More handpicked essays just for you.
The history of the atomic bomb essay
The history of the atomic bomb essay
The history of the atomic bomb essay
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
In 1939, the scientific world had discovered that Germany was building an atomic bomb. Albert Einstein had fled german prosecution earlier in his life. Upon hearing of Germany’s knowledge of splitting an uranium atom, he felt he must inform President Roosevelt about this. Roosevelt didn’t see the need in the atomic bomb but agreed to it anying. The code name for the atomic bomb was The Manhattan Project. Columbia University, the University of California at Berkeley, and the University of Chicago started the research for the atomic bomb. Enrico Fermi led a group of physicists to create the first controlled nuclear chain reaction underneath Stagg Field. Stagg Field was the University of Chicago’s football field. Here is where the first controlled …show more content…
There was also many scientists that helped Oppenheimer obviously. Enrico Fermi played a big role in making the bomb as …show more content…
The United States decided to bomb Japan in order to save American causalities. Harry Truman warned the Japanese that they should surrender but they didn’t. Almost 90,000 people died instantly with the two bombs. On August 6th, 1945, an atomic bomb was dropped on the city of Hiroshima, Japan. At 8:15 A.M., 80,000 people died instantly in Hiroshima. A blast equivalent to 15,000 tons of TNT. Ground zero was as big as four square blocks. Thousands of people died because of radiation poisoning around Hiroshima. Radiation poisoning eats away your cells and\or mutates it. This can cause almost any cancer known to man. The Enola Gay will be forever remember in this bombing. The Enola Gay was a B-29 bomber that dropped these atomic bombs. On this plane, there was 12 officers\pilots on it. There was also 12 cyanide pills that they were instructed to take if for some reason they would’ve been captured. Three days later, another atomic bomb was dropped in Nagasaki. This wasn’t as deadly as the first atomic bomb but this made the Japanese surrender. They had had enough. August 15th will forever be known as V-J Day. This date is when the Japanese surrendered to America in World War 2. I’m glad I chose this topic because it’s very interesting. I have learned a lot about the Manhattan Project. If I were the man in charge, I don’t think I could murder 90,000 innocent civilians. That was a gutsy
A young scientist who was very smart and intelligent was the creator of a bomb that killed millions. The bomb was the most powerful weapon that was ever manufactured. He changed the course of World War II. This man is Robert Oppenheimer, creator of the atomic bomb. The book “Bomb” by Steve Sheinkin, is a book that includes teamwork and how Americans made a deadly bomb that changed the course of the war. The book engages the reader through how spies share secret information with enemies. Because the physicists were specifically told not to share any information, they were not justified in supplying the Soviet Union with the bomb technology.
Upon entering World War II as a result of Japan’s attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, the United States faced the burden of fighting two dangerous military powers: Germany and Japan. Germany was developing new, secret weapons that could very likely be a potential threat to the United States. It had been reported that German scientists were experimenting with splitting the atom, which would release an enormous amount of energy.1 Whoever was successful with this tactic had the power to control the world. After receiving this information, President Harry Truman went into shock. The United States began atomic research shortly after with the help of physicists Leo Szilard and Albert Einstein.2 This effort was code-named the Manhattan Project, which took place in Los Alamos, New Mexico. The project involved more than half a million people working to design and predict the results of an atomic bomb. After spending two billion dollars, a test called Trinity was cond...
involvement in the creation of the atomic bomb which helped to end WWII, Enrico and
"We knew the world would not be the same,I remembered the line from the Hindu scripture: 'Now I am become death, the destroyer of worlds"'(Oppenheimer).The Manhattan Project was the study and the building of the atomic bomb, it changed many things in the history of the world. It changed scientist lives,science in the world, Japan, and international affairs. This paper will discuss why the Manhattan Project was started. It will also go over the science of the atomic bomb,the people behind it, the difference between the two bombs, and how it changed the world.
“The scientists working on this project had one goal: developing an atomic super weapon that would help the U.S. secure victory over the Axis powers during World War II” (Articles Master of Arts in Military History). Amongst these remarkably talented scientist and physicists were J. Robert Oppenheimer, Hans Bethe, and Ernest O. Lawrence. Oppenheimer also known as, “the father of the atomic bomb,” is well known for pioneering the Manhattan Project. As a result of Oppenheimer’s ingenious capabilities he was able to make significant contributions to the secret project. Oppenheimer completed various developments which resulted in the atomic bomb’s overall efficiency (Articles Master of Arts in Military History). Hans Bethe, a German-American nuclear physicist, was a crucial figure throughout the creation of the bombs. He’s credited with the assistance of discovering complicated formulas used for the creation of these dangerous weapons. Additionally, Bethe made noteworthy additions to the theory of nuclear reactions such as, the discovery of fission. Ernest O. Lawrence, an American nuclear physicist, is noted with the invention and development of artificial radioactive elements and the cyclotron, which proved to be detrimental in the Manhattan Projects success. Ten years later in 1939, Lawrence’s creation of the cyclotron resulted in him being
“I am the destroyer of worlds” a famous quote by a man that has changed the course of history forever. Not only will his invention lead to the end of World War II, but it will also be the cause of more small wars and be the invention of other things such as nuclear power plants. This is how the invention of the atomic bomb came to be how it is now.
In November 16, 1942 Los Alamos Ranch, New Mexico was set up for the building of the atomic bomb. Scientists were called to work at Los Alamos from all over America. In months to come the first design for the bomb was a gun type fission bomb. In theory they could load two pieces of very pure uranium into a specially made artillery gun. Inside the gun barrel they would fire the uranium at each. When the two met they would form a mass. The mass would have just the right amount of material needed a chain reaction. The reaction would
Without the works of many--in particular Enrico Fermi--the creation of the atomic bomb would’ve been a milestone achieved after World War II, if it were to end by 1945. The research of Fermi and others allowed him to conduct experiments that lead to the creation of the atomic pile--the original name for a nuclear reactor--and the first controlled nuclear chain reaction, which tremendously aided the Manhattan Project, a U.S. government project which led to the creation of the atomic bomb. As a physicist, his contributions were a catalyst for other important discoveries throughout his field.
When the United States caught word that Germany was close to creating the atomic bomb, J. Robert Oppenheimer and other scientists wanted to create it first, for the U.S. After three years of research, the first small atomic device was exploded on July 16, 1945 in the lab at Los Alamos. Having proved their concept worked, a larger scale bomb was built. Less than a month later, atomic bombs were dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in Japan (Rosenberg).
To sum up, Robert Oppenheimer was always ill during childhood so turned to learning for relief but was commonly bullied. After exceeding in math and science, he went to Harvard University and got advanced degrees in Europe. Years later, his greatest accomplishment was building the atomic bomb in which he soon regretted. He foresaw it would start a competition between America and Russia to make the most powerful bombs. He was then taken to court for weakening America and communism. This lead to depression until his death on February 18,
The Manhattan Project took place during World War II, in the late 1930s and early 1940s. Germany was already developing an atomic weapon. In 1939, Albert Einstein wrote to president Franklin Roosevelt, explaining an idea he had for developing a nuclear weapon, and saying they should begin to research it. Roosevelt agreed with Einstein, and organized a research committee. In 1942, Roosevelt created a secret government project to build a nuclear weapon. This project was titled the Manhattan Project, and was the largest secret government project in US history.
On August 9th, 1945 the bomb known as ‘Fat Man’ was dropped on the Japanese sea port of Nagasaki at 11: 02 a.m. killing 140,00 people within the next five years. (World War 2 Atomic Bomb, 2017)The plane used was a B-29 Superfortress “Bockscar” and the 22,000 tons of TNT killed 70,000 people on impact.(World War 2 Atomic Bomb, 2017) Nagasaki was important because of its presence in many industries including production of things for ships, war material, and military equipment. (World War 2 Atomic Bomb, 2017) A long six days after this second bombing the Japanese surrendered to the United States forces. The Japanese Emperor Hirohito surrendered over the radio, this being the first time most of his citizens had head his voice.( World War II, 2017) This surrender successfully ended Japan's involvement in World War II.
Hughes, J. (2003). The Manhattan Project : big science and the atom bomb. Cambridge: Icon.
It’s strange how the thousands of events that made up one man’s life eventually had a role in the fate of almost 200 thousand Japanese people and later the entire world. Here is the life of the one man. The man is J. Robert Oppenheimer. So little had an impact on so much. He was the man who was in charge of the Manhattan Project. It was the U.S. project to make an atomic bomb. A bomb with, at the time, unimaginable power. A bomb so powerful it could single-handedly destroy an entire city.
In 1941, the American government began its efforts to design and build an atomic bomb, after a few fundamental scientific milestones, and after the funds had been allocated for the project, the Manhattan project was advanced at a breakneck speed. General Lesley Groves was placed in charge of the Army corps of engineers and was responsible for the building of several facilities that were to be used for the research and development of the atomic bomb. The main assembly plant and headquarters for the Manhattan project were built at Los Alamos, New Mexico. Robert J. Oppenheimer was the head scientist personally selected by General Groves and placed in charge of overseeing and leading a group of elite scientists responsible for the development of the atomic bomb. ‘The Manhattan project employed over 120,000 American workers at its peak and after the final bill for the project had been tallied, nearly $2 billion dollars had been spent on the research and development of the atomic bomb’ . The