edward, after what you just said, i don t know what that means. nolan: he was obviously a very, very brilliant man, but i think he may have underestimated the power of the establishment, the machine, and the inability of one individual to stand against that. bird: the result was to be expected. (fanfare plays) tv announcer: dr. j. robert oppenheimer, the famous scientist whose suspension this week by the atomic energy commission surprised the nation. they voted to strip oppenheimer of his security clearance. this was front-page news in the newspapers across the country. that he had recommended communists who are working the a-bomb, h-bomb plans. his wife, uh, admittedly was, uh,
touch the very basis of our morality. and the committee decision was basically, no, we shouldn t build the hydrogen bomb. if we are guided by fear alone, we ll fail in this time of crisis. the answer to fear sometimes lies in courage. wellerstein: oppenheimer s opposition of the h-bomb was taken very hard by people who were in favor for it. rhodes: the air force wanted more and more bombs and bigger and bigger bombs. the bigger the bomb, in terms of its yield, the more damage one plane could do. herken: the strategic air command was focused upon blowing up the soviet union. oppenheimer said a smarter move would be to put resources into intercepting soviet bombers. rhodes: he was going just the opposite direction from what the air force wanted. they wanted him out. they wanted to get rid of him.
wellerstein: the deck is stacked against him, and it s ugly. they re wiretapping his conversations with his lawyer illegally and giving it to the prosecution so that they know exactly what s gonna happen. they are able to look at classified fbi files. he is not because he doesn t have a clearance, and he can t look at his own fbi file as a result. rhodes: oppenheimer s involvement with jean tatlock, the question of whether his brother had been a communis and still was, those were the things they pulled out of the files. conant: one of the most damning pieces of evidence that was brought out was the fact that, during the war, there had been a conversation at his home in berkeley with haakon chevalier, his old friend, who had mentioned to him that there was a way perhaps that he could leak information about the atomic project he was working on to soviet officials. now, oppenheimer had dismissed it at the time,
touch the very basis of our morality. and the committee decision was basically, no, we shouldn t build the hydrogen bomb. if we are guided by fear alone, we ll fail in this time of crisis. the answer to fear sometimes lies in courage. wellerstein: oppenheimer s opposition of the h-bomb was taken very hard by people who were in favor for it. rhodes: the air force wanted more and more bombs and bigger and bigger bombs. the bigger the bomb, in terms of its yield, the more damage one plane could do. herken: the strategic air command was focused upon blowing up the soviet union. oppenheimer said a smarter move would be to put resources into intercepting soviet bombers. rhodes: he was going just the opposite direction from what the air force wanted. they wanted him out. they wanted to get rid of him.
important caveat? that irreversible change which is an important caveat? irreversible change which is an important caveat? that is one of the most frightening important caveat? that is one of the most frightening things important caveat? that is one of the most frightening things about - important caveat? that is one of the most frightening things about these | most frightening things about these moments. seeing and recognising the moments. seeing and recognising the moment is key. what is fascinating, scientists have looked for a place on earth where you can put the spike into the ground. that point has been found. there has been great discussion because there are multiple sites around the globe and there has been discussion as to where that point in time would be. the beginning of the industrial revolution in the 18th century, whether it is more recent. they have chosen a date from the 1950s, which is a function of what basically humans have left around the globe as a marker and