Einstein and Oppenheimer: The True History of the Creation of the Atomic Bomb

The atomic age began when scientist Leo Szilard wrote, and Albert Einstein signed a famous letter to President Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1939. On July 16, 1945, the United States Army, at what is now the White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico, tested “The Gadget.” Lead scientist, Robert Oppenheimer, named this site “Trinity,” and this first explosion equal to 22 kilotons of TNT, created the “radiance of a thousand suns,” and brought the world into the age of nuclear war.

This is the incredible story of the history and development of the atomic theory, the creation of the Manhattan Project, the intrigue behind the plans to drop the first atomic bombs, and the industrial and scientific efforts that brought the world into the atomic age.

This course is led by Herb Kaufman.

Tuesday, November 4 & 18, 1:00pm • $25/2 sessions