The American Atomic Bomb

One of the primary motivations for developing the bomb immediately was the fear that the Germans was do it first. This makes the how they worked harder to develop the bomb after victory in Europe all the more curious. Joseph Rotblat's resignation and statements make it clear that he regarded the directions of the bomb against the Soviet's as a betrayal of what he thought was the motivation of the Manhattan project. Yet, none of the other scientists at Los Alamos took the same stance as him at the time. The scientists wanted to finish the bomb before the war ended, to some extent they wanted the weapon to be used. They wanted to demonstrate their success and the power of the weapon they had created.

Oppenheimer's belief that demonstrating the horrific nature of the bomb would deter future is incredibly naive, but does have some basis in reality. The atomic bomb is regarded with horror and some part of the is because of the results of its use at Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The idea of MAD and the fact that no nuclear weapon has been used since Nagasaki does lend credit to the idea that the world sees the weapon as too horrifying to use except as a last resort.

It is somewhat appalling how the scientists at Los Alamos, by their own admission, were unconcerned with the moral issues of developing the bomb at the time. When using the bomb they didn't attempt to ensure that it was against a military target, to the contrary they wanted it used against a target of great importance that would have a large psychological impact. They in effect endorsed the use of the atomic bomb against a civilian population. The suggestion of using the bomb on a deserted island as a demonstration to the world was shot down.

Oppenheimer argued that it is not the responsibility of scientists to determine how their advanced are used. He surrender all such responsibility to the military and political leaders. All scientists did not agree with him. The Chicago scientists show that many were concerned with the moral aspects and how the government was using science. I wonder how much Oppenheimer belied in his own argument, for he demonstrated obvious guilt over what the bomb had done. Oppenheimer told Truman that he had blood of his hands.