--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The atomic bomb made the prospect of…" description: "\"The atomic bomb made the prospect of future war unendurable. It has led us up those last few steps to the mountain pass; and beyond there is a differen..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a42/j-robert-oppenheimer-6978_atomic-bomb_the-atomic-bomb-made-the-prospect-of-fut_2288678.jpg" --- # The atomic bomb made the prospect of future war… ![“The atomic bomb made the prospect of future war unendurable. It has led us up those last few steps to the mountain pass; and beyond there is a different country.” quote by J. Robert Oppenheimer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a42/j-robert-oppenheimer-6978_atomic-bomb_the-atomic-bomb-made-the-prospect-of-fut_2288678.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a42/j-robert-oppenheimer-6978_atomic-bomb_the-atomic-bomb-made-the-prospect-of-fut_2288678.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a42/j-robert-oppenheimer-6978_atomic-bomb_the-atomic-bomb-made-the-prospect-of-fut_2288678.jpg) > “The atomic bomb made the prospect of future war unendurable. It has led us up those last few steps to the mountain pass; and beyond there is a different country.” [J. Robert Oppenheimer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-robert-oppenheimer/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The creation of the atomic bomb made future wars seem intolerable, pushing humanity toward a new, uncertain era. **In simple terms:** Nuclear weapons changed war forever. Key Takeaway Recognize the responsibility of powerful technology. Themes war technology future Mood cautious somber Type historical political When to use this quote - policy making - education - global security Key Concepts ethics political science existential risk Questions to Reflect On - How should societies manage nuclear risk? - What alternatives to war exist? A Different Perspective Deterrence may not prevent conflict. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Atomic bomb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/atomic-bomb/) [Country](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/country/) [War](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/war/) ## Related quotes > [The function and Navy in any future war will be to support the dominant air arm.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jimmy-doolittle/the-function-and-navy-in-any-future-war-will-be-to-support-the/) [Jimmy Doolittle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jimmy-doolittle/) > [What is certain about the future is that even the best efforts to predict the conditions of future war will prove erroneous. What is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-r-mcmaster/what-is-certain-about-the-future-is-that-even-the-best-efforts-to/) [H. R. McMaster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-r-mcmaster/) > [What we can afford least is to define the problem of future war as we would like it to be and, by doing so,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-r-mcmaster/what-we-can-afford-least-is-to-define-the-problem-of-future-war-as-we/) [H. R. McMaster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-r-mcmaster/) > [First and foremost arms are tools in the service of rival nations, pointing at the possibility of a future war.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alva-myrdal/first-and-foremost-arms-are-tools-in-the-service-of-rival-nations/) [Alva Myrdal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alva-myrdal/) > [“New Mexico is home to the first atomic bomb exploded on USA soil.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-magee/new-mexico-is-home-to-the-first-atomic-bomb-exploded-on-usa-soil/) [Steven Magee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-magee/) > [I did not want to be labelled 'the designer who survived the atomic bomb,' and therefore I have always avoided questions about Hiroshima.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/issey-miyake/i-did-not-want-to-be-labelled-the-designer-who-survived-the-atomic/) [Issey Miyake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/issey-miyake/) > [“It is only a matter of time before another nuclear bomb is detonated during war.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-magee/it-is-only-a-matter-of-time-before-another-nuclear-bomb-is-detonated/) [Steven Magee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-magee/) > [The atomic bomb provoked a specific accident.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-virilio/the-atomic-bomb-provoked-a-specific-accident/) [Paul Virilio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-virilio/) > [The only use for an atomic bomb is to keep somebody else from using one. It can give us no protection-only the doubtful satisfaction…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-wald/the-only-use-for-an-atomic-bomb-is-to-keep-somebody-else-from-using-2/) [George Wald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-wald/) > [Fatigue is what we experience, but it is what a match is to an atomic bomb.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-hillenbrand/fatigue-is-what-we-experience-but-it-is-what-a-match-is-to-an-atomic/) [Laura Hillenbrand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-hillenbrand/) > [The only use for an atomic bomb is to keep somebody else from using one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-wald/the-only-use-for-an-atomic-bomb-is-to-keep-somebody-else-from-using/) [George Wald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-wald/) > [“I showed him the sea. It's a great luxury, being able to see it from the balcony. 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O'Rourke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/p-j-o-rourke/) > [“The atomic bomb brings the men home from every quarter of the earth because the war is not so much over as stunned back…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sebastian-barry/the-atomic-bomb-brings-the-men-home-from-every-quarter-of-the-earth/) [Sebastian Barry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sebastian-barry/) > [“when an atomic bomb is detonated above the earth’s atmosphere, it can generate a “pulse wave,” which travels at the speed of light, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-r-forstchen/when-an-atomic-bomb-is-detonated-above-the-earth-s-atmosphere-it-can/) [William R. Forstchen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-r-forstchen/) ## More by J. 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Robert Oppenheimer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-robert-oppenheimer/) > [It is proper to the role of the scientist that he not merely find new truth and communicate it to his fellows, but that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-robert-oppenheimer/it-is-proper-to-the-role-of-the-scientist-that-he-not-merely-find-new/) [J. Robert Oppenheimer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-robert-oppenheimer/) > [To try to be happy is to try to build a machine with no other specification than that it shall run noiselessly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-robert-oppenheimer/to-try-to-be-happy-is-to-try-to-build-a-machine-with-no-other/) [J. Robert Oppenheimer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-robert-oppenheimer/) > [We knew the world would not be the same. A few people laughed, a few people cried. Most people were silent. I remembered the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-robert-oppenheimer/we-knew-the-world-would-not-be-the-same-a-few-people-laughed-a-few/) [J. Robert Oppenheimer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-robert-oppenheimer/) > [We hunger for nobility: the rare words and acts that harmonize simplicity and truth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-robert-oppenheimer/we-hunger-for-nobility-the-rare-words-and-acts-that-harmonize/) [J. Robert Oppenheimer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-robert-oppenheimer/) > [I saw what the Depression was doing to my students. Often they could get no jobs, or jobs which were wholly inadequate. And through…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-robert-oppenheimer/i-saw-what-the-depression-was-doing-to-my-students-often-they-could/) [J. Robert Oppenheimer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-robert-oppenheimer/) > [This world of ours is a new world, in which the unit of knowledge, the nature of human communities, the order of society, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-robert-oppenheimer/this-world-of-ours-is-a-new-world-in-which-the-unit-of-knowledge-the/) [J. Robert Oppenheimer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-robert-oppenheimer/) > [My childhood did not prepare me for the fact that the world is full of cruel and bitter things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-robert-oppenheimer/my-childhood-did-not-prepare-me-for-the-fact-that-the-world-is-full/) [J. Robert Oppenheimer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-robert-oppenheimer/) > [You can certainly destroy enough of humanity so that only the greatest act of faith can persuade you that what's left will be human.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-robert-oppenheimer/you-can-certainly-destroy-enough-of-humanity-so-that-only-the/) [J. Robert Oppenheimer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-robert-oppenheimer/) > [In the spring of 1936, I was introduced by friends to Jean Tatlock. In the autumn, I began to court her. We were at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-robert-oppenheimer/in-the-spring-of-1936-i-was-introduced-by-friends-to-jean-tatlock-in/) [J. Robert Oppenheimer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-robert-oppenheimer/) > [When we deny the EVIL within ourselves, we dehumanize ourselves, and we deprive ourselves not only of our own destiny but of any possibility…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-robert-oppenheimer/when-we-deny-the-evil-within-ourselves-we-dehumanize-ourselves-and-we/) [J. Robert Oppenheimer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-robert-oppenheimer/) > [Pragmatism is an intellectually safe but ultimately sterile philosophy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-robert-oppenheimer/pragmatism-is-an-intellectually-safe-but-ultimately-sterile-philosophy/) [J. Robert Oppenheimer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-robert-oppenheimer/) > [“Knowledge cannot be pursued without morality.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-robert-oppenheimer/knowledge-cannot-be-pursued-without-morality/) [J. Robert Oppenheimer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-robert-oppenheimer/) [Explore all 96 J. Robert Oppenheimer quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-robert-oppenheimer/) ## More Atomic bomb quotes > [Gee, I wish we had one of them doomsday machines things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stanley-kubrick/gee-i-wish-we-had-one-of-them-doomsday-machines-things/) [Stanley Kubrick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stanley-kubrick/) > [“If we do not stop these mar-makers not,...it will soon be too late. We are the only nation that can halt this crusade. It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-aldridge/if-we-do-not-stop-these-mar-makers-not-it-will-soon-be-too-late-we/) [James Aldridge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-aldridge/) > [We have genuflected before the god of science only to find that it has given us the atomic bomb, producing fears and anxieties that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/we-have-genuflected-before-the-god-of-science-only-to-find-that-it/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“when an atomic bomb is detonated above the earth’s atmosphere, it can generate a “pulse wave,” which travels at the speed of light, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-r-forstchen/when-an-atomic-bomb-is-detonated-above-the-earth-s-atmosphere-it-can/) [William R. Forstchen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-r-forstchen/) > [“I come and stand at every door But none can hear my silent tread I knock and yet remain unseen For I am dead…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/naz-m-hikmet/i-come-and-stand-at-every-door-but-none-can-hear-my-silent-tread-i/) [Nazim Hikmet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/naz-m-hikmet/) > [“Who wants to serve in a police vice squad, spending hours peeking into men’s johns to detect acts of homosexuality? Who wants a job…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-w-watts/who-wants-to-serve-in-a-police-vice-squad-spending-hours-peeking-into/) [Alan W. 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After the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/koji-nakanishi/the-ginkgo-tree-is-from-the-era-of-dinosaurs-but-while-the-dinosaur/) Koji Nakanishi > [If some nuclear properties of the heavy elements had been a little different from what they turned out to be, it might have been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emilio-g-segre/if-some-nuclear-properties-of-the-heavy-elements-had-been-a-little/) Emilio G. Segre > [I had been conscious of depression and so I voiced to (Sec. Of War Stimson) my grave misgivings, first on the basis of my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dwight-d-eisenhower/i-had-been-conscious-of-depression-and-so-i-voiced-to-sec-of-war/) [Dwight D. 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