"I AM BECOME DEATH, DESTROYER OF WORLDS"

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Julius Robert Oppenheimer was a physicist, scientist and government public figure who spearheaded the Manhattan project in the Second World War and is hence known as ‘the father of the atomic bomb’.  Oppenheimer was highly intellectual from an early age and excelled in his education; he found it easy to grasp complex scientific and humanitarian theories and was keen to further his research into pushing the boundaries of what was known about subjects such as theoretical astronomy and nuclear physics. As the second world war raged on,  Oppenheimer  was selected to take over work looking into the eventual creation of an atomic bomb along with a group of elite scientists,  and in turn was given the role of head of the Manhattan projects secret weapons laboratory by General Leslie Groves which was seen as a risky move considering Oppenheimer’s lack of leadership history, but Groves knew he possessed the necessary breadth of knowledge and understanding of the subjects in hand , they set up the laboratory in a vast open space in New Mexico.  After 3 years of research efforts Oppenheimer and his team were ready to test a small atom bomb at a site he named Trinity, and it was after witnessing the success of the explosion that Oppenheimer would later restate he thought of the Hindu scripture and personal translation of the quote ‘I am become death, destroyer of worlds’. After the dropping of the two atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki which created large-scale destruction and effectively ended the war, forcing Japan to surrender, Oppenheimer started to question the morality of his creation and realised that he had been so wrapped up in the scientific progression that he had not thought about the unthinkable devastation it would bring despite now being relatively well known for leading the project. Oppenheimer voiced his opposition to the continued nuclear weapon research and intent to create a hydrogen bomb which would be a lot more powerful and damaging than the atom bomb, and was investigated by the government thereafter as he had previously shown communist sympathies while a Professor at Berkeley and with the recommendation of his former colleague Edward Teller had his security clearance stripped and was effectively no longer any part of the government.