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Richard Feynman on helping the Manhattan Project
Feynman was brilliant. I don't doubt for a moment that he has had his own internal strife regarding his involvement in the project. Many of the scientists on the project were afflicted with a sort of tunnel vision as they focused on completing the job at hand, or felt that they had to get it done before the technology was used on them, only to later feel some version of guilt about their work. Feynman expresses his feelings about around 3:15 and goes on to say that he felt "that things were sort of doomed."
In the letter above, Rotblat goes on to explain that Neils Bohr shared concerns of a possible arms race between West and East, and his thoughts about why other scientists did not make the same choice to leave the project, and of accused of being a spy for the Russins after quitting the project. He was instructed speak to no one of his reasons for leaving.The only Manhattan Project scientist to leave the project was Józef Rotblat.
Rotblat later went on to found the Pugwash Conference, with Bertrand Russell, which aimed to bring together scientists to work toward reducing the danger of (nuclear) armed conflict, and worked towards nuclear disarmament.
An excellent interview with him is over at the Vega Science Trust website:
http://vega.org.uk/video/programme/22
The National Film Board of Canada recently produced a documentary about on the work of Rotblat and the work of Pugwash. Trailer here:
THE STRANGEST DREAM: A world without nuclear catastrophe
I saw the full film tonight at a screening in my home town. I did not immediately realize that the Pugwash conferences actually *began in a small town just a couple hours away. (I was sure that it meant a different Pugwash.)
The full film is excellent and informative. The work of Rotblat and the conference vitally important to the outcome of many events of the Twentieth Century.