Oppenheimer’s “Terrible Possibility” - Atmospheric Ignition

Thanks for watching. I know there are many videos on this topic, but this is my take on it. Yes, this is a re-imagining of a video I did 4 years ago. Hopefully the additional writing and style is evident. (Also give the Kevins some props for that thumbnail sheesh.)

fun fact: einstein told the president the nazis were making a bomb and his letter initiated the usa to make the bomb and he regretted the letter after seeing the devastation at hiroshima.

The "near zero" quote is both hilarious and chilling at the same time

The fact that some guys were able to do some math, mess with some rocks, and convert matter into energy exactly as predicted is just astounding. It's the most striking and terrific example of cutting edge theoretical science manifesting in the real world. Can you imagine the feelings they had watching that first test? "Well, I guess physics works how we thought it did!"

"What if air blows up, like all of it?" "lol", said Oppenheimer, "lmao."

It never sunk in how serious that first line is until now. "A few people laughed, a few people cried, most people were silent." I can imagine people laughing at "the new toy" they got. I can imagine people crying over this new horror they created. But most important of all, I can never imagine myself doing anything other than just standing there and staring at it, like a deer in headlights. I can not imagine myself laughing or crying. Just looking. Paralyzed by would-be fear or the awe of all the possibilities.

Groves: "They're saying there's a chance that when we push that button... we destroy the world." Oppenheimer: "The chances are near zero." Groves: "...Near zero?" Oppenheimer: "What do you want from theory alone?" Groves: "ZERO, would be nice!" Honestly my favorite part of the movie.

I know you’ve had your frustrations over the response numbers to these Half-Life Stories, but seriously: you’re doing phenomenal & important work with these. They’re compelling, concise, accurate, engaging and provocative. We need more science communicators like you and content like this. I really hope you keep these going for as long as you feel you have viable material to highlight in them.

I can’t even begin to express how captivating and well done these Half-life Histories are. Please keep up the excellent work.

As much as I love your comedic educational videos, you really have a gift for serious documentaries. This Half-Life History series is phenomenal.

The "Destroyer of Worlds" clips has been used so many times, but it is still so haunting. I can't imagine how that weighs on a man's mind.

The weight behind those words as Oppenheimer spoke them. He really believed them of himself and knew the others who had worked on the project would agree. To live with the thought that you had a hand in creating a weapon so destructive, so easily world ending in the wrong hands, for the rest of your life. I can't even imagine the depths of what this man went through.

I am reminded of the Castle Bravo explosion, which was far more powerful than calculated because of unforeseen fusion reactions in the device. There could have been similar unforeseen reactions in the atmosphere that would have ignited it when the gadget was triggered. The fact that they went ahead with the test anyway shows how totally bonker insane Homo Sapiens is as a species.

There are few people on YouTube that are as consistently incredible at making content as Kyle is, especially the Half Life series, it’s just phenomenal

My favorite part of Oppenheimer was when Nick Fury walked up and told Oppenheimer "I'm putting together a team of extrordinary individuals" as Einstien and Niels Bohr walked into frame

Deeply appreciate this one, because it's never not worth repeating how serious this development was, or reminding how seriously the scientists really were taking it. I recently saw a completely different sort of "biographical" take, in which the writers quite enjoyed making Oppenheimer a touch villainous, including laughing at the Trinity test; and I remembered the exact thing you quoted from him here, that interview, and thinking: "These writers are jerks."

I really loved the movie so I'm glad to hear more about this! Also the final line in that movie, the exchange between Einstein and Oppenheimer left me both in awe and paralyzed by fear.

Whats incredible is how little mass was actually turned to energy by fission for those first bombs. The damage they caused by such a tiny amount of mass, just astonishing. Even to this day.

8:40 The chances of being killed by a duck while standing stationary in an otherwise empty field are near zero, but they are never zero.

I can't imagine how nervous everyone was seconds before the first detonation. Not knowing how things would go, doing something that has never been done before, aware that you might just wipe out all life on earth in an instant. Truly scary