Study & Research Atomic Bomb

Robert R. Wilson

Early in his career as a scientist, Robert R. Wilson declared that all wars are evil and that he would not do research for any "futile, immoral war." But news of Nazi horrors coupled with his own scientific curiosity led Wilson to amend his moral stance in the initial years of World War II. Being a nuclear physicist, he became intrigued with fission. He learned that the work in fission was being directed toward the construction of an atomic weapon. With reservations, Wilson joined the Manhattan Project, but convinced himself that he would eventually use his discoveries in helping develop energy sources that would prove beneficial to humanity. Wilson invented a method of separating the rare uranium-235 isotope from the more commonly occurring uranium-238. Separating out uranium-235 was very important in making the atomic bomb. As his work continued, Wilson eased his conscience with the fact that he was helping to stop Adolf Hitler and the war in Europe.

Wilson then became the head of experimental research on the atomic bomb at Los Alamos, New Mexico, from 1944 to 1946. His team worked at a frantic pace so that the bomb would be ready as soon as possible. In the midst of the intense work on the Manhattan Project, Wilson did not question the morality of what he was doing. He was totally focused on making the project a success. After the bomb was built, tested, and dropped over Hiroshima, Wilson’s conscience reasserted itself. He realized what destruction and suffering his work had caused. He again renounced working on weapons and decided to concentrate on deriving benefits from atomic power and to "go all out in helping to make it become a positive factor for humanity." In this reflective essay written in 1970, Wilson gives a penetrating portrait of a scientist wrestling with his conscience and the dangers of...
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