What is The Manhattan Project?
The Manhattan Project was the codename for the effort to develop a working atomic weapon during world war II in 1941. It was started in defense and retaliation towards opponents in WW2. In 1939, scientist who previously lived in Germany and moved to America strongly advised the American Government to start contrustructing an atomic bomb in preparation for World War Two. The scientist who had came from Germany to America noticed the other German scientist had found the secret of splitting uranium atoms also known as nuclear fission. Nuclear Fission is a nuclear process in which unstable nuclei splits, releases energy, and becomes a different type of nuclei. Fast forward to 1941, the U.S joined the war and were finally given the proper funds to start this project, but it had to be done in secret and privately so opponents wouldn’t find out.
How Much Was The Project In Total?
The Manhattan Project was originally thought to be around $6,000 because of its low significance going into the future. Eventually this price accumulated to around 2 million dollars with 120,000 people working on this project that was once estimated to be $6,000 dollars. There were plenty nuclear facilities including one in Oak Ridge, Tennessee;, Handford, Washington;, and a main assembly plant in Los Alamos, New Mexico. Of Course with this new technology, testing and training had to be conducted to make sure everything was under control. The first test was conducted on July 16, 1945 near Alamogordo, New Mexico. The nuclear bomb was attached to a 100 feet high tower, and when this bomb was dropped, the results were surprising and unexpected. A huge blinding flare could be seen from 200 miles away along with a huge cloud of smoke with a height of 40,000 feet. The bomb did so much damage, the military had to generate a lie saying an ammunition dump exploded to cover up this top secret project.
Who Were Some Important Scientist Involved?
Some of the important scientist involved in this project include J. Robert Oppenheimer, Katherine Way, George Warren Reed, and Leo Szilard. J. Robert Oppenheimer is known as the “Father of the Atomic Bomb” because he was the director at the Los Alamos laboratory and he was known and responsible for the research and design of the atomic bomb. Katherine Way was one of the Manhattan Project’s leading female scientists and she examined neutron flux data, and how fission products could poison nuclear reactors. George Warren Reed was one of the few African-Americans to work on the Manhattan Project. Reed studied and researched uranium, thorium and their fission yields to determine their importance in a chain reaction. Lastly, Leo Szilard was a Hungarian Physicist who collaborated with Einstein to write a letter to President Roosevelt encouraging the project due to other powers working on nuclear technology to use in World War II.
Editors, History.com. “Manhattan Project.” History.com, A&E Television Networks, 26 July 2017, www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/the-manhattan-project.
“Who Were the Manhattan Project Scientists?” Norwich University Online, online.norwich.edu/academic-programs/resources/who-were-the-manhattan-project-scientists.
“Profiles.” Atomic Heritage Foundation, www.atomicheritage.org/bios.