351: The Manhattan Project and Oppenheimer

The boys drink and review Sam Adams' Wicked Easy Light and Hazy Session IPA, then discuss the Manhatten Project and the recent film, Oppenheimer. In 1938 some German physicists discovered nuclear fision, which could potentially become a chain reaction, which could potentially become a bomb. The Americans and the Brits were scared the Germans would make an atomic bomb first, so they worked together to beat the Germans to the punch. Col. (later General) Lesley Groves ran the project along with Robert Oppenheimer. It wasn't just the physics. They had to coordinate a huge manufacturing operation, plus the enrichment of the plutonium and uranium. The whole effort was about the size of the U.S. auto industry. After an overview of the Manhattan project, P&C discuss the "Oppenheimer" movie, which they both liked, but found it a bit long.