Fission vs. fusionWhile fission and fusion are both key components of nuclear technology, the two processes are very different — and central to the plot of "Oppenheimer."
The hydrogen bomb — promoted by Lewis Strauss, a member of the US Atomic Energy Commission — relies on fusion, making it far more powerful than the atomic bomb.
Oppenheimer led a group of physicists who advocated for the United States to export radioactive isotopes to researchers abroad.
However, Strauss pushed back while serving as chair of the US Atomic Energy Commission, advocating for a US monopoly on the materials.
He argued that exporting them would be the equivalent of sharing nuclear information, an act forbidden by the 1946 Atomic Energy Act.
Persons:
Christopher Nolan's, Oppenheimer, —, Earnest O, Lawrence, Radiochemists Otto Hahn, Fritz Strassman, Lise Meitner, Lewis Strauss, Strauss
Organizations:
Manhattan, Service, US Atomic Energy, US Atomic Energy Commission, 1946, Energy
Locations:
Wall, Silicon, Berlin, United States