Yang Zhenning and the Scientists in the Movie Oppenheimer

Recently, the movie "Oppenheimer" premiered, showcasing the legendary life of "Father of the Atomic Bomb" Oppenheimer. Interestingly, "Oppenheimer and Yang Zhenning" once made it to the internet hot search. Some viewers have discovered that Yang Zhenning has a connection with many scientists in the movie.

The Friendship between Oppenheimer and Yang Zhenning

Yang Zhenning went to study in the United States with the intention of joining Enrico Fermi, the father of atomic energy. In 1945, Yang Zhenning went to Columbia University to search for Fermi, but was unsuccessful. He then decided to go to Princeton University in New Jersey to search for Eugene Wigner, who studied symmetry problems and proposed the law of conservation of isospin. Unfortunately, due to the upcoming academic vacation, Wigner was unable to start classes or lead students during the academic year, and could only recommend John Wheeler, a student of Niels Bohr and renowned for his research on nuclear fission droplet models, to Yang Zhenning. While hesitating whether to pursue a PhD with Wheeler, Zhang Wenyu, a professor at Southwest Associated University, happened to be a visiting professor at Princeton University. Yang Zhenning learned from him that Fermi was about to teach at the University of Chicago, so he ultimately decided to pursue a PhD at the University of Chicago.

In January 1946, Yang Zhenning finally met Fermi at the University of Chicago. But at this time, Fermi was still working at the Argonne National Laboratory, and Yang Zhenning was unable to enter due to his international student status. Fermi introduced it to Samuel Allison, who studies experimental physics, and Edward Taylor, who studies theoretical physics.

Like Oppenheimer, who is not good at experiments in the film, Yang Zhenning also stumbled and bumped in Allison's laboratory. Due to the unsuccessful progress of the experiment, Yang Zhenning followed Taylor's advice and switched to theoretical physics.

In June 1948, under the guidance of his mentor Taylor, Yang Zhenning obtained his doctoral degree by defending a ten page symmetry research paper.

In the autumn of 1948, Yang Zhenning stayed at the Department of Physics at the University of Chicago as a lecturer. In the summer of 1949, Oppenheimer came to the University of Chicago to give a speech. At this time, Oppenheimer had already served as the Dean of the Princeton Institute of Advanced Studies, continuing to showcase his talent in managing outstanding scientists.

After listening to Oppenheimer's report on the renormalization of quantum electrodynamics, Yang Zhenning decided to apply to work at the Princeton Advanced Research Institute and asked Fermi and Taylor to write recommendation letters. Quickly, Oppenheimer sent back the invitation letter, and Yang Zhenning also began his 17 year academic career at Princeton. During this period, he and Li Zhengdao jointly won the Nobel Prize for their research on the law of non conservation of parity.

The brief stay from New York to Princeton, followed by pursuing a doctoral degree in Chicago, and then returning to Princeton to work, witnessed Yang Zhenning's academic growth in three cities.

Helping Taylor and Oppenheimer repair their relationship

When it comes to the big shots in the nuclear physics industry in the United States, one cannot avoid the "father of hydrogen bombs" Taylor, who is also Yang Zhenning's mentor.

Taylor once pursued postdoctoral research under the renowned German physicist Heisenberg, and achieved remarkable results in chemical physics, particularly having a direct impact on Yang Zhenning's research on quasicrystals.

"When the global situation changes, it also affects everyone's development direction," Yang Zhenning once said of Oppenheimer and Taylor in an interview with technology historian Hou Yude.

How did Taylor initiate hydrogen bomb research? According to Yang Zhenning's understanding, Taylor initially worked in the theoretical physics department led by Hans Bate, but due to Taylor's divergent thinking, he often proposed new ideas at work meetings to attract the attention of other young scientists, which slowed down the progress. Bate was greatly troubled by this matter and approached Oppenheimer to discuss it. After considering it, Oppenheimer proposed to Taylor to appoint him to form a separate hydrogen bomb research group, which Taylor gladly accepted. This decision laid the foundation for the proposal of the Taylor Ulam configuration and the successful development of hydrogen bombs in the future.

However, after the successful Soviet atomic bomb test in 1949, the General Advisory Committee of the Atomic Energy Commission, including Fermi, Isido Rabi, and others, chaired by Oppenheimer, submitted a report to the President opposing the development of hydrogen bombs. This move undoubtedly made Taylor and Ernest Lawrence, who were actively promoting the development of hydrogen bombs, dissatisfied with Oppenheimer. Taylor also attributed the rejection of recruiting scientists to Oppenheimer's intervention, which became a node in the strained relationship between Oppenheimer and Taylor. We can see in the film that during the 1954 hearing, Fermi made a defense in support of Oppenheimer, while Taylor gave an unfavorable answer to Oppenheimer, which led to Taylor being isolated by the physics community thereafter.

Yang Zhenning once tried to persuade his mentor Taylor to do something to repair the relationship with Oppenheimer. According to Yang Zhenning's recollection, he once suggested Taylor to nominate the Fermi Award for Oppenheimer. In 1963, Oppenheimer won the Fermi Prize, and Taylor wrote a letter to congratulate him and shook hands with him at the award ceremony in December of that year.

In 1965, Oppenheimer announced his decision to resign due to approaching retirement age, his wife's illness, and interpersonal issues, and recommended Yang Zhenning to succeed as the director of the Princeton Institute of Advanced Studies before leaving. After careful consideration, Yang Zhenning declined the invitation and chose to serve as the director of the Institute of Theoretical Physics at the newly established State University of New York at Stony Brook in 1966. The following year, Oppenheimer passed away due to throat cancer.

Having the privilege of being a witness to a period of history

Fermi, Lawrence, Rabbi... There are many Nobel laureates in the movie Oppenheimer. Therefore, whenever we talk about Oppenheimer's achievements, people always wonder why he didn't win the Nobel Prize. Yang Zhenning believes that Oppenheimer's greatest academic contribution in his life was the study of black holes, and it was not until five years after his death that the astronomical community confirmed the existence of black holes. This may be one of the reasons why Oppenheimer missed the Nobel Prize.

Perhaps we don't need to be overly fixated on the Nobel Prize. Sociologist Robert Merton once divided great scientists into five levels - from the first level to the fifth level, they were named as "the era", "the father of the discipline", "laws and other names", "unit names", and "Nobel laureates". Oppenheimer and his mentor Max Born jointly proposed a quantum mechanics equation approximation method called the "Born Oppenheimer approximation". From the perspective of Merton's theory, it can be considered an achievement higher than the Nobel Prize.

In addition, the Manhattan Project, as a military project, requires numerous scientists. Fermi, Wagner, Wheeler, Allison, Taylor, and others were all involved. And Oppenheimer is not only a scientist, but also a successful scientist manager, making outstanding contributions to the success of the Manhattan Project.

Before and after the Manhattan Project, many scientists changed their places of employment. Yang Zhenning was a witness to this period.