Doctor Atomic: The History, Science and Scientists of the Bomb

Part of the Science & the Arts Series at CUNY's Graduate Center, this is the first of five symposia produced in collaboration with the Metropolitan Opera, which in 2008 presented "Dr. Atomic", a new opera by John Adams, which centers on the moral dilemmas surrounding the development and use of the atom bomb in World War II. Adams comments and historians Richard Rhodes and Robert S. Norris, along with physicist Norman Ramsey, discuss the science and politics behind the bomb and the decision to use it. CUNY Chancellor Matthew Goldstein moderates

Category:

Education

Tags:

• CUNY
• Atom
• Bomb
• John
• Adams
• Science
• Opera

[bluespaceoddity]

... Then we circled Hiroshima, and there was just one enormous flat, rust-red scar, and no green or gray, because there were no roofs or vegetation left. I was sure then that nothing I was going to see later would give as me much of a jolt. The rest would be just a matter of details."

It is clear that Morrison made the exact opposite point from the one Rhodes tried to make by paraphrasing his remarks.

[bluespaceoddity]

Contrary to what Richard Rhodes says here, Dr. Philip Morrison didn't refer to similarities but noted differences.

Quote:"… the first and main impact of Hiroshima's destruction had come the day before, when we were flying down there from Tokyo. First we flew over Nagoya, Osaka and Kobe, which had been bombed in the conventional manner, and they looked checkered -patches of red rust where firebombs had hit intermingled with the gray roofs and green vegetation of undamaged sections. ....