"I Am Become Death, The Destroyer Of Worlds"

[Hissyspit]

64 Years Ago Thursday:



http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trinity_(nuclear_test)

Trinity was the first test of technology for an atomic weapon. It was conducted by the United States on July 16, 1945, at a location 35 miles (56 km) southeast of Socorro, New Mexico on the White Sands Proving Ground, headquartered near Alamogordo. Trinity was a test of an implosion-design plutonium bomb. Using the same conceptual design, the Fat Man device was dropped on Nagasaki, Japan, on August 9. The Trinity detonation was equivalent to the explosion of around 20 kilotons of TNT and is usually considered the beginning of the Atomic Age.

After the initial euphoria of witnessing the explosion passed, test director Kenneth Bainbridge commented to Los Alamos director J. Robert Oppenheimer,

Now we are all sons of bitches.

Oppenheimer later stated that while watching the test he was reminded of a line from the Hindu scripture the Bhagavad Gita:

I am become Death, the destroyer of worlds.

[nadinbrzezinski]

1. The rise of the modern age

I will also argue that because of that we haven't had a world war.. but there are no guarantees, People who were alive then are dying... so of course it could not be that bad...

I am become death, the destroyer of worlds... one of the most powerful lines ever. And yes, they all became sons of bitches, we all did. Even if we were not alive then.

[Vickers]

2. And the kicker is: that's small potatoes to the stuff we have now.

Seriously.

[nadinbrzezinski]

6. Yep, that one is the trigger to what we got these days.

Wild, isn't it?

[FlyingSquirrel]

9. I was talking to my 14yo daughter the other day

she said, "ya well they'll probably malfunction". (Not sure how we got into the conversation) and I said, "If 90% of them malfunction, the other 10% are more than enough to destroy the world."

[Vickers]

11. A 10% "success" (sic) rate would destroy a dozen Earths.

:crazy:

[CaliforniaPeggy]

3. It was the first...

I was two years old; I do not remember living in a nuclear-free world.

What have we done?

K&R

[BlooInBloo]

4. :(

[babylonsister]

5. "Now we are all sons of bitches." Wow. nt

[Laelth]

7. For better or for worse ...

Western Civilization has always been better than any other civilization on Earth at killing people. We still are.

:dem:

-Laelth

[proteus_lives]

8. It's a hard thing.

From that moment on we had the power to truly destroy ourselves. But another part of my brain goes, "without nukes we would have already fought WWIII WWIV and WWV by now."

If I had the power to vanquish all nukes in existence, I don't know if I'd do it.

[Odin2005]

12. I agree.

:(

[Odin2005]

10. "I am become Death, the destroyer of worlds."

The day mankind unleashed the Strong Nuclear Force, and thus became powerful enough to destroy itself.

"If the radiance of a thousand suns were to burst at once into the sky, that would be like the splendor of the mighty one...

I am become Death, the destroyer of worlds..."

[Gabi Hayes]

13. Richard Rhoades' "the making of the atomic bomb," or something close to that,

is a classic, and the first place I came across Oppenheimer's recollections.

he got really screwed for his beliefs, ultimately getting betrayed by none other than the Iago-like Dr. Strangelove (Edward Teller) during the hearings which resulted in the eventual revocation of his national security clearance, but that's another story

there are several excellent bios of Oppenheimer, if anybody cares to check on them

[A HERETIC I AM]

14. You mean 64 years ago, right?

July 16, 1945 was 64 years ago, not 49.

[Hissyspit]

15. I was JUST fixing that!

:D
Seriously.
I think I had something else on my mind when I typed 49.

[A HERETIC I AM]

16. LOL...Fair enough.

It's late. It's ok if you drop a decade or so at this hour! ;)

[tomreedtoon]

17. When is it my turn to become Death, the Destroyer of Worlds?

'Cause there's some people I would really like to destroy without leaving behind any fingerprints. Like the boss that unfairly fired me. And the Florida Democrats for being Florida Republicans in disguise. And the entire Starbucks corporate staff for making coffee seem as important as cocaine, and making it cost as much.

[hayu_lol]

18. I am become Shiva, the destroyer of worlds

Seems to me this is what he said. Shiva is a Hindu Diety who did indeed destroy worlds.

[Hissyspit]

19. From Wikipedia:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shiva

Shiva (pronounced /ˈʃiːvə/; Sanskrit: शिव, Śiva, IPA: <ˈɕivə>; Hindi: <ʃɪʋə>, lit. "Auspicious one") is a major Hindu god and one aspect of Trimurti.

Followers of Hinduism who focus their worship upon Shiva are called Shaivites or Shaivas (Sanskrit Śaiva). Shaivism, along with Vaiṣṇava traditions that focus on Vishnu and Śākta traditions that focus on the goddess Devī are three of the most influential denominations in Hinduism.

Shiva is usually worshipped in the form of Shiva linga. In images, he is generally represented as immersed in deep meditation or dancing the Tandava upon Maya, the demon of ignorance in his manifestation of Nataraja, the lord of the dance.

In some Hindu denominations, Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva represent the three primary aspects of the divine in Hinduism and are collectively known as the Trimurti. In this school of religious thought, Brahma is the creator, Vishnu is the maintainer or preserver, and Shiva is the destroyer or transformer.

Oppenheimer studied sanskrit. He was probably aware that his translation from the Bhagivad Gita is one of but many possible interpretations.

[zeemike]

20. And in that respect it was ironic that they called it the trinity site.

Perhaps that is why.

[Hissyspit]

21. Also from Wikipedia:

The exact origin of the name is unknown, but it is often attributed to laboratory leader J. Robert Oppenheimer as a reference to the poetry of John Donne. Oppenheimer had been exposed to Donne primarily through his former girlfriend Jean Tatlock. In 1962, General Groves wrote to Oppenheimer about the origin of the name, asking if he had chosen it because it was a name common to rivers and peaks in the West and would not attract attention, and elicited this reply:

'I did suggest it, but not on that ground... Why I chose the name is not clear, but I know what thoughts were in my mind. There is a poem of John Donne, written just before his death, which I know and love. From it a quotation: "As West and East / In all flatt Maps—and I am one—are one, / So death doth touch the Resurrection."

He continued, 'That still does not make a Trinity, but in another, better known devotional poem Donne opens, "Batter my heart, three person'd God;—.'

That does not discount your theory. The naming is ironic, intentional or not.

Three is a magic number.

[zeemike]

22. That is interesting.

But Oppenheimer was a complex man, and a deep thinker.

I do have a second hand personal story about him...I knew a man I called Mr.Q...his last name was Quintana..that worked as a driver at Los Alamos during that time and he had an encounter with Oppenheimer. he said he made a delivery to him and said to him "You got to sign for this" and Oppenheimer took the clip board and signed and said noting to him.
Later Mr. Q's boss said that Oppenheimer was pissed because he thought Mr.Q was arrogant. You would have to know Mr. Q to know that he was like that with everyone and was not impressed with the famous...he was a proud man. And Mr. Q was the one that drove the truck with the bomb to the trinity site.
Mr. Q died about 10 years ago but he was an interesting man to talk to.

[TalkingDog]

23. Now see there...For some reason my mind immediately went here....

[Deja Q]

24. I thought you meant this: