doctoral_advisor death_date death_place birth_place nationality field work_institutions birth_date known_for doctoral_students signature image article_title name alma_mater
henry dewolf smyth 14 july 1996 lexington , massachusetts cooperstown , new york american physics harvard university 27 july 1904 nuclear mass measurements director of the trinity nuclear test edward mills purcell kenneth bainbridge signature.jpg kenneth bainbridge.jpg kenneth bainbridge
 kenneth bainbridge massachusetts princeton university -lrb- ph.d. -rrb- institute of technology -lrb- s.b. , s.m. -rrb-
kenneth bainbridge

kenneth tompkins bainbridge -lrb- july 27 , 1904 -- july 14 , 1996 -rrb- was an american physicist at harvard university who did work on cyclotron research .
his precise measurements of mass differences between nuclear isotopes allowed him to confirm albert einstein 's mass-energy equivalence concept .
he was the director of the manhattan project 's trinity nuclear test , which took place july 16 , 1945 .
bainbridge described the trinity explosion a `` foul and awesome display '' .
he remarked to j. robert oppenheimer immediately after the test , `` now we are all sons of bitches . ''
this marked the beginning of his dedication to ending the testing of nuclear weapons and to efforts to maintain civilian control of future developments in that field .
