The Manhattan Project EssayIn 1938, German scientists split a uranium atom. After the news spread, there was a lot of panic that Hitler would create an atomic bomb. Hitler might actually have succeeded in making the first atomic bomb if not for the Nuremburg Laws he made in 1935. Under the Nuremburg Laws, Jews were persecuted, including the genius Jewish scientist, Albert Einstein. Albert Einstein came to the United States to seek asylum and contacted Franklin Roosevelt, our president at the time, urging him to develop an atomic bomb before Hitler. Einstein was originally a pacifist but after seeing what Hitler was doing, he could not stand to see Hitler create such a dangerous weapon. Roosevelt eventually agreed to Einsteins proposal to create an atomic bomb. This project was codenamed The Manhattan Project. The team of scientists was a dream team of brain power. The team included the famous European scientist Leo Szilard, Albert Einstein, Harold Urey, Enrico Fermi, and many other accomplished scientists. The first meeting of the research team was on October 21, 1939, under the name of the Advisory Committee on Uranium, or also known as the Briggs Uranium Committee. In the February of 1932, two physicists living in the United Kingdom, Otto Frisch and Rudolf Peierls, analyzed the possibility of fast fission in a uranium-235 atom. The next major development was when Philip Abelson began the development of a practical uranium enrichment system. In the same month, scientists Glenn Seaborg and Arthur Wahl discover

plutonium. Progress wasnt as fast as hoped for and it was not until December 18, 1941 that the United States starts its investigation into atomic weapons. By 1945, the Manhattan project had almost 40 separate laboratories and factories. Those facilities employed almost 200,000 people. In 1945, the first atomic bomb was created. It was called the Fat Boy and was tested on July 16, 1945 in a desert in New Mexico. The operation was codenamed Trinity. The Trinity test was a success and it led to the creation of two more atomic bombs that were used in WWII. The first bomb used in the actual was nicknamed Little Boy. The 9,000 pound was detonated in Hiroshima, Japan, killing over 66,000 people instantly. Three days later the second bomb nicknamed the Fat Man, weighing 10,000 pounds, was unloaded on the Japan city of Nagasaki. This bomb killed 39,000 people. Scientists later found out that the bombs only used 0.001 percent of their explosive capabilities. After seeing the destructive power of the bombs, Japan surrendered soon after. The atomic bombs left behind multiple bad effects. The rain after atomic blasts would be filled with unhealthy radioactive particles. Many of the survivors of the initial blasts died later on because of radiation poisoning. The bombs would continue to harm the offspring of survivors and make reconstruction nearly impossible. Nothing can be grown well where an atomic blast occurred and staying in the area is extremely dangerous. Although the atomic bomb harmed many people, it was not without positive effects either. The research done to create the atomic bomb helped scientists figure out how to harness the power of nuclear energy. This type of energy creating process,

although is somewhat risky and hard to deal with, is able to create huge amounts of energy with much less matter. Its used to power much of Europe today. The research also helped develop modern medical practices like CAT scans and chemotherapy. The Manhattan Project played a huge part in the setup of our modern society. The information I found out through this assignment was very interesting. I never actually knew that Einstein was Jewish. Until now, the atomic in my mind was simply another bomb only more effective than others. I never knew how it was created and who helped in the process of making it. The fact that Einstein was one of the major helpers in the creation of the atomic bomb blew my mind. All I knew Einstein for was the equations he made. Something else that caught my attention was the weight of the bombs. Fighter planes were developed in WWI, but in WWII we were already able to carry 10,000 pound bombs? Heck, we just got tanks in WWI and in WWII we suddenly get bombs that can wipe out cities? The articles I read really opened my eyes about how fast technology develops. Major developments are being made one after another and a lot of them stemming from one thing. We got chemotherapy, CAT scans, and a power source that powers a vast part of Europe. Frances power is over 74% nuclear. The creations of science are truly amazing.