The Manhattan Project: The Creation Of The Atomic Bomb
In 1942 the U.S. government started the Manhattan Project, which was the secret effort to make a bomb based on nuclear fission (Levine 269). The project’s name originated because it was initially located in the Manhattan district of the Army Corps of Engineers (Schlager 408). Frist, the initiative was put into motion because of the growing fear that Nazi Germany might be developing an atomic bomb following a number of their advances in science (Kraft). President Roosevelt eventually started the project after Einstein sent a letter to him, urging the development (Manhattan). When the atomic bomb was successfully created, the reasons for detonation in Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan included “ending the war as quickly as possible (to save millions
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of lives), making Stalin tractable, and justifying the $2-billion cost of the Manhattan Project” (Yagami). While the atomic bomb was necessary, it also resulted in a great deal of aftermath. Thus, the question arises: in what ways and to what extent did the Manhattan Project affect people, society, and the world?
The Manhattan Project involved a long process of different steps to start the project and develop the atomic bomb. After President Roosevelt approved and sanctioned the project, scientists then “took steps in 1939 to organize a project to exploit the newly recognized fission process for military purposes” (“Atomic”). One aspect of development was the scientists at Oak Ridge that worked on uranium and the others at Hanford on plutonium (Schneider 197). Next, the actual production of the weapons from the materials produced by Hanford and Oak Ridge were at Los Alamos under the direction of Berkeley physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer (Bondi 493). Nuclear fuel for atomic weapons was open for production after Italian refugee physicist, Enrico Fermi, produced the first uncontrolled nuclear chain reaction (Schneider 211). It is a “self-sustaining process of energy release from atomic fission” (Schlager 408). By the end of the same year, many scientists believed that the process of nuclear fission could be used to create the world’s most powerful weapon (Schlager 408). Finally, the first successful bomb was detonated on July 16, 1945, at Trinity site near Alamogordo, New Mexico (“Manhattan”). The development process allowed the United States and the Manhattan Project to produce a weapon that would change history.
The immense power of the atomic bomb created by the Manhattan Project inflicted an enormous amount of damage. The first detonation “generated an explosive power equivalent to 15,000 to 20,000 tons of trinitrotoluene (TNT). The tower was completely vaporized and the surrounding desert surface fused to glass for a radius of 800 yards” (“Atomic”). However, the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki had even more of an impact, because hundreds of thousands of people died in the devastating blasts (Bondi 463). The explosion was so powerful that “within an instant, 50,000 people were incinerated. Almost 30,000 more would eventually die of radiation sickness and leukemia within a few short months” (Schlager 412). The people were affected from radiation “by breathing contaminated air, eating contaminated foods, and drinking affected water and milk” (Than). The power of the atomic bombs affected a lot of land and people in the period of World War II.
The explosions of the atomic bombs created by the Manhattan Project still affect the people of today’s world. The radiation emitted from the bombs is also continuing to impact people, because the first explosion site is open to the public for limited visits. People come to see the crater, but “according to the public affairs office at White Sands, a one-hour visit to ground zero will result in a whole body exposure of one-half to one millirem. To put this in perspective, a U.S. adult receives 360 millirems on average every year from natural and medical sources” (Than). The atomic bombs’ “lingering effects could re-shape the environment in ways never conceived. In terms of climate, a nuclear blast could plunge temperatures across large swaths of the globe” (Bryner). The loads of black smoke from the explosions would settle into the upper atmosphere and absorb sunlight before it reaches our planet’s surface which changes the climate (Bryner). The Manhattan Project inadvertently contributed to the causes of global warming and climate changes. While there are various negative impacts, the Manhattan Project also had several constructive outcomes.
Science is one of the most significant factors impacted by the work of the Manhattan Project.
During the war many scientists came to America and prompted several of the advances in science. Among those were Albert Einstein, who fled Nazi persecution, and Enrico Fermi, who escaped Fascist Italy (“Manhattan”). The scientist brought new and innovative thinking from their experiences in former countries. One obvious example is the new ability to produce successful nuclear chain reactions. The most immediate impact of Fermi’s nuclear reactor was the ability to create a weapon of mass destruction, the atomic bomb. It also made the plutonium production reactors possible and verified the bomb designers’ physics calculations (Schlager 436). In the early 1900s, scientists only knew ninety-two natural elements. Research later revealed that bombarding an atom of one element with protons can produce a different element (Levine 269). The U.S. physicist Ernest Orlando Lawrence built the first cyclotron, or atom smasher, that allowed scientists to carry out this process. Therefore, cyclotrons “became the basic tool in an international effort to produce new chemical elements” (Levine 269). One of the most influential elements, plutonium, “which proved to be a better nuclear-weapons material than uranium, was discovered in 1940” using a cyclotron (Levine 269). By the end of the century, the research in the United States, Germany, and the former Soviet Union expanded the periodic table to 112 …show more content…
elements (Levine 269). At the same time the Manhattan project significantly influenced these aspects of science, it also had various impacts in ordinary life.
The Manhattan Project also provided the medical field with numerous new forms of treatment. The same people who developed atomic weapons to destroy human life also created many by-products that are now used to save lives. One example is the radioisotopes that could work within the body to kill only diseased cancer cells, rather than damaging many healthy tissues as well (Bondi 407). Eventually, these isotopes which are by-products of atomic energy were put to work in laboratories to treat diseases and study the human body after the end of World War II (Bondi 407). The new materials were a powerful and highly selective weapon for destroying certain types of cancer (Bondi 407). The optimism, after observing the mass destruction of the atomic bombs, was the good that could come from it. Many scientists hoped and “believed a longer and healthier life for millions would come from the deadly material that rained down on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945” (Bondi 407). The atomic bomb had multiple positive and negative impacts which caused people to have different opinions about the Manhattan Project.
The Manhattan Project generated several different opinions of the atomic bomb.
Despite the fact that the public overwhelmingly approved of the atomic bomb, America’s religious leaders responded to the bomb less enthusiastically. The doubts and misgivings about living in an atomic world soon became part of American popular culture (Bondi 463). Some religious observers thought the atomic bomb was foreshadowing the end of the world because they interpreted the destructive power as making the apocalypse prophesied in the Bible possible (Bondi 463). While the project’s success relieved and pleased many, some of the scientists were uneasy about the power that had been unleashed (Bondi 489). The bomb acquired some support because of the fact that it ended the war, but even months after “the bomb also began to effect an extraordinary philosophical reassessment, and generate a penetrating level of guilt and fear” (Jennings 291). The atomic bombs’ massive destruction left people with many mixed emotions about the new power existing in the
world.
People, society, and the world were positively and negatively affected by the Manhattan Project. The government put a lot of time and money into development, which resulted in the amazing discovery of the new weapon. The atomic bomb brought everyone into a nuclear age that was life changing. It unleashed a power into the world that caused many deaths and tragedies. The new discoveries made under the Manhattan Project also helped advance many aspects of society, such as science and medicine. The controversies over the good and bad aspects of the Manhattan Project still provoke debate today because of the unalterable changes the atomic bomb brought to the world. It is certain that the world would not be what it is today without the influences and the results of the Manhattan Project.
of lives), making Stalin tractable, and justifying the $2-billion cost of the Manhattan Project” (Yagami). While the atomic bomb was necessary, it also resulted in a great deal of aftermath. Thus, the question arises: in what ways and to what extent did the Manhattan Project affect people, society, and the world?
The Manhattan Project involved a long process of different steps to start the project and develop the atomic bomb. After President Roosevelt approved and sanctioned the project, scientists then “took steps in 1939 to organize a project to exploit the newly recognized fission process for military purposes” (“Atomic”). One aspect of development was the scientists at Oak Ridge that worked on uranium and the others at Hanford on plutonium (Schneider 197). Next, the actual production of the weapons from the materials produced by Hanford and Oak Ridge were at Los Alamos under the direction of Berkeley physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer (Bondi 493). Nuclear fuel for atomic weapons was open for production after Italian refugee physicist, Enrico Fermi, produced the first uncontrolled nuclear chain reaction (Schneider 211). It is a “self-sustaining process of energy release from atomic fission” (Schlager 408). By the end of the same year, many scientists believed that the process of nuclear fission could be used to create the world’s most powerful weapon (Schlager 408). Finally, the first successful bomb was detonated on July 16, 1945, at Trinity site near Alamogordo, New Mexico (“Manhattan”). The development process allowed the United States and the Manhattan Project to produce a weapon that would change history.
The immense power of the atomic bomb created by the Manhattan Project inflicted an enormous amount of damage. The first detonation “generated an explosive power equivalent to 15,000 to 20,000 tons of trinitrotoluene (TNT). The tower was completely vaporized and the surrounding desert surface fused to glass for a radius of 800 yards” (“Atomic”). However, the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki had even more of an impact, because hundreds of thousands of people died in the devastating blasts (Bondi 463). The explosion was so powerful that “within an instant, 50,000 people were incinerated. Almost 30,000 more would eventually die of radiation sickness and leukemia within a few short months” (Schlager 412). The people were affected from radiation “by breathing contaminated air, eating contaminated foods, and drinking affected water and milk” (Than). The power of the atomic bombs affected a lot of land and people in the period of World War II.
The explosions of the atomic bombs created by the Manhattan Project still affect the people of today’s world. The radiation emitted from the bombs is also continuing to impact people, because the first explosion site is open to the public for limited visits. People come to see the crater, but “according to the public affairs office at White Sands, a one-hour visit to ground zero will result in a whole body exposure of one-half to one millirem. To put this in perspective, a U.S. adult receives 360 millirems on average every year from natural and medical sources” (Than). The atomic bombs’ “lingering effects could re-shape the environment in ways never conceived. In terms of climate, a nuclear blast could plunge temperatures across large swaths of the globe” (Bryner). The loads of black smoke from the explosions would settle into the upper atmosphere and absorb sunlight before it reaches our planet’s surface which changes the climate (Bryner). The Manhattan Project inadvertently contributed to the causes of global warming and climate changes. While there are various negative impacts, the Manhattan Project also had several constructive outcomes.
Science is one of the most significant factors impacted by the work of the Manhattan Project.
During the war many scientists came to America and prompted several of the advances in science. Among those were Albert Einstein, who fled Nazi persecution, and Enrico Fermi, who escaped Fascist Italy (“Manhattan”). The scientist brought new and innovative thinking from their experiences in former countries. One obvious example is the new ability to produce successful nuclear chain reactions. The most immediate impact of Fermi’s nuclear reactor was the ability to create a weapon of mass destruction, the atomic bomb. It also made the plutonium production reactors possible and verified the bomb designers’ physics calculations (Schlager 436). In the early 1900s, scientists only knew ninety-two natural elements. Research later revealed that bombarding an atom of one element with protons can produce a different element (Levine 269). The U.S. physicist Ernest Orlando Lawrence built the first cyclotron, or atom smasher, that allowed scientists to carry out this process. Therefore, cyclotrons “became the basic tool in an international effort to produce new chemical elements” (Levine 269). One of the most influential elements, plutonium, “which proved to be a better nuclear-weapons material than uranium, was discovered in 1940” using a cyclotron (Levine 269). By the end of the century, the research in the United States, Germany, and the former Soviet Union expanded the periodic table to 112 …show more content…
elements (Levine 269). At the same time the Manhattan project significantly influenced these aspects of science, it also had various impacts in ordinary life.
The Manhattan Project also provided the medical field with numerous new forms of treatment. The same people who developed atomic weapons to destroy human life also created many by-products that are now used to save lives. One example is the radioisotopes that could work within the body to kill only diseased cancer cells, rather than damaging many healthy tissues as well (Bondi 407). Eventually, these isotopes which are by-products of atomic energy were put to work in laboratories to treat diseases and study the human body after the end of World War II (Bondi 407). The new materials were a powerful and highly selective weapon for destroying certain types of cancer (Bondi 407). The optimism, after observing the mass destruction of the atomic bombs, was the good that could come from it. Many scientists hoped and “believed a longer and healthier life for millions would come from the deadly material that rained down on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945” (Bondi 407). The atomic bomb had multiple positive and negative impacts which caused people to have different opinions about the Manhattan Project.
The Manhattan Project generated several different opinions of the atomic bomb.
Despite the fact that the public overwhelmingly approved of the atomic bomb, America’s religious leaders responded to the bomb less enthusiastically. The doubts and misgivings about living in an atomic world soon became part of American popular culture (Bondi 463). Some religious observers thought the atomic bomb was foreshadowing the end of the world because they interpreted the destructive power as making the apocalypse prophesied in the Bible possible (Bondi 463). While the project’s success relieved and pleased many, some of the scientists were uneasy about the power that had been unleashed (Bondi 489). The bomb acquired some support because of the fact that it ended the war, but even months after “the bomb also began to effect an extraordinary philosophical reassessment, and generate a penetrating level of guilt and fear” (Jennings 291). The atomic bombs’ massive destruction left people with many mixed emotions about the new power existing in the
world.
People, society, and the world were positively and negatively affected by the Manhattan Project. The government put a lot of time and money into development, which resulted in the amazing discovery of the new weapon. The atomic bomb brought everyone into a nuclear age that was life changing. It unleashed a power into the world that caused many deaths and tragedies. The new discoveries made under the Manhattan Project also helped advance many aspects of society, such as science and medicine. The controversies over the good and bad aspects of the Manhattan Project still provoke debate today because of the unalterable changes the atomic bomb brought to the world. It is certain that the world would not be what it is today without the influences and the results of the Manhattan Project.