The Real Story of Oppenheimer
12,658,573
Published 2023-07-18
If you want to learn more about Oppenheimer, I strongly recommend the book “American Prometheus” By Kai Bird and Martin Sherwin. It was the inspiration for Christopher Nolan's 2023 film "Oppenheimer", which won multiple awards, including Oscars in 2024 for Best Picture and Best Actor (Cillian Murphy).
If you’re looking for a molecular modeling kit, try Snatoms – a kit I invented where the atoms snap together magnetically – ve42.co/SnatomsV
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A huge thank you to Dr. Martin Rohde and Dr. Antonia Denkova from the TU Delft for proofreading the script and providing valuable feedback.
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References:
Bird, K., & Sherwin, M. J. (2021). American Prometheus: the triumph and tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer. Atlantic Books.
Smith, A. K., & Weiner, C. (1980). Robert Oppenheimer: letters and recollections. Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, 36(5), 19-27. - ve42.co/Smith1980
Combes, J. M., Duclos, P., & Seiler, R. (1981). The born-oppenheimer approximation. Rigorous atomic and molecular physics, 185-213. - ve42.co/Combes1981
Rhodes, R. (2012). The making of the atomic bomb. Simon and Schuster.
Oppenheimer, J. R., & Volkoff, G. M. (1939). On massive neutron cores. Physical Review, 55(4), 374. - ve42.co/Oppenheimer1939b
Oppenheimer, J. R. (1927). Bemerkung zur Zerstreuung der α-Teilchen. Zeitschrift für Physik, 43(5-6), 413-415. - ve42.co/Oppenheimer1927
Oppenheimer, J. R. (1927). Zur quantenmechanik der richtungsentartung. Zeitschrift für Physik, 43(1-2), 27-46. - ve42.co/Oppenheimer1927b
Born, M., & Oppenheimer, R. (1927). Zur Quantentheorie der Molekeln Annalen der Physik, v. 84. - ve42.co/Born1927
Oppenheimer, J. R. (1928). Three notes on the quantum theory of aperiodic effects. Physical review, 31(1), 66.
Oppenheimer, J. R. (1928). On the quantum theory of the capture of electrons. Physical review, 31(3), 349.
Oppenheimer, J. R. (1931). Note on light quanta and the electromagnetic field. Physical Review, 38(4), 725.
Furry, W. H., & Oppenheimer, J. R. (1934). On the theory of the electron and positive. Physical Review, 45(4), 245. - ve42.co/Oppenheimer1934
Oppenheimer, J. R. (1935). Note on charge and field fluctuations. Physical Review, 47(2), 144. - ve42.co/Oppenheimer1935
Oppenheimer, J. R., & Snyder, H. (1939). On continued gravitational contraction. Physical Review, 56(5), 455. - ve42.co/Oppenheimer1939
Oppenheimer, J. R., & Phillips, M. (1935). Note on the transmutation function for deuterons. Physical Review, 48(6), 500. - ve42.co/Oppenheimer1935b
Malik, J. (1985). Yields of the Hiroshima and Nagasaki nuclear explosions (No. LA-8819). Los Alamos National Lab.(LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States). - ve42.co/Malik1985
Ignition of the atmosphere with nuclear bombs -- ve42.co/Konopinski46
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Directed by Petr Lebedev
Written by Petr Lebedev & Derek Muller
Produced by Petr Lebedev, Han Evans and Derek Muller
Edited by Trenton Oliver & Katrina Jackson
Filmed by Derek Muller
Animation by Fabio Albertelli, Ivy Tello, & Mike Radjabov
Illustration by Jakub Misiek and Celia Bode
Additional video/photos supplied by Getty Images & Pond5
Music from Epidemic Sound
All Comments (21)
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Oppenheimer may be the most important physicist to have ever lived, but you can't possibly expect Barbie to compete in that field when she's busy also being a doctor, astronaut, veterinarian, president, model, etc.
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this guy basically just compressed the Oppenheimer movie into a 30min documentary and released it a few days before the movie release. mad man.
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"Now I am become Veritasium, the element of truth"
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He cared so much about human life that he made sure to tell them not to set it off too high for maximum destruction.......what a guy.
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Yeah, it’d be so cool if Oppenheimer got his own movie…
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So nice of Veritasium to put the entire Oppenheimer movie on YouTube for free.
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Thank you Derek. You are the BEST thing on YouTube. Keep up the amazing work.
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I’m now patiently waiting for Derek to explain why Barbie deserves her own movie.
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Oppenheimer is the personification of "I've won...but at what cost."
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Amazing video! Clear, interesting storytelling, easy to understand, there is visual aid in form of pictures and of course there’s the animation! You deserve every view and more
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What an entertaining & simple way to explain something so complicated to most of us. Kudos! And thank you. 😊
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It’s absolutely crazy that all the big physicists from that era studied at the same place
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The writing, the storytelling, the composition is impeccable. Another home run Veritasium team.
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Wow! What a great video! Incredibly helpful to understand such an important part of history, thank you so much!!
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It is a big thing in itself that he did not win even a single award but he showed the world what even those who won awards could not do , salute to this scientist.
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If someone didn’t know who Oppenheimer was and wants to watch the movie, this video is such a good synopsis. Helps you better understand the characters.
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"I am having a pretty bad time. The lab work is a terrible bore and I am so bad at it that it is impossible to feel that I am learning anything" - Every scientist ever. I swear that feeling is the essence of research.
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I love the animated parts! It keeps you hooked!
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Your videos are perfect. Thank you for your dedication to teaching 😊
