Interview with Hans Bethe, 1986 [2]
Item Information
- Title:
- Interview with Hans Bethe, 1986 [2]
- Description:
-
A Nobel Laureate in physics, Hans Bethe served as Director of Theoretical Physics for the Manhattan Project from 1943-1946, and later worked on the hydrogen bomb, among other activities. Before and since, he was a Professor of Physics at Cornell University. In this interview, he focuses largely on events surrounding the hydrogen bomb, but also touches on fission and other issues. After noting his thoughts about peacetime uses of nuclear weapons he describes the process of developing fission weapons and the problems involved. He also describes the differences between fission and fusion. Several questions in the interview deal with Soviet activities, including their successful test of an atomic bomb and program to develop a thermonuclear one. He was not surprised by either and argued that the West should not be overly worried about the Soviet program. He recounts how President Truman, by contrast, was surprised and alarmed, a reaction he ascribes to the information his political and military advisers were giving him. He recalls the vocal debate in the U.S. over developing a hydrogen bomb, a device he calls a calamity. He then goes into a description of what makes a successful H-bomb, and of the relative roles of Edward Teller and Stanislaw Ulam in its initial development. Two events from 1951 are discussed the Princeton Conference, at which Tellers invention was revealed, and the Greenhouse tests. The final questions relate to the Robert Oppenheimer hearings, which he deeply laments, calling Oppenheimer a sacrificial lamb who saved all the rest of us referring to the Atomic Energy Commissions apparent decision no longer to attack scientists but to try to conciliate them instead.
- Interviewee:
- Bethe, Hans A. (Hans Albrecht), 1906-2005
- Date:
-
March 12, 1986
- Format:
-
Film/Video
- Location:
- WGBH
- Collection (local):
-
WGBH Open Vault
- Series:
- War and Peace in the Nuclear Age
- Subjects:
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Nuclear weapons--Testing
Ulam, Stanislaw
Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory
Hydrogen bomb
Communism
Nuclear fission
U.S. Atomic Energy Commission
Nuclear weapons
Strauss, Lewis
United States. Congress. Joint Committee on Atomic Energy
Nuclear fusion
U.S. Atomic Energy Commission. General Advisory Committee
Lawrence Livermore Laboratory
Soviet Union
Teller, Edward, 1908-2003
Truman, Harry S., 1884-1972
Oppenheimer, J. Robert, 1904-1967
Bradbury, Norris, 1909-1997
McCarthy, Joseph, 1908-1957
Fuchs, Klaus Emil Julius, 1911-1988
Khrushchev, Nikita Sergeevich, 1894-1971
Acheson, Dean, 1893-1971
- Places:
-
New York > Tompkins (county) > Ithaca
- Extent:
- 01:10:17:23
- Link to Item:
- https://openvault.wgbh.org/catalog/V_323406FC7E3A40E8BCA0F3C78D89EDB9
- Terms of Use:
-
Rights status not evaluated.
Contact host institution for more information.
- Publisher:
-
WGBH Educational Foundation
- Identifier:
-
V_323406FC7E3A40E8BCA0F3C78D89EDB9