The Smyth Report
Japan surrendered on August 15, 1945. Following years of incredibly tight security on the Manhattan Project, the United States government felt compelled to tell the public at least part of its story. The document Atomic Energy for Military Purposes: The Official Report on the Development of the Atomic Bomb Under the Auspices of the United States Government, 1940-1945 did just that. It was nicknamed for its author, Henry De Wolf Smyth.
Its purpose was to satisfy public curiosity, but it had another part to play. The information about the bomb that was disclosed in the document established for nuclear physicists what part of their work they could discuss. Any technical information not mentioned in the booklet was still considered confidential by the government.
Part of the General Summary section of the document read:
"A weapon has been developed that is potentially destructive beyond the wildest nightmares of the imagination; a weapon so ideally suited to sudden unannounced attack that a country's major cities might be destroyed overnight by an ostensibly friendly power. This weapon has been created not by the devilish inspiration of some warped genius but by the arduous labor of thousands of normal men and women working for the safety of their country. Many of the principles that have been used were well known to the international scientific world in 1940. To develop the necessary industrial processes from these principles has been costly in time, effort, and money, but the processes which we selected for serious effort have worked and several that we have not chosen could probably be made to work. We have an initial advantage in time because, so far as we know, other countries have not been able to carry out parallel developments during the war period. We also have a general advantage in scientific and particularly in industrial strength, but such an advantage can easily be thrown away."
This report stunned many Americans. They could not believe that the government had been able to carry out a 2 billion dollar project involving about 120,000 people, 25 universities, and 37 industrial enterprises entirely in secret. Also, many of the employees at the facilities in Oak Ridge, Hanford, and Los Alamos had been kept in the dark about what they were working on. Until the Smyth report was released, they had been unaware of their contributions to the creation of the atomic bomb.
Japan surrendered on August 15, 1945. Following years of incredibly tight security on the Manhattan Project, the United States government felt compelled to tell the public at least part of its story. The document Atomic Energy for Military Purposes: The Official Report on the Development of the Atomic Bomb Under the Auspices of the United States Government, 1940-1945 did just that. It was nicknamed for its author, Henry De Wolf Smyth.
Its purpose was to satisfy public curiosity, but it had another part to play. The information about the bomb that was disclosed in the document established for nuclear physicists what part of their work they could discuss. Any technical information not mentioned in the booklet was still considered confidential by the government.
Part of the General Summary section of the document read:
"A weapon has been developed that is potentially destructive beyond the wildest nightmares of the imagination; a weapon so ideally suited to sudden unannounced attack that a country's major cities might be destroyed overnight by an ostensibly friendly power. This weapon has been created not by the devilish inspiration of some warped genius but by the arduous labor of thousands of normal men and women working for the safety of their country. Many of the principles that have been used were well known to the international scientific world in 1940. To develop the necessary industrial processes from these principles has been costly in time, effort, and money, but the processes which we selected for serious effort have worked and several that we have not chosen could probably be made to work. We have an initial advantage in time because, so far as we know, other countries have not been able to carry out parallel developments during the war period. We also have a general advantage in scientific and particularly in industrial strength, but such an advantage can easily be thrown away."
This report stunned many Americans. They could not believe that the government had been able to carry out a 2 billion dollar project involving about 120,000 people, 25 universities, and 37 industrial enterprises entirely in secret. Also, many of the employees at the facilities in Oak Ridge, Hanford, and Los Alamos had been kept in the dark about what they were working on. Until the Smyth report was released, they had been unaware of their contributions to the creation of the atomic bomb.
Back at Los Alamos
In October of 1945, General Groves returned to Los Alamos to award the laboratory a certificate of appreciation from the secretary of war. On November 2, Oppenheimer gave a speech for the occasion. He spoke about the challenges we faced now that the atomic bomb had arrived in the world with "a shattering reality." Among other things, he spoke of the inevitability of the bomb. "If you are a scientist you believe that it is good to find out how the world works; that it is good to find out what the realities are..." This helped ease my guilt a little bit, believing that no matter what I had done, the atomic bomb would have eventually come about. Oppie also mentioned that new approaches were needed to govern atomic energy, for it was "too revolutionary to consider in the framework of old ideas."
He said, "I think that we have no hope at all if we yield in our belief in the value of science, in the good it can be to the world to know about reality, about nature, to attain a gradually greater and greater control of nature, to learn, to teach, to understand. I think that if we lose our faith in this we stop being scientists, we sell out our heritage, we lose what we have most of value for this time of crisis."
I honestly think Oppie was inspired to give that speech. I had lost my sense of purpose after the bombings in Japan. I wasn't sure what to think of myself, and I was seriously considering giving up science as a career (even though it would have broken my spirit to do so).
However, even though I decided to continue my research, I was not to do so at Los Alamos. After its wartime goals had been achieved, the Manhattan Project began to dissolve. Most of the Project's scientists returned to civilian university posts. I was invited to join the staff of Chicago's new Institute for Nuclear Studies. There I would once again be working with Enrico Fermi. Oppie resigned from his post as director at Los Alamos, and he was replaced by the U.S. Navy physicist Norris Bradbury.
On August 1, 1946, the Atomic Energy Act was signed into law. This act established the United States Atomic Energy Commission (AEC), which took on the responsibilities of the Manhattan Engineer District. On August 15, 1947, the Manhattan Project officially came to an end.
In October of 1945, General Groves returned to Los Alamos to award the laboratory a certificate of appreciation from the secretary of war. On November 2, Oppenheimer gave a speech for the occasion. He spoke about the challenges we faced now that the atomic bomb had arrived in the world with "a shattering reality." Among other things, he spoke of the inevitability of the bomb. "If you are a scientist you believe that it is good to find out how the world works; that it is good to find out what the realities are..." This helped ease my guilt a little bit, believing that no matter what I had done, the atomic bomb would have eventually come about. Oppie also mentioned that new approaches were needed to govern atomic energy, for it was "too revolutionary to consider in the framework of old ideas."
He said, "I think that we have no hope at all if we yield in our belief in the value of science, in the good it can be to the world to know about reality, about nature, to attain a gradually greater and greater control of nature, to learn, to teach, to understand. I think that if we lose our faith in this we stop being scientists, we sell out our heritage, we lose what we have most of value for this time of crisis."
I honestly think Oppie was inspired to give that speech. I had lost my sense of purpose after the bombings in Japan. I wasn't sure what to think of myself, and I was seriously considering giving up science as a career (even though it would have broken my spirit to do so).
However, even though I decided to continue my research, I was not to do so at Los Alamos. After its wartime goals had been achieved, the Manhattan Project began to dissolve. Most of the Project's scientists returned to civilian university posts. I was invited to join the staff of Chicago's new Institute for Nuclear Studies. There I would once again be working with Enrico Fermi. Oppie resigned from his post as director at Los Alamos, and he was replaced by the U.S. Navy physicist Norris Bradbury.
On August 1, 1946, the Atomic Energy Act was signed into law. This act established the United States Atomic Energy Commission (AEC), which took on the responsibilities of the Manhattan Engineer District. On August 15, 1947, the Manhattan Project officially came to an end.