#manhattan project

[usnatarchives]

Honoring Dr. Chien-Shiung Wu: The First Lady of Physics 🥼⚙🔭

As we celebrate Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, let’s take a moment to appreciate Dr. Chien-Shiung Wu, a physicist who made considerable contributions to nuclear physics and worked on the Manhattan Project during World War II.

Early Life and Education

Dr. Chien-Shiung Wu was born on May 31, 1912, in a small town near Shanghai, China. Her father was big on education, especially for girls, which was uncommon at the time. Wu went to National Central University in Nanjing to study physics and later moved to the United States for further studies. She got her Ph.D. in physics from the University of California, Berkeley, in 1940.

https://catalog.archives.gov/id/28883982

Big Contributions to Physics

During World War II, Wu joined the Manhattan Project. She helped develop the atomic bomb by figuring out how to enrich uranium and study radioactive isotopes. Her most famous work was in 1956, when she proved that the law of parity conservation doesn’t hold in weak nuclear interactions. This was an important advancement for physics and earned her colleagues, Tsung-Dao Lee and Chen-Ning Yang, the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1957. Sadly, Wu didn’t get the Nobel recognition even though her experiment was crucial.

Legacy and Recognition

Dr. Wu’s work earned her the nickname "The First Lady of Physics." She received many awards, including the Comstock Prize in Physics and the National Medal of Science in 1990. Besides her scientific work, Wu was a big advocate for women in science and education, encouraging young women to pursue STEM careers. During her career Dr. Wu also taught at Princeton and Columbia Universities. She received the National Medal of Science from President Ford on October 18, 1976, “for her ingenious experiments that led to new and surprising understanding of the decay of the radioactive nucleus.“

Explore More About Dr. Chien-Shiung Wu

To learn more about Dr. Chien-Shiung Wu’s life and work, check out these resources from the National Archives:

The Manhattan Project

Women in STEM

Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander Heritage Month

As we celebrate Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, let’s remember Dr. Wu’s contributions and how she paved the way for future scientists. Her story is a reminder of the importance of perseverance and the pursuit of knowledge.

[history-metamorphosis]

A detail I feel is NOT talked about enough in the BOCW fandom it's about a specific detail of Perseus

The game presents us like he was one of the Soviet spies in the Manhattan Project BUT

while the codename Perseus (and others like Mlad, Pers, Youngster, FOGEL and Mr. X) indeed was used, it wasn't the codename of a person, but of a character.

Perseus was made to protect one of their spies, Theodore Hall (who was the youngest scientist of the Manhattan Project, being only 18 years old), and probably others as well.

Chikov admitted openly in 1996 that he and other KGB officers he worked with had combined Mlad and another spy code-named “Pers” into a single spy, Perseus. “The main goal was to make the story unclear, so when the intelligence of other countries began to analyze this, it would not reveal the forms and methods of the work of Soviet intelligence”

source: Nuclear Secrets - The Perseus Papers

Theodore Hall and Perseus had some similarities like:

Both visited their parents in New York at the same time, with Perseus being recruited by the GRU there after the visit.

Same codenames (Mlad and Youngster)

And something really cool they made with Black Ops Cold War Perseus is that both the real life Perseus and the COD one aren't just one person.

The real life one was just a character made by the Soviets to spread misinformation and protect their Manhattan Project spies while the BOCW one is a whole spy network/an ideal like Viktor "Stitch" Kuzmin says in the Season 6 Outro

"Perseus was never one man, it's an ideal, bigger than any of us."

I really feel it should be talked about more often like Bell with Pavlov dogs experiment or Adler with Alfred Adler and that whole superiority/inferiority complex to be honest.

also part of the fake Perseus story is that he participated in the Spanish Civil War if anyone wants to use in their BOCW AU or something like that

[aphroditeslover11]

Today I discovered a mid-century photographer called Philippe Halsman who photographed the famous people of his era, from Richard Nixon to Marilyn Monroe. At the end of his sessions he would ask the person to jump into the air for a picture, believing that this would cause them to drop their pretenses and public persona, leaving him with a picture of the real person as they made their leap. He called this ‘jumpology’.

This is the photo he took of Robert Oppenheimer in 1958, possibly the most free and unreserved image of him that I’ve ever seen.

[slowburningechoes]

Robert Sean Leonard (credited as Robert Leonard) as “Max” in The Manhattan Project (1985)

What a baby!

[xylaif]

These photos have the same energy — except Jochen doesn’t need an atomic bomb, he is the ✨bomb✨ 😮‍💨💅

[scipunk]

Oppenheimer (2023)

[prsk-suggestions]

Project sekai game suggestion: Oppenheimer collaboration. Call that Project Manhattan

[un-ionizetheradlab]

FINALLY found the meme I've been looking for...

@nuklearis-sutotok

[cowgirl-ish]

posted these on pinterest but felt like sharing them here too

if anyone wants to yap about oppenheimer w me my discord is @/doggone.cowgirl

[aphroditeslover11]

Possibly my favourite photograph of Oppie that I have found to date, at home with his son and taken for an edition of Life Magazine in 1949 by Alfred Eisenstaedt, of which he was on the front cover. He just seems so normal here, interacting with his son like any father would, it’s very humanising. Pictures like this are what remind us that historical figures were real people, not just mystical figures of the past that we find in textbooks.

[lindahall]

J. Robert Oppenheimer – Scientist of the Day

J. Robert Oppenheimer, an American theoretical physicist, was born Apr. 22, 1904. Oppenheimer was a gifted mathematician who came of age during...

learn more

[emmetross]

pick a best friend

You know that meme where they show you different outfits and you think of names of the people who would wear them and talk about their personalities?

I have no idea how true this is but pick a Rad Lab "boy"

[lacontroller1991]

Fluff/WhumpTOBER Day 8: Ernest Lawrence x F!Reader

Day 8: Chopping and Piling Wood/Sleep Deprivation Masterlist Warnings: 16+, some light drinking, one sexual suggestion Word Count: 1.1k Author's Note: SOUTH DAKOTAN BOY I LOVE YOU

Also this picture inspired everything in this:

When Ernest had invited you and your brothers out to South Dakota for the weekend, never in your wildest dreams had you imagined that you would be standing on the porch of his family’s home, drinking a hot cup of coffee, watching your crush of 3 years chop wood, and look good while doing it.

Every time you’ve seen him, he’s always nicely dressed, polished shoes, combed back hair, ironed sleeves and a nice watch. He’s always handsome, refined, and polite. But watching the way his arms raise back, the cotton material of his work shirt stretching with each movement, the slight sweat glistening down his forehead to his back leaving a steady growing sweat stain has you burning up in the cold South Dakota morning.

“You know it’s rude to stare.” Your eyes don’t leave Ernest’s body as you watch the way his arms swing down, the chunk of tree easily splitting into two. I want him to split me into two.

“(Y/N)!” Robert’s voice causes both you and Ernest to perk up your heads, you turning to look at your brother, and your crush turning to watch you and his friend. “What has gotten into you?”

“Hay Fever,” mumbling softly, you move away from the edge of the porch, sitting down in a rocker, cup of coffee getting colder by the second in your hands. “It’s cold out here, the pollen must be getting to me.” Robert looks around before his eyes fall on Ernest, whose head is tilting in confusion, hands on hips and chest heaving. Shaking his head, Robert turns back to you and smirks.

“When are you going to confess?”

“What? What are you talking about?” Robert’s not dumb. He’s exactly the opposite. Aside from his academic intelligence, his perception of the world and people around him aid him in moments like this. Knowing that there is no point in lying to your brother, you let out a sigh, eyes flicking down to avoid his piercing blue gaze. “Ok fine, so I have a crush on him. So what? Doesn’t mean anything.”

“Crush on who?” Your blood freezes as your heart races. You never mentioned his name, but anyone with two bits of perception can piece together that you harbor feelings towards the experimental physicist. 

“One of our mutual friends back in New York,” Robert is quick to save the conversation as you look up, raising a hand to block the halo of light behind Ernest, not missing the way his smile turns into a frown. 

“Oh. I see. I’m not good with that kind of stuff, but you should talk to him,” he offers a polite smile, using a rag from his back pocket to wipe the sweat away from his face. His eyes find yours, his glasses tucked away somewhere else. “Aren’t you cold out here?”

Between the open cotton shirt, suspenders hanging limply at his sides, and hair in his face, it’s only your extremities that are cold. “I- uh, I needed some fresh air. I think the air inside is messing with my allergies.” Robert snorts from beside you but Ernest decides not to comment on it, instead giving you a nod of acknowledgment. 

“Right. Well, Robert, can you help me carry these in?” Ernest saunters off while Robert casts a brief smile down at you.

“Yeah, be right there,” he calls out before leaning down and pressing a kiss to your forehead. “You should talk to him.”

“Only in my dreams,” you reply quietly as he walks away, joining Ernest.

—-------

If there is one good thing about having come all the way out to the middle of nowhere, it’s the stars. Thousands shine down on you in solitude, but they keep you company as you huddle around the small fire, blanket wrapped around your shoulders. You can vaguely hear laughter coming from inside the house over the crackle of the flames from the wood.

Soft footsteps make their way toward you, causing you to roll your eyes. “Go away, Robert. I told you I want to be left alone.”

“Not Robert,” Ernest comments with a sigh, plopping down next to you on the log, body clad in a warm jacket with a bottle of booze in his hands. Offering the peace greeting, Ernest allows you to take the bottle out of his hands and into your own, immediately taking more than a few sips. “Whoa there. Calm down,” he chuckles, gently grabbing the bottle from your grasp and pulling it away from your lips. ”Don’t want you getting sick on me.”

“Well, it does help with the warmness,” you smile softly, trying your hardest to avoid his gaze, knowing that if you looked at him, then you wouldn’t stop looking at him. The light of a fire highlighting his gorgeous features more than what you can reasonably tolerate.  

Humming, Ernest takes a swig from the bottle, liquid sloshing around as his legs spread a little wider, the outer part of his thigh almost pressing against yours. Setting down the bottle, Ernest looks to you, glasses back on his face. “What’s wrong? You haven’t been yourself lately. I didn’t want to pry, but it’s cold out here and you’re choosing it over us and warmth. Did I say something? Did Robert say something? He probably didn’t mean it.”

His words cause a laugh to erupt from you, hand going up to stifle the laugh as he smiles, happy to have gotten a response from you. “God, you know Robert so well. Sorry, I didn’t mean to laugh.” Ernest shakes his head in response, brushing you off.

“I think it’s the first time you’ve smiled this whole trip.”

“You’ve been paying attention to if I’m smiling or not?”

“Well, yeah… It’s just not normal for you not to smile, and I like seeing your smile.” Is he… flirting? Reaching for the bottle, you hastily down more, ignoring the way his eyes watch you in concern.

“What do you think of me?”

“What do you mean? You’re my friend.” Oh. Well, there’s your answer. 

Seeming to notice your sudden somberness, Ernest tries to wrap his brain around the situation. What did he say or do that could cause you to be so sullen?  “She likes you, Ernest. Do something about it.” Robert’s words ring in his ears. “I would like to be more than friends.”

Your head snaps to him in shock, but he meets you halfway with his warm hands on your face, gently pulling you into him as his lips place themselves on yours. Surprised at the forwardness, it takes you a second to recognize what he’s doing. Throwing your arms over  his shoulders, you pull him closer as your lips mold against his, the warmth shared between the two of you chasing the cold South Dakotan night away.

-fin-

@un-ionizetheradlab @anonymous-badger-238

[the-stag-of-the-lake]

I swear I've read or heard somewhere about someone who punched a mirror during the Manhattan Project or perhaps slightly after but it was an incident at Los Alamos

I seem to recall they also played the violin and had a snapped string scar their face at some point...but I can't find anything