Robert Oppenheimer fromHarvard UniversityGraduation ahead of schedule[21], went to Cambridge University in the same yearCavendish Laboratory study;In 1926, he transferred to Germany to study;Obtained in 1927University of Gottingendoctorate;In 1929, he returned to the United States and enteredUniversity of California, BerkeleyTeaching;In 1941, he was elected as an academician of the National Academy of Sciences;In 1942, he was appointed as the chief scientist of the Manhattan Project to develop the atomic bomb[8]；In 1943, he presided over the establishment ofLos Alamos National LaboratoryAnd serve as the director;1945the Second World WarEnter the United States after completionCalifornia Institute of TechnologyCoaching;From 1947 to 1966, he served as the president of Princeton Institute for Advanced Studies;The security franchise was revoked in 1954[10]；He died of laryngeal cancer on February 18, 1967 at the age of 62[3]；On December 16, 2022, the decision to revoke Robert Oppenheimer's security franchise in 1954 will be revoked[18]。
Robert Oppenheimer was born in America on April 22, 1904New YorkA rich German Jewish family, he dabbled in literature, philosophy, language and other fields when he was young, and initially received education in the Alcuin Preparatory School.
In 1911, he entered the Ethical Culture Fieldstone School in New York, completed the third and fourth grades in one year, and skipped a semester of the eighth grade[2]。
In 1921, he graduated from Feldstone School of Arts and Sciences with ten honors;In the same year, due toCzechoslovakia's family contracted colitis during their vacation, and laterNew MexicoRehabilitated, thus delaying the entrance to university for one year.
In 1922, he entered the chemistry department of Harvard University to study[32], was admitted by the Phi Beta Kappa during his undergraduate period, and obtained the physics graduate qualification on the basis of independent study.
In 1925, he graduated from Harvard University in advance as an honorary student;In the same year, I went to Cambridge University in England for further studyErnest Rutherford Ernest Rutherford was engaged in experimental physics research, but Ernest Rutherford was unwilling to accept him as a student, so he began to study theoretical physics and joinedCavendish Laboratory Cavendish LaboratoryJoseph John Thomson （Joseph John Thomson）。
In 1926, it was transferred to GermanyUniversity of Gottingen(George August-Universit ä t G ö ttingen), followMax Born (Max Born) engaged in research.
In 1927, he graduated from the University of Gottingen in Germany and obtained a doctor's degree in physicsZurich(Z ü rich) and Leiden in the Netherlands.
In the summer of 1929, he returned to the United States and was infectedpulmonary tuberculosis, recuperate on a farm near Los Alamos, New Mexico;In the same year, enteringUniversity of California, Berkeley(University of California, Berkeley) taught and founded the "Oppenheimer Center for Theoretical Physics".
Oppenheimer and Yang Zhenning
In 1941, he was elected as a member of the National Academy of Sciences.
In August 1942, he was appointed to develop the atomic bomb“Manhattan Project (Manhattan Project).
In 1943, he presided over the establishment of the Los Alamos Laboratory in the desert of New Mexico and served as the director. Edward Teller assisted Robert Oppenheimer in organizing the team working in Los Alamos[3]。
In July 1945, he led the production of the world's first atomic bomb;In October, he resigned as the director of Los Alamos Laboratory[30]After that, he briefly taught at the California Institute of Technology.
In 1954,Dwight David Eisenhower (Dwight David Eisenhower) "indicted him on the charge of his early leftist activities and delaying the government's strategic decision to develop the hydrogen bomb, and even suspected that he was an agent of the Soviet Union", reviewed Robert Oppenheimer's security and revoked his security franchise[10]。
In 1965, he suffered from hepatitis and was in poor health.
In 1966, he retired from Princeton Institute of Advanced Studies and soon found thatCarcinoma of upper larynx[30]。
On February 18, 1967, he died of throat cancer in Princeton, New Jersey, at the age of 62. He was cremated and his ashes were scatteredBritish Virgin Islands（The British Virgin Islands）[7]。
Key achievements
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Scientific research achievements
Overview of scientific research
Robert Oppenheimer has done some work in theoretical astronomy, nuclear physics, spectroscopy and quantum field theory (including quantum electrodynamics).He andMax Born Wave proposed Born Oppenheimer approximation to describe molecular wave functions[23]。
Robert Oppenheimer's initial research focus was the continuous spectrum theory. His first paper published in 1926 was the quantum theory of molecular spectrum.He invented a method to calculate the energy level transition probability, and applied it to the electro-optic effect phenomenon of hydrogen emitting X-ray, and calculated the absorption coefficient of the K edge.The calculated results of hydrogen are consistent with the X-ray absorption spectrum of the sun, but the calculated results of helium are not consistent.Scientists found that the main component of the sun is hydrogen years later, which means his calculations have always been correct[24]。
Robert Oppenheimer has done some work on the theory of cosmic rays, and has begun to describe the quantum tunneling effect.In 1931, he and student Harvey Hall published the Quantum Theory of Electro optical Effect, which correctly overturned Dirac's claim that two energy levels of hydrogen atom have the same energy through experimental evidence[25]。
Robert Oppenheimer and his doctoral student Melba Phillips calculated the artificial radioactivity produced by deuteron bombardment.In 1935, they came up with a more powerful new theory called Oppenheimer Phillips process[26]。
At the end of 1930, Robert Oppenheimer began to study astrophysics. In 1938, he and Robert Thurber jointly published "On the Stability of Neutron Stellar Nuclei", which discussed the properties of white dwarfs[27]。Then, he and student George Volkov published On the Nucleus of Large Mass Neutron Stars, which proved that a stable neutron star has a certain mass limit, and once it exceeds, it will collapse gravitationally, which is the so-called Tolman Oppenheimer Volkov[29]。In 1939, he and student Hartland Snyder published On the Continuous Gravitational Attraction to predict the existence of black holes[28]。
When Robert Oppenheimer was the director of the Manhattan Program, in addition to dealing with macro strategic and specific tactical issues, he also directed more than 3000 people to conduct top secret research in different locations[5]。
Academic treatise
Robert Oppenheimer spent his life in Physical Review《Bulletin of Atomic Scientists (Bulletin of the Atomic Sciences) and other academic journals. The representative papers are as follows[16]：
Oppenheimer J R. On the quantum theory of the capture of electrons[J]. Physical Review, 1928, 31(3): 349.
Oppenheimer J R. On the quantum theory of electronic impacts[J]. Physical Review, 1928, 32(3): 361.
Oppenheimer J R. Note on the theory of the interaction of field and matter[J]. Physical Review, 1930, 35(5): 461.
Oppenheimer J R. On the theory of electrons and protons[J]. Physical Review, 1930, 35(5): 562.
Oppenheimer J R. Note on light quanta and the electromagnetic field[J]. Physical Review, 1931, 38(4): 725.
Oppenheimer J R, Plesset M S. On the production of the positive electron[J]. Physical Review, 1933, 44(1): 53.
Oppenheimer J R, Phillips M. Note on the transmutation function for deuterons[J]. Physical Review, 1935, 48(6): 500.
Oppenheimer J R, Serber R. On the stability of stellar neutron cores[J]. Physical Review, 1938, 54(7): 540.
Oppenheimer J R, Volkoff G M. On massive neutron cores[J]. Physical Review, 1939, 55(4): 374.
Oppenheimer J R, Snyder H. On continued gravitational contraction[J]. Physical Review, 1939, 56(5): 455.
Oppenheimer J R. Physics in the contemporary world[J]. Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, 1948, 4(3): 65-86.
Oppenheimer J R. Atomic weapons and American policy[J]. Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, 1953, 9(6): 202-205.
Oppenheimer J R. Science and common understanding[J]. Theoria: An International Journal for Theory, History and Foundations of Science, 1954, 2(7/8): 225-232.
Oppenheimer J R. Prospects in the Arts and Sciences[J]. Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, 1955, 11(2): 42-44.
personnel training
Instruct students
Robert Oppenheimer has supervised many graduate students at the University of California, Berkeley in his lifetime. The details are as follows:
full name
school
type
remarks
David Bohm[13]
University of California, Berkeley
Doctor
In 1990, he was elected as a member of the Royal Society
Robert Christy[14]
University of California, Berkeley
Doctor
In 1965, he was elected as a member of the National Academy of Sciences[15]
Chairman of the General Advisory Committee of the United States Atomic Energy Commission[4]
Personal life
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Family background
Julius Seligmann Oppenheimer, Robert Oppenheimer's father, was a German Jew who immigrated to the United States when he was young and later became rich in the textile industry;Mother Ella Friedman, a painter, died in 1931[31]；younger brotherFrank OppenheimerFrank Oppenheimer is also a physicist and founded the Exploratorium science museum in San Francisco.In 1937, Robert Oppenheimer's father died, leaving him an inheritance of $300000.[30]
Emotional marriage
In 1936, Robert Oppenheimer pursued Jean Tatlock, a female student studying neurology[9]。
In 1940, Robert Oppenheimer and Katherine Harrison, a biologist and botanist (renamed after marriage:Katie Oppenheimer）After marriage, he has two children, Peter and Toni.
Character evaluation
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Robert Oppenheimer is widely recognized as the "father of the atomic bomb."[5]。(National Academy of Sciences)
Robert Oppenheimer was brilliant and comprehensive, playing an important role in the success of the Manhattan Project[6]。(Los Alamos National Laboratory Review)
J. Robert Oppenheimer made not just the vital contributions to physics, but to the national security interests of the United States[10]。(American Physical Society)
Character controversy
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Oppenheimer case
191950smccarthyismRobert Oppenheimer became more and more suspicious because he knew several communists in the 1930s, and some of his friends were identified as Soviet agents in an investigation in 1942, in addition to opposing the manufacture of hydrogen bombs.In 1952, the Atomic Energy Commission of the United States prepared a document on Oppenheimer's suspected suspicious activities, and in December sent a representative to delete all secret documents related to the General Advisory Committee of the Atomic Energy Commission of the United States from Robert Oppenheimer's Princeton office.
In December 1953,American Atomic Energy CommissionIn the security hearing, it was announced that he had no treason, but it was ruled that he should not contact military secrets, and he was terminated as an adviser to the Atomic Energy Commission of the United States.
In June 1954, he was revoked his security clearance on the grounds of "fundamental defects of character" and that since 1942, he had "far exceeded the tolerance limit of prudence and self-restraint expected by those holding senior positions" in the Communist Association（far beyond the tolerable limits of prudence and self-restraint which are to be expected of one holding the high positions）[10]。
The American Federation of Scientists protested against his review and believed that he wasmccarthyismA victim of.John Kennedy(John Kennedy), after becoming President, proposed that he issue“Fermi Award(Fermi Award), and decided to award him the 1963 Fermi Award and attend the ceremony in person.But John Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas, Texas, on November 23, 1963, 10 days before the ceremony[11]。Succession to PresidentLyndon Baines Johnson (Lyndon Baines Johnson) awarded Oppenheimer a Fermi Prize and a prize of 50000 dollars in the same year, but it was only a formal restoration of reputation, and he was still not allowed to intervene in military secrets[12]。
Secretary of Energy, December 16, 2022Jennifer Granholm(Jennifer Granholm) Order to revoke the decision of revoking Robert Oppenheimer's security permit in 1954[17-18]。
Commemoration for future generations
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Oppenheimer Excellence Award
The J. Robert Oppenheimer Distinguished Fellowship is the highest award set up by the National Laboratory of the United States, which is open to the world. It rewards outstanding young scientists who have made achievements in physics, chemistry, biology, materials, energy and environment and have the potential to become academic leaders in various fields. There are no more than two winners every year in the world[1]。
The film Oppenheimer
《OppenheimerOppenheimer is a biographical thriller co produced by the United States and Britain in 2023Christopher NolanWriter and director, adapted from the biography American Prometheus:[22]。
