create a stronger, more powerful bomb. As you can see from this film, Oppenheimer had no desire to do so, if anything he'd want only to create a time machine. (See my first entry about Braid!) In my opinion, Oppenheimer stayed close to the bomb, wanting to make sure that it's power was checked. However, in 1953, during the "Red Scare", Oppenheimer was stripped of his government clearance, due to claims of having affiliation with the communist party. It is true that he did have friends who were communists, but I feel that the government didn't want him near the atomic bombs anymore. Why you might ask? To that I am uncertain, but it may be because how he was against developing the technology further and may speak out against it.

            It is sad that a man who has a deep love of science and invention dubs himself a monster. " I am become death, a destroyer of worlds", this quote is beautiful and sad. It makes me wonder if he truly knew what he was doing while creating the bomb, but it just didn't click until detonation. Maybe what he saw was more powerful then what his imagination conjured. Perhaps once he saw the raw power, he realized that it wasn't his and completely out of his hands. We have learned from this video how Oppenheimer feels, but I am intrigued to know exactly how and why he feels this way. For now, I only have speculations. 


"Science is not everything, but science is very beautiful." - J. Robert Oppenheimer 





http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/aso/databank/entries/baoppe.html

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