As a scientist I want to rip the theory of nuclear winter apart?

1) Does "As a scientist I want to rip the theory of nuclear winter apart" mean "As a scientist I want to tear the theory of nuclear winter into pieces/destroy the theory"?

2) Does "who had built the atomic bombs obviously knew their stuff" mean "who had built the atomic bombs obviously knew the power and the consequences of their atomic bombs"?

Context:

Nuclear winter[edit]

From his 1988 book Infinite in All Directions, he offered some criticism of then current models predicting a devastating nuclear winter in the event of a large-scale nuclear war:

As a scientist I want to rip the theory of nuclear winter apart, but as a human being I want to believe it. This is one of the rare instances of a genuine conflict between the demands of science and the demands of humanity. As a scientist, I judge the nuclear winter theory to be a sloppy piece of work, full of gaps and unjustified assumptions. As a human being, I hope fervently that it is right. Here is a real and uncomfortable dilemma. What does a scientist do when science and humanity pull in opposite directions?^[53]

Warfare and weapons[edit]

On hearing the news of the bombing of Hiroshima:

I agreed emphatically with Henry Stimson. Once we had got ourselves into the business of bombing cities, we might as well do the job competently and get it over with. I felt better that morning than I had felt for years… Those fellows who had built the atomic bombs obviously knew their stuff… Later, much later, I would remember [the downside].^[54]