Narrator (3:22)

To be first to the H bomb.

Igor Kurchatov (3:24)

The theory seems sound, but it would take a brilliant mind and the right team to turn theory into reality. Luckily, Washington knew just who to ask. Physicist Ernest Lawrence.

Tom Ramis (3:38)

There's Ernest Orlando Lawrence. His grandparents were immigrants from Norway, from the Earliest years, he was just intrigued with technical things and science. He made a radio with a friend of his when they were just kids.

Narrator (3:52)

That's Tom Ramis. Tom has been a physicist at Lawrence Livermore national laboratory since 1981, authored a book about its role in nuclear deterrence, and has more than a few stories about Ernest Orlando Lawrence.

Tom Ramis (4:06)

In high school, he was recognized as being a really super student. The University of Minnesota, the University of Chicago, and finally Yale University, where He got his PhD doing his research. He had a phenomenal ability to do complex experiments and make them work. And so luminaries in Europe, Max Planck, Werner Heisenberg, Niels Bohr, all these great giants of physics, they all recognized Lawrence as a young man. This was a special man. It was going along fine when Robert Sproul, who was the chancellor or president of the University of California, wanted to take Berkeley from being a scientific backwater. He wanted to make it a world class institution in science research. And so his big goal was to recruit Lawrence, get Lawrence to the West Coast. So he gave him an offer he couldn't refuse. And Lawrence comes out and he doesn't disappoint.

Narrator (4:59)

In the late 1920s, Lawrence joined the physics department at the University of California, Berkeley, where he conceived of a new kind of particle accelerator, a device that Lawrence called his Proton merry go round.

Tom Ramis (5:13)

Within 18 months, Lawrence invents a machine that can accelerate particles to penetrate atoms. This is the preview. What we now call super colliders. Like in Geneva and cern, these great super colliders. Lawrence invented. One came to be known as a cyclotron. His original one was only four and a half inches in diameter. Hold it in your hand, but you start building bigger and bigger ones.

Narrator (5:39)

The design of the cyclotron was unique, as it spun particles many times around a spiral to boost their energies, then cast them toward a target like stones from a slingshot to smash open atomic nuclei.

Bruce Tarter (5:52)

The cyclotron, the atom smashing machine.

Narrator (5:57)

Lawrence's most important scientific contribution was his.

Bruce Tarter (6:00)

Development of the cyclotron before deciding on uranium, which contained atoms easiest of all.

Narrator (6:06)

To crack, which proved instrumental in the production of fissionable isotopes and success of the Manhattan Project.

Bruce Tarter (6:13)

With global war, the government stepped into the picture. General Groves, head of the project.

Tom Ramis (6:20)

This eventually would get him the Nobel Prize. But Sproul gave him a building at Berkeley to house a new psychotron. It was getting too big for where he was, and Lawrence then created a laboratory in that building. And he called it the Penetrating Radiation laboratory. But people soon called it the University of California Radiation Lab, or just simply the RAD Lab and the RAD Lab. Then, just like Sproul had wished, the RAD Lab became a world center of nuclear research. And it was based, frankly on Lawrence's leadership, his ability to do experiments and his charisma. So we had the leading experimental science students in the nation coming out to Berkeley to work at the RAD Lab. Five individuals who came out there would win the Nobel Prize.

Narrator (7:06)

The RAD Lab quickly attracted talented scientists from around the world. But the growing notoriety of the lab also attracted the attention of officials in the US Defense establishment.

Tom Ramis (7:17)

Everything was going fine. Then his life changed. December 1938. In Nazi Germany, nuclear fission was discovered. And Lawrence immediately realized that that could lead to an atomic bomb. And he started trying to mobilize the US Government, wake up government officials in Washington that there was a huge threat steamrolling its way and that Hitler might be able to make an atomic bomb.

Narrator (7:42)

In 1938, the German army was rapidly intensifying its military and investing in scientific discovery, all in preparation for what would become World War II. The weapons technology in play far surpassed what anyone had seen before. Tanks, airplanes and submarines. The widespread adoption of these advancements set the stage for a more mobile, mechanized and devastating conflict than any war in history. But no developments were more potentially devastating than that of an atomic weapon. Recognizing the potential military applications of nuclear fission, Lawrence encouraged the United States government to launch an effort to build atomic arms before Germany or any other potential adversary.

Tom Ramis (8:30)

And so he got the United States, almost single handedly got the United States to wake up and to then start an atomic program of its own, which eventually would become the Manhattan Project. The head of the Manhattan Project, General Leslie Groves, came out to Berkeley and said, professor Lawrence, we need a laboratory to design this thing. Lawrence said, I got my hands full. So he introduced him to his assistant, Robert Oppenheimer.

Narrator (8:54)

During World War II, Lawrence, his team at the RAD lab and their work with the cyclotron to study uranium and plutonium reactions played a crucial role in contributing to the Manhattan Project. This research helped shape the outcome of the war while demonstrating the practical applications of nuclear physics. But then came that day. In August 1949. World War II had come to an end, but the Cold War was just beginning. They had to find a way to beat the Russians to the H bomb. On the morning of September 9, 1949, the Director of Central Intelligence, Admiral Roscoe Hillencooter, stood outside President Harry Truman's office. In his hand was a letter that would change the course of United States national security forever. Admiral Roscoe was called in. He handed the report to President Truman. As Truman read the words, the gravity of what was on the page sunk in. An abnormal radioactive contamination had been detected by US Spy planes in the Northern Pacific. While there was no concrete conclusion as to its cause, the DCI's first hypothesis was, quote, an atomic explosion on the continent of Asia. The race was on, and the US Government turned to Lawrence to help once more.

Tom Ramis (10:30)

He had a passion for science, but he had a passion for the defense of the country. He had a passion for America. When he saw threats like first with Nazi Germany and then with communist Russia, he just saw these threats coming and he couldn't stand still. A commissioner for the Atomic Energy Commission, he flew out to Berkeley. He met with Lawrence and he said, lawrence, I'm afraid the Russians are going to overtake us. And just as much as we were afraid of Hitler having an atomic bomb all by himself, how disastrous that would be, we're now afraid that Stalin will have a thermonuclear weapon all by himself. A weapon a thousand times more powerful. The government seemed to always go back to Lawrence and said, help. Once again they said, help, we need help. And Lawrence agreed to start one more laboratory. So he went around asking Pentagon, well, do you have any government property that I can create another laboratory? And they said, we'll take over any World War II facility. So Lawrence went around, they showed up at the Naval Air Station in Livermore, and there was an indoor Olympic sized swimming pool there that was used to train Navy pilots in survival. And Lawrence steps into the building and he looks at this indoor swimming pool. He turns around, Louis, we found a home. On the second day of September 1952, they put up a sign, the University of California Radiation Lab, the RAD Lab, Livermore campus. That's a square mile. And Lawrence is in charge. And Lawrence takes about 100 physicists out of Verad lab and ships them and says, okay, you're now working at livermore.

Narrator (12:10)

It was 1952 when this lab was established. At this new campus, Lawrence proved himself to be a decisive leader, a founder who was willing to challenge the boundaries of traditional work structures in favor of something more open and collaborative. Bruce Tarter, former lab director and author of the American Lab, tells us more.

General Groves (12:31)

Almost every one of the first hundred people through the gate on opening day had been a part of Lawrence's radiation laboratory at the University of California at Berkeley. And so the entire culture was Lawrence's. And Lawrence's culture still maintains Today, to.

Tom Ramis (12:47)

Some extent, he's very proper, always well dressed. He always seemed to have an even keel. He just had this charisma that incredibly talented young men and women just flocked to him and would work with him. And he was a no nonsense guy. When he had his laboratories, he would be walking around day and night. I heard the story more than once where a physicist would be working on an experiment on a Sunday night at 10 o'clock, getting ready for an experiment that was going to go on Monday. And right in the middle of where they're fidgeting with something, they would hear something behind them. They turn around, it's Ernest Lawrence standing there and said, what are you up to? Then Lawrence would make some suggestions. He just had this presence. It spurred you full of energy.

Narrator (13:30)

However, charisma and energy alone can't solve every problem.

Tom Ramis (13:35)

In the early days of the laboratory, they had a really difficult time. They were failing. The first three tests were failures and everyone was a bit nervous.

Narrator (13:43)

In 1953, not even a year after the founding of the lab, scientists conducted their first nuclear explosive test in Nevada called the RUTH event. One young engineer, after witnessing the RUTH event, said, when it was fired, all we could see was a small speck of light on the horizon. No mushroom cloud, no nothing. End quote. The blast was so subdued that even.

Podcast Host (14:11)

The 300 foot tower that had been.

Narrator (14:13)

Used to test the device was still standing. After the experiment, they reset, modified the.

Igor Kurchatov (14:20)

Design and tried again and it failed again.

Podcast Host (14:25)

So they tweaked the design for a.

Igor Kurchatov (14:27)

Third time and tried again and it failed again.

Tom Ramis (14:34)

I talked to an individual who was there in an auditorium where they were going to discuss the latest failure. People in Washington and Los Alamos are calling to shut down the laboratory, that this was a waste of money. It was a big failure. And Lawrence came and he steps up in the front and he just starts talking to him. He says, look, what's important is what did we learn from these experiments? How do we move forward? Lawrence was in there with you, you know, you were all in this together. And it's just a huge amount of confidence you got. He was bigger than life.

Narrator (15:03)

Sure enough, a breakthrough wasn't far off.

Tom Ramis (15:06)

It's a testament to their grit that they didn't give up. Lawrence certainly didn't give up. And by the fourth test, they struck home and that was a Johnny Foster test. The fifth test was a Harold Brown test. They both worked and they never looked back and they just were extremely successful. Within 10 years, the strategic deterrent force of the United States was Based on designs that came out of Livermore. I mean we're talking the submarines, the Polaris submarine, the Minuteman missile, those were all Livermore designs.

Narrator (15:37)

The latest incarnation of this design was conceived in 1956. Named Polaris a system in which 16 compact missiles would be placed vertically aboard a submarine for launch. The plan was to deliver a strong and highly mobile nuclear deterrent. On May 6, 1962, the US conducted a complete operational test of the Polaris A1 missile system, culminating with the successful detonation of the Megaton class warhead. President John F. Kennedy was on site for the successful test.

Bruce Tarter (16:11)

That shot fired in 1962 from USS Ethan Allen quite literally was heard round the world. For it fully demonstrated beyond any rational question the credibility of what President Kennedy called our crucial deterrent, the fleet ballistic missile weapon system. The President's television address to the nation on the Cuban situation.

Narrator (16:38)

Just Months later, in October 1962, an unbelievably tense 13 day stretch put the world at the brink of nuclear war.

President John F. Kennedy (16:47)

Good evening my fellow citizens. Unmistakable evidence has established the fact that a series of offensive missile sites is now in preparation on that imprisoned island.

Narrator (17:00)

The Cuban Missile crisis. The Soviets built missile silos just 90 miles off the coast of Florida and Cuba, well within striking distance of most major US cities. After a rapid and intense succession of military escalations, the US and Soviet Union were poised to strike at will. Catastrophe at the press of a button. The world held its breath, hoping that the back and forth between superpowers would come to a peaceful conclusion.

President John F. Kennedy (17:27)

We will not prematurely or unnecessarily risk the course of worldwide nuclear war. Thank you and good night.

Narrator (17:38)

Thankfully, the leaders realized the magnitude of.

Igor Kurchatov (17:40)

What was happening and the devastation that.

Narrator (17:43)

Could result from one errant decision. After a two week standoff, nuclear weapons were removed from the island. An agreement was reached and both leaders realized the need to reduce tensions between the superpowers. As Communist Party leader Nikita Khrushchev said, the two most powerful nations had been squared off against each other, each with its finger on the button. To to which Kennedy replied, it is insane that two men sitting on opposite sides of the world should be able to decide to bring an end to civilization. Something had to change.

Podcast Host (18:26)

Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory invites you to join our diverse team of professionals where opportunities abound for engineers, scientists, IT experts, welders, administrative and business professionals, and more. At Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, your contributions.

Igor Kurchatov (18:44)

Are not just jobs.

Podcast Host (18:46)

They're a chance to make an impact. From strengthening US security to leading the charge in revolutionary energy solutions. And expanding the boundaries of scientific knowledge. Our culture at the lab values collaboration, innovation, and a relentless pursuit of excellence. We're committed to nurturing your professional journey within a supportive workspace and offering a comprehensive benefits package designed to ensure your well being and secure your future. Seize the opportunity to help solve something monumental. Dive into Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory's wide variety of job openings at LLNL.govcareers where you can also learn more about our application process. This is your chance to join a team dedicated to a mission that matters. Make your mark. Visit llnl.govcareers today to discover the roles waiting for you. Remember, your expertise might just be the spotlight of our next podcast interview.

Narrator (19:47)

Don't delay.

Podcast Host (19:48)

Uncover the myriad of opportunities available at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory.

President John F. Kennedy (20:03)

Yesterday, a shaft of light cut into the darkness Negotiations were concluded in Moscow on a treaty to ban all nuclear tests in the atmosphere, in outer space and underwater. For the first time, an agreement has been reached.

Igor Kurchatov (20:22)

On October 7, 1963, President Kennedy announced a joint agreement with the Soviet Union, the Nuclear Test Ban Treaty. Suddenly, labs would be limited in how.

Narrator (20:34)

They could test these weapons.

Igor Kurchatov (20:36)

The treaty called for a ban of all underwater and atmospheric testing while underground testing still remained. This was the first indicator that Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory was about to enter a new phase.

General Groves (20:50)

For the first roughly 20 years of the laboratory's existence, from 52 up through around 71 or 70, it was almost a complete nuclear weapons research and development enterprise.

Igor Kurchatov (21:03)

The lab was founded to develop and test nuclear devices, but as this testing ban went into effect, the scientists at Livermore had to pivot. In 1992, they had to pivot again when President George H.W. bush signed into law a moratorium on full scale nuclear testing. Without the ability to conduct full scale tests, how would the lab continue to research these devices further and ensure the safety, security and effectiveness of the existing nuclear stockpile?

General Groves (21:33)

But I think what's special about Livermore is that we basically have reinvented ourselves on at least two occasions in a complete way.

Igor Kurchatov (21:44)

This ushered in a new era, and to meet these new national security challenges, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory would have to develop new tools, technologies and teams. Tune in next time to learn about what would become one of the most important pieces of equipment in their arsenal. A technological advancement that has revolutionized not only how we approach national security work, but has changed how we process information forever.

Nuclear Scientist (22:13)

How can we make these codes so accurate that we have enough confidence to say to the President, our stockpile is safe and secure, or begin to field some new weapons without ever needing to revert back to underground testing.

Igor Kurchatov (22:31)

That and more next week on the Big Ideas Lab.

Podcast Host (22:38)

Thank you for tuning in to Big Ideas Lab. If you loved what you heard, please let us know by leaving a rating and review. And if you haven't already, don't forget to hit the Follow or Subscribe button.

Igor Kurchatov (22:49)

In your podcast app to keep up with our latest episode.

Narrator (22:52)

Thanks for listening.

Podcast Host (22:58)

Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory is opening its doors to a new wave of talent. Whether you're a scientist, an IT professional, a welder, an administrative or business professional, or an engineer, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory has an opportunity for you. From enhancing national security to pioneering new energy sources and advancing scientific frontiers, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory is where you can make your mark on the world. Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory's culture is rooted in collaboration, innovation and the pursuit of excellence. We offer a work environment that supports your professional growth and a benefits package that looks after your well being and future. Are you ready to contribute to work that matters? Visit llnl.govcareers to explore current job openings and learn more about the application process. Don't miss the chance to be a part of a mission driven team working on projects that make the impossible possible. Visit llnl.govcareers now to view the current job listings. Remember, that's llnl.govcareers. your expertise could be the highlight of our next podcast interview. Don't wait. Explore the possibilities today.