Edward Teller

Edward Teller (original Hungarian name Teller Ede) (January 15, 1908 – September 9 2003) was a Hungarian-born American nuclear physicist of Jewish descent. He was known colloquially as "the father of the hydrogen bomb."

The Oppenheimer controversy

The rift between Teller and many of his colleagues was widened in 1954 when he testified against Robert Oppenheimer, former head of Los Alamos and member of the Atomic Energy Commission, at Oppenheimer's security clearance hearing. Teller had clashed with Oppenheimer many times at Los Alamos over issues relating both to fission and fusion research, and during Oppenheimer's trial he was the only member of the scientific community to label Oppenheimer a security risk.

Related Topics:
1954 - Robert Oppenheimer - Atomic Energy Commission

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Asked at the hearing by prosecutor Roger Robb whether he was planning "to suggest that Dr. Oppenheimer is disloyal to the United States", Teller replied that:

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:I do not want to suggest anything of the kind. I know Oppenheimer as an intellectually most alert and a very complicated person, and I think it would be presumptuous and wrong on my part if I would try in any way to analyze his motives. But I have always assumed, and I now assume that he is loyal to the United States. I believe this, and I shall believe it until I see very conclusive proof to the opposite. http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/bomb/filmmore/reference/primary/tellertestimony.html

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However, he was immediately asked whether he believed the Oppenheimer was a "security risk", to which he testified:

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:In a great number of cases I have seen Dr. Oppenheimer act — I understood that Dr. Oppenheimer acted — in a way which for me was exceedingly hard to understand. I thoroughly disagreed with him in numerous issues and his actions frankly appeared to me confused and complicated. To this extent I feel that I would like to see the vital interests of this country in hands which I understand better, and therefore trust more. In this very limited sense I would like to express a feeling that I would feel personally more secure if public matters would rest in other hands. http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/bomb/filmmore/reference/primary/tellertestimony.html

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Teller also testified that Oppenheimer's opinion about the thermonuclear program seemed to based more on the scientific feasibility of the weapon than anything else. He additionally testified that Oppenheimer's direction of Los Alamos was "a very outstanding achievement" both as a scientist and an administrator, lauding his "very quick mind" and that he made "just a most wonderful and excellent director".

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After this, however, he detailed ways in which he felt that Oppenheimer had hindered his efforts towards and active thermonuclear development program, and at length criticized Oppenheimer's decisions not to invest more work onto the question at different points in his career. The most damning piece of testimony, as seen by contemporaries and later historians, was his statement that:

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:If it is a question of wisdom and judgment, as demonstrated by actions since 1945, then I would say one would be wiser not to grant clearance. http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/bomb/filmmore/reference/primary/tellertestimony.html

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Oppenheimer's security clearance was eventually stripped, and Teller was treated as a pariah by many of his former colleagues. In response, Teller began to run with a more military and governmental crowd, becoming the scientific darling of conservative politicians and thinkers for his advocacy of American scientific and technological supremacy. After the fact, Teller consistently denied that he was intending to damn Oppenheimer, and even claimed that he was attempting to exonerate him. Documentary evidence has suggested though that this was likely not the case, however. Six days before the testimony, Teller met with an AEC liasion officer and suggested "deepening the charges" in his testimony.http://www.ralphmag.org/BJ/teller.html

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