Atomic Bomb Essay, Research Paper

The way the world thinks of war changed forever in 1945. On July 16 in Alamogordo, New Mexico, America exploded the world’s first atomic bomb, sending a huge mushroom-shaped cloud high into the sky. The Manhattan Project, which was used to end World War II, was mostly led by German and

German-Jewish scientists, who had escaped from Hitler’s Germany.

In 1939, an American university professor named Albert Einstein wrote a letter to President Franklin D. Roosevelt, in which he outlined the possibility of using a

nuclear chain reaction for a bomb. After reading the letter, Roosevelt began the Manhattan Project in 1943. Only a few people knew of the project, which was

headed by J. Robert Oppenheimer, an atomic scientist from Germany.

On August 6th and 9th of 1945, American planes dropped one atomic bomb each on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan. The first bomb destroyed 80 percent

of Hiroshima’s buildings and killed about 80,000 people. The second bomb killed

about 35,000 people. Japan surrendered to America after Nagasaki, but the

people of Japan suffered failing health and horrible deaths for years afterward

due to the effects of atomic radiation.

Einstein later regretted his letter to Roosevelt, but he feared the Nazis would develop an atomic weapon and use it on America. Many scientific and military

people involved with developing the bomb did not want it to be used, feeling it was immoral.

The atomic bomb controversy started on August 6, 1945. The Atomic

bomb was first used in combat as it was dropped on Hiroshima, Japan. The

explosive power of the weapon was finally displayed. Within a few days,

another bomb was dropped on Nagasaki, Japan. The atomic bomb was

one of the most destructive weapons of war used in combat. It ended the

seconed World War. However, the bomb’s used turned out to be a big

controversy. President Harry Truman had many good reasons of dropping

such a deadly bomb, but some people thought we shouldn’t have ended the

war like we did.

President Truman decided to put many years of nuclear warfare research to

use when he choose to use the new weapon. The atomic bomb was built as

a weapon of war, the purpose of it was for a military weapon. America was

at war and congress had allowed spending two billion dollars on the

project. If the United States did not use the weapon, an asset, as well as a

lot money, would have been wasted.

Another reason Truman decided to use the atomic bomb was to end such a

horrific war quickly and without the loss of many american lives. Many

people did die as a result of the atomic bomb, but the amount saved if far

more greater. Truman new if he decided to go on with traditional war with

Japan, the amount of americans dead would be tremendous. President

Truman decided that he would spare the lives of many americans by using

the atomic bomb at cost of some of the enemy’s civilians.

The Japanesse attack on Pearl Harbor brought us into a war which we had

vainly hoped to avoid. We could no longer do nothing but were compelled t

do something to roll back the Japenesse militariasts. Our natural right of self

defense as well as our moral duty to defeat justified Truman’s decision to

wage the war and, ultimately, to drop the atomic bomb. Truman was a man

who understood the moral issues at stake and who had the courage to

strike a decisive blow that quickly brought to an end to the most destructive

war in human history.

President Truman had very good reasons of why to drop the atomic

bomb;though, people had remained controversial to his decision. Some

american people were upset we had opened a new nuclear age. They had

great anxiety and fear of dropping the bomb. Some americans thought, yes,

it may have end the war, but later they thought we would suffer the

consequences. They felt if we dropped the bomb, which we did, it would

cause the collapse of the greatest threat to world peace. In the end though,

Truman fought this and knew fear is a part of the human condition and these

peacful nations that learn to live with the destructive potential of nuclear

power and copalle of great good.

In conclusion, I feel President Truman made a good decision. He was not in

a position to do anything, but allow the dropping bomb to prevent millions

of american soldiers deaths. If all things are considered, Truman made the

right decision. The amount of american lives, Truman saved is

immeasurable. I believe the atomic bomb proved to be an extremely

valuable weapon for the United States as it ended World War two. I also

think though the topic of dropping the atomic bomb will always remain

controversial.

On August 6, 1945 the atomic bomb was dropped on the Japanese

city of Hiroshima. The Enola Gay, piloted by Colonel Tibbetts, was

chosen to make the mission. The mission was recorded as successful by

Capt. William S. Parson at 9:20 A.M. This was an extremely

controversial military strategy in the United States. Was the United

States justified in the dropping of the atomic bomb? Yes, they were

justified for many reasons. The primary reason was, that it would stop

the war. Why is it that this war needed to be stopped so badly? Even

though in some ways it was helping our economy, it was very costly in

both money and lives. Also, the United States soldiers were undergoing

harsh treatment by the unmerciful Japanese. Another reason the war

needed to be stopped was to defend ourselves from another attack on

U.S. soil, which in turn would kill many of our U.S. citizens. This is

why the war needed to be stopped; thus, justifying the use of the

atomic bomb. World War II was the costliest war in history, in terms

of lives lost. No exact figures exist, but approximately between 15

and 20 million military personnel were killed. Of these, 292,000 were

Americans and 6,000 innocent United States citizens were murdered by

our enemies. It has been estimated that if the United States had not

dropped the bomb and had invaded Japan instead, the United States

would have lost about a million soldiers. The Japanese suicidal

fighting strategies greatly effected this number. The Japanese would

rather die than surrender. This is demonstrated by the battle of

Saipan. At this battle over half of the population of Saipan walked

off a cliff instead of surrendering to the United States. This was

often very effective. Many times when a Japanese soldier decided to

blow himself up instead of surrendering he would kill many Americans

with the same blast. Also the kamikaze techniques of the Japanese

fighters killed many soldiers. If this war would have continued we

could have lost thousands more. Also up to this point we spent 300

billion dollars on war efforts. Many materials and other objects were

damaged. Any estimate on how much money was lost in damages would be

futile. This number would have continued to rise if it had not been

for the use of the atomic bomb. The horrendous atrocities that

occurred during World War II were unmerciful as well as unnecessary.

During one invasion of China, the rape of Nanking, the Japanese killed

100,000 Chinese civilians. They were burned, butchered, and raped.

Sometimes the Japanese would tie a big group of them together and use

them for bayonet and sword practice. After the fall of Bataan the

soldiers were forced to go on a death march. During this march many

unheard of things happened to the soldiers. A soldier was often killed

for trying to get a drink of water. If a soldier fell down the

Japanese would either bayonet them or knock them unconscious. Once

they were knocked unconscious, the Japanese then forced another

American soldier to bury the unconscious soldier alive. One soldier

once commented, “The worst time was once when a burial victim with

about six inches of earth over him suddenly regained consciousness and

clawed his way out until he was almost sitting upright. Then I learned

to what length a man will go to hang onto his life. The bayonets began

to prod me in the side and I was forced to bash the soldier over the

head with the shovel and then finish burying him.”(Kappler, Pg. 168)

This harsh treatment to innocent civilians and our soldiers needed to

stop. The atomic bomb was a way to stop it. On December 7, 1941,”

A day that will live in infamy,” Pearl Harbor was deliberately

attacked by the Japanese. Reports indicate that 2400 people were

killed and 1300 were wounded. The reason Japan bombed Pearl Harbor

was

because that was where all of our Navy ships were positioned. They

were hoping to take out the Navy and were almost successful. The

aircraft carriers were expected to be in the harbor, but luckily were

not. Although the attack may have been a military success in the minds

of the Japanese it became a huge mistake in the final analysis. One

reason it was a mistake was it caused the U.S. to enter the war. We

were the ultimate cause to Japan losing the war. Secondly it made the

Americans angry and determined to destroy the Japanese. Many

congressmen volunteered for active duty, asking for a one day respite

to cast their vote for war. Also recruiting offices were flooded with

young patriots who wanted to help there country out. This attack was

just an example of what could have happened if the war had continued.

If the war had continued another attack on U.S. soil could have taken

place. This could have turned the 6,000 dead American civilians into

9,000 dead civilians. That number could have kept rising until the war

was over. That is another reason the bomb needed to be dropped to stop

the war.

The war was a horrible thing. It killed millions and destroyed

the lives of millions more. It lasted six years and could have lasted

longer; with death and destruction increasing every year. Ending such

a horrible thing should be reason enough to drop the atomic bomb. The

cruelty of the Japanese at such places as Bataan and Nanking was

horrible and needed to be stopped. Although the atomic bomb caused

much death devastation it indirectly saved lives. America made their

power known by frightening other European powers. This bombing has

serviced to prohibit future attacks on American soil. The atomic bomb

was the best solution. The atomic bomb may have killed thousands, but

it saved millions.

On August 6, 1945 the atomic bomb was dropped on the Japanese

city of Hiroshima. The Enola Gay, piloted by Colonel Tibbetts, was

chosen to make the mission. The mission was recorded as successful by

Capt. William S. Parson at 9:20 A.M. This was an extremely

controversial military strategy in the United States. Was the United

States justified in the dropping of the atomic bomb? Yes, they were

justified for many reasons. The primary reason was, that it would stop

the war. Why is it that this war needed to be stopped so badly? Even

though in some ways it was helping our economy, it was very costly in

both money and lives. Also, the United States soldiers were undergoing

harsh treatment by the unmerciful Japanese. Another reason the war

needed to be stopped was to defend ourselves from another attack on

U.S. soil, which in turn would kill many of our U.S. citizens. This is

why the war needed to be stopped; thus, justifying the use of the

atomic bomb. World War II was the costliest war in history, in terms

of lives lost. No exact figures exist, but approximately between 15

and 20 million military personnel were killed. Of these, 292,000 were

Americans and 6,000 innocent United States citizens were murdered by

our enemies. It has been estimated that if the United States had not

dropped the bomb and had invaded Japan instead, the United States

would have lost about a million soldiers. The Japanese suicidal

fighting strategies greatly effected this number. The Japanese would

rather die than surrender. This is demonstrated by the battle of

Saipan. At this battle over half of the population of Saipan walked

off a cliff instead of surrendering to the United States. This was

often very effective. Many times when a Japanese soldier decided to

blow himself up instead of surrendering he would kill many Americans

with the same blast. Also the kamikaze techniques of the Japanese

fighters killed many soldiers. If this war would have continued we

could have lost thousands more. Also up to this point we spent 300

billion dollars on war efforts. Many materials and other objects were

damaged. Any estimate on how much money was lost in damages would be

futile. This number would have continued to rise if it had not been

for the use of the atomic bomb. The horrendous atrocities that

occurred during World War II were unmerciful as well as unnecessary.

During one invasion of China, the rape of Nanking, the Japanese killed

100,000 Chinese civilians. They were burned, butchered, and raped.

Sometimes the Japanese would tie a big group of them together and use

them for bayonet and sword practice. After the fall of Bataan the

soldiers were forced to go on a death march. During this march many

unheard of things happened to the soldiers. A soldier was often killed

for trying to get a drink of water. If a soldier fell down the

Japanese would either bayonet them or knock them unconscious. Once

they were knocked unconscious, the Japanese then forced another

American soldier to bury the unconscious soldier alive. One soldier

once commented, “The worst time was once when a burial victim with

about six inches of earth over him suddenly regained consciousness and

clawed his way out until he was almost sitting upright. Then I learned

to what length a man will go to hang onto his life. The bayonets began

to prod me in the side and I was forced to bash the soldier over the

head with the shovel and then finish burying him.”(Kappler, Pg. 168)

This harsh treatment to innocent civilians and our soldiers needed to

stop. The atomic bomb was a way to stop it. On December 7, 1941,”

A day that will live in infamy,” Pearl Harbor was deliberately

attacked by the Japanese. Reports indicate that 2400 people were

killed and 1300 were wounded. The reason Japan bombed Pearl Harbor

was

because that was where all of our Navy ships were positioned. They

were hoping to take out the Navy and were almost successful. The

aircraft carriers were expected to be in the harbor, but luckily were

not. Although the attack may have been a military success in the minds

of the Japanese it became a huge mistake in the final analysis. One

reason it was a mistake was it caused the U.S. to enter the war. We

were the ultimate cause to Japan losing the war. Secondly it made the

Americans angry and determined to destroy the Japanese. Many

congressmen volunteered for active duty, asking for a one day respite

to cast their vote for war. Also recruiting offices were flooded with

young patriots who wanted to help there country out. This attack was

just an example of what could have happened if the war had continued.

If the war had continued another attack on U.S. soil could have taken

place. This could have turned the 6,000 dead American civilians into

9,000 dead civilians. That number could have kept rising until the war

was over. That is another reason the bomb needed to be dropped to stop

the war.

The war was a horrible thing. It killed millions and destroyed

the lives of millions more. It lasted six years and could have lasted

longer; with death and destruction increasing every year. Ending such

a horrible thing should be reason enough to drop the atomic bomb. The

cruelty of the Japanese at such places as Bataan and Nanking was

horrible and needed to be stopped. Although the atomic bomb caused

much death devastation it indirectly saved lives. America made their

power known by frightening other European powers. This bombing has

serviced to prohibit future attacks on American soil. The atomic bomb

was the best solution. The atomic bomb may have killed thousands, but

it saved millions.

Just before the beginning of World War II, Albert Einstein

wrote a letter to President Franklin D. Roosevelt. Urged by

Hungarian-born physicists Leo Szilard, Eugene Wingner, and Edward

Teller, Einstein told Roosevelt about Nazi German efforts to purify

Uranium-235 which might be used to build an atomic bomb. Shortly after

that the United States Government began work on the Manhattan Project.

The Manhattan Project was the code name for the United States effort

to develop the atomic bomb before the Germans did. “The first

successful experiments in splitting a uranium atom had been carried

out in the autumn of 1938 at the Kaiser Wilhelm Institute in

Berlin”(Groueff 9) just after Einstein wrote his letter. So the race

was on. Major General Wilhelm D. Styer called the Manhattan Project

“the most important job in the war . . . an all-out effort to build an

atomic bomb.”(Groueff 5) It turned out to be the biggest development

in warfare and science’s biggest development this century. The most

complicated issue to be addressed by the scientists working on the

Manhattan Project was “the production of ample amounts of ‘enriched’

uranium to sustain a chain reaction.”(Outlaw 2) At the time,

Uranium-235 was hard to extract. Of the Uranium ore mined, only about

1/500 th of it ended up as Uranium metal. Of the Uranium metal, “the

fissionable isotope of Uranium (Uranium- 235) is relatively rare,

occurring in Uranium at a ratio of 1 to 139.”(Szasz 15) Separating the

one part Uranium-235 from the 139 parts Uranium-238 proved to be a

challenge. “No ordinary chemical extraction could separate the two

isotopes. Only mechanical methods could effectively separate U-235

from U-238.”(2) Scientists at Columbia University solved this

difficult problem. A “massive enrichment laboratory/plant”(Outlaw 2)

was built at Oak Ridge, Tennessee. H. C. Urey, his associates, and

colleagues at Columbia University designed a system that “worked on

the principle of gaseous diffusion.”(2) After this process was

completed, “Ernest O. Lawrence (inventor of the Cyclotron) at the

University of California in Berkeley implemented a process involving

magnetic separation of the two isotopes.”(2) Finally, a gas centrifuge

was used to further separate the Uranium-235 from the Uranium-238. The

Uranium-238 is forced to the bottom because it had more mass than the

Uranium-235. “In this manner uranium-235 was enriched from its normal

0.7% to weapons grade of more than 90%.”(Grolier 5) This Uranium was

then transported to “the Los Alamos, N. Mex., laboratory headed by J.

Robert Oppenheimer.”(Grolier 5) “Oppenheimer was the major force

behind the Manhattan Project. He literally ran the show and saw to it

that all of the great minds working on this project made their

brainstorms work. He oversaw the entire project from its conception to

its completion.”(Outlaw 3) Once the purified Uranium reached New

Mexico, it was made into the components of a gun-type atomic weapon.

“Two pieces of U-235, individually not large enough to sustain a chain

reaction, were brought together rapidly in a gun barrel to form a

supercritical mass that exploded instantaneously.”(Grolier 5) “It was

originally nicknamed ‘Thin Man’(after Roosevelt, but later renamed

‘Little Boy’ (for nobody) when technical changes shortened the

proposed gun barrel.”(Szasz 25) The scientists were so confident that

the gun-type atomic bomb would work “no test was conducted, and it was

first employed in military action over Hiroshima, Japan, on Aug. 6,

1945.”(Grolier 5) Before the Uranium-235 “Little Boy” bomb had been

developed to the “point of seeming assured of success,”(Grolier 5)

another bomb was proposed. The Uranium-238 that had been earlier ruled

out as an option was being looked at. It could capture a free neutron

without fissioning and become Uranium-239. “But the Uranium-239 thus

produced is unstable (radioactive) and decays first to neptunium-239

and then to plutonium-239.”(Grolier 5) This proved to be useful

because the newly created plutonium-239 is fissionable and it can “be

separated from uranium by chemical techniques,”(6) which would be far

simpler than the physical processes to separate the Uranium-235 from

the Uranium-238. Once again the University of Chicago, under Enrico

Fermi’s direction built the first reactor. “This led to the

construction of five large reactors at Hanford, Wash., where U-238 was

irradiated with neutrons and transmuted into plutonium.”(6) The

plutonium was sent to Los Alamos. The problem to overcome in the

development of the plutonium bomb was an isotope of plutonium. The

scientists feared this isotope would cause premature detonation and

most of the plutonium would blow apart before it could all fission.

“To overcome this so-called ‘defect of nature, ‘ the plutonium had to

be brought into a supercritical mass far faster than conventional

ballistics could achieve.”(Grolier 6) Physicist Seth Neddermeyer and

mathematician John von Neumann devised the theory of “implosion.” A

subcritical sphere of plutonium was surrounded by chemical

high-explosives. The 5,300 pounds of explosives were all “carefully

shaped as ‘lenses.’ When these were detonated, they focused the blast

wave so as to compress the plutonium instantly into a supercritical

mass.”(Szasz 25) This was much more complex, and many people doubted

that it would work. There was a debate at Los Alamos about whether to

test the new plutonium ‘implosion’ bomb before it was actually

dropped. “Harvard explosives expert George B. Kistiakowsky and

Oppenheimer both argued for such a test, but initially Groves was

opposed. He was afraid that if the test failed, the precious plutonium

would be scattered all across the countryside.”(Szasz 26) Brigadier

General Leslie R. Groves, the man the army placed in charge, was

eventually persuaded. Hanford’s plutonium production was increasing

fast enough so that a test would cause little delay in time. They

feared that if they dropped the untested plutonium bomb and it failed

to work, “the enemy would find themselves owners of a ‘gift’ atomic

weapon.”(Szasz 26) The final agreement for the test was that the bomb

would be placed in “a gigantic, 214-ton, cylinder-shaped tank (called

‘Jumbo’).”(Szasz 26) If the plutonium correctly fissioned, the tank

would be vaporized. If it did not work correctly, the conventional

explosives would be contained in the tank and the plutonium would stay

in the tank. After further development of the implosion design and

fears that “Jumbo” would dramatically distort all “their complicated

instrumentation-the raison d’?tre for the test,”(Szasz 36) the

world’s largest pressure tank was not used. On Monday, July 16, 1945,

at 5:29:45 A.M., Mountain War Time, the plutonium bomb ignited at the

Trinity site, a remote site in the New Mexico desert. “The explosion

created s brilliant flash that was seen in three states.”(Szasz 83)

There were many reports from civilians from all over that described

the experience. People who saw it said it looked like the sun had

risen for a few minutes and then went back down. Others thought they

had seen a large plane or meteor crash. A sheep herder who was laying

sleeping on a cot fifteen miles away was blown off. “The Smithsonian

Observatory on Burro Mountain confirmed a shock but noted that the

vibrations were unlike any earthquake ever recorded.”(Szasz 84) An

eight year-old boy was awakened and ran for his Methodist parents, and

they considered if this might be the end of the world. The most

powerful statement that has been cited in practically every coverage

of the atomic bomb is Georgia Green’s experience. She was being driven

to Albuquerque. “What was that?” she asked her brother-in-law, who was

driving. This was very unusual because Georgia Green was blind.

Brigadier General Farrell wrote a letter for the Secretary of War.

“‘No man-made phenomenon of such tremendous power had ever occurred

before . . . Thirty seconds after the explosion came, first, the air

blast pressing hard against people and things, to be followed almost

immediately by the strong, sustained, awesome roar which warned of

doomsday and made us feel that we puny things were blasphemous to dare

tamper with forces heretofore reserved to the Almighty. Words are

inadequate tools for the job of acquainting those not present with the

physical, mental and psychological effects.”(Groueff 355) Upon

witnessing the explosion, reactions among the bomb’s creators were

mixed. Their mission had been successfully accomplished, however, they

questioned whether “the equilibrium in nature had been upset — as if

humankind had become a threat to the world it inhabited.”(Outlaw 3)

Oppenheimer was ecstatic about the success of the bomb, but quoted a

fragment from Bhagavad Gita. “I am become Death, the destroyer of

worlds.” Many people who were involved in the creation of the atomic

bomb signed petitions against dropping the bomb. The atomic bomb has

been used twice in warfare. The Uranium bomb nicknamed “Little Boy,”

which weighed over 4.5 tons, was dropped over Hiroshima on August 6,

1945. At 0815 hours the bomb was dropped from the Enola Gay. It missed

Ground Zero at 1,980 feet by only 600 feet. “At 0816 hours, in the

flash of an instant, 66,000 people were killed and 69,000 people were

injured by a 10 kiloton atomic explosion.”(Outlaw 4) [See blast ranges

diagram] Nagasaki fell to the same treatment as Hiroshima on August 9,

1945. The plutonium bomb, “Fat Man,” was dropped on the city. It

missed its intended target by over one and a half miles. “Nagasaki’s

population dropped in one split-second from 422,000 to 383,000. 39,000

were killed, over 25,000 were injured. That blast was less than 10

kilotons as well. Physicists who have studied the atomic explosions

conclude that the bombs utilized “only 0.1% of their respective

explosive capabilities.”(Outlaw 4) Controversy still exists about

dropping the two atomic bombs on Japan. Arguments defending the

Japanese claim “the atomic bomb did not win the war in the Pacific; at

best, it hastened Japanese acceptance of a defeat that was viewed as

inevitable.”(Grolier 8) Other arguments state that the United States

should have warned the Japanese, or that we should have invited them

to a public demonstration. “In retrospect that U.S. use of the atomic

bomb may have been the first act of the cold war.”(Grolier 8) On the

other side, advocates claimed that the invasion of the Japanese

islands could and would result in over one million military casualties

plus the civilian losses based on previous invasions of Japanese

occupied islands.

The Manhattan Project

On the morning of August 6, 1945, a B-29 bomber named Enola

Gay flew over the industrial city of Hiroshima, Japan and dropped the

first atomic bomb ever. The city went up in flames caused by the

immense power equal to about 20,000 tons of TNT. The project was a

success. They were an unprecedented assemblage of civilian, and

military scientific brain power?brilliant, intense, and young, the

people that helped develop the bomb. Unknowingly they came to an

isolated mountain setting, known as Los Alamos, New Mexico, to design

and build the bomb that would end World War 2, but begin serious

controversies concerning its sheer power and destruction. I became

interested in this topic because of my interest in science and

history. It seemed an appropriate topic because I am presently

studying World War 2 in my Social Studies Class. The Hiroshima and

Nagasaki bombings were always taught to me with some opinion, and I

always wanted to know the bomb itself and the unbiased effects that it

had. This I-search was a great opportunity for me to actually fulfill

my interest.

The Manhattan Project was the code name for the US effort

during World War II to produce the atomic bomb. It was appropriately

named for the Manhattan Engineer District of the US Army Corps of

Engineers, because much of the early research was done in New York

City (Badash 238). Sparked by refugee physicists in the United

States, the program was slowly organized after nuclear fission was

discovered by German scientists in 1938, and many US scientists

expressed the fear that Hitler would attempt to build a fission bomb.

Frustrated with the idea that Germany might produce an atomic bomb

first, Leo Szilard and other scientists asked Albert Einstein, a

famous scientist during that time, to use his influence and write a

letter to president FDR, pleading for support to further research the

power of nuclear fission (Badash 237). His letters were a success,

and President Roosevelt established the Manhattan Project.

Physicists from 1939 onward conducted much research to find

answers to such questions as how many neutrons were emitted in each

fission, which elements would not capture the neutrons but would

moderate or reduce their velocity , and whether only the lighter and

scarcer isotope of uranium (U-235) fissioned or the common isotope

(U-238) could be used. They learned that each fission releases a few

neutrons. A chain reaction, therefore, was theoretically possible, if

not too many neutrons escaped from the mass or were captured by

impurities. To create this chain reaction and turn it into a usable

weapon was the ultimate goal of the Manhattan Project.

In 1942 General Leslie Groves was chosen to lead the project,

and he immediately purchased a site at Oak Ridge, Tenn., for

facilities to separate the necessary uranium-235 from the much more

common uranium-238. Uranium 235 was an optimal choice for the bomb

because of its unusually unstable composition. Thus, the race to

separate the two began. During that time, the work to perfect the

firing mechanism and structure of the bomb was also swiftly underway.

General Groves? initial task had been to select a scientific

director for the bomb project. His first two choices, Ernest O.

Lawrence, director of the electromagnetic separation project, and

Arthur H. Compton, director of Chicago Metallurgical Laboratory, were

not available. Groves had some doubts regarding the next best

candidate, J. Robert Oppenheimer (Wood 2). Finally, Groves gambled

on Oppenheimer, a theoretical mathematician, as director of the

weapons laboratory, built on an isolated mesa (flat land area) at Los

Alamos, New Mexico.

After much difficulty, an absorbent barrier suitable for

separating isotopes of uranium was developed and installed in the Oak

Ridge gaseous diffusion plant. Finally, in 1945, uranium-235 of bomb

purity was shipped to Los Alamos, where it was fashioned into a

gun-type weapon. In a barrel, one piece of uranium was fired at

another, together forming a supercritical, explosive mass. To achieve

chain-reaction fission, a certain amount of fissile material, called

critical mass, is necessary. The fissile material used in the

Hiroshima model was uranium 235. In the bomb, the uranium was divided

into two parts, both of which were below critical mass. The bomb was

designed so that one part would be slammed into the other by an

explosive device to achieve critical mass instantaneously (Badash

238). When critical mass is achieved, continuous fission (a chain

reaction) takes place in an extremely short period of time, and far

more energy is released than in the case of a gun-powder explosion

(Badash 238). On December 2, 1942, the first self-sustaining chain

reaction with cadmium took place, overseen by Enrico Fermi, in the

University of Chicago squash fields (Asimov 783).

Another type of atomic bomb was also constructed using the

synthetic element plutonium. Fermi built a reactor at Chicago in late

1942, the prototype of five production reactors erected at Hanford,

Wash. These reactors manufactured plutonium by bombarding uranium-238

with neutrons. At Los Alamos the plutonium was surrounded with high

explosives to compress it into a super dense, super critical mass far

faster than could be done in a gun barrel. The result was tested at

Alamogordo, New Mexico, on July 16, 1945, and was the first explosion

of an atomic bomb code-named Trinity (Beyer 55).

However, all was not that easy coming up to this milestone

point. Security restrictions bound both workers and townspeople.

Everybody had the same address where all mail was censored (Wood 4).

Everybody was restricted to a 200 mile radius, and residents of Los

Alamos were prohibited from telling friends and relatives where they

lived (Wood 4). There were serious issues of security of documents,

due to failure to lock up (Wood 4).

The one serious incident was the hiring of Klaus Fuchs. He

was later found, and convicted of obtaining secret documents and

sending them to the Soviet Union. A competent and hardworking

scientist himself, Fuchs enabled the Soviet Union to create their own

atomic bomb (Beyer 45). Names were not allowed to be mentioned

outside of the laboratory. Everybody was a “sir” or “mister” instead

of their own name (Wood 4). Unless they worked at the lab themselves,

wives knew nothing of their husbands? research (Wood 4).

Decisions to drop the atomic bomb went through several

personalities, yet ultimately rested upon president Truman. The man

whose decisions created the Manhattan Project, never lived to see the

results of his labor. FDR died on April 12, three months before the

first successful Trinity test (Beyer 56). The responsibilities were

soon placed upon Truman, the next president. Truman knew nothing

about the bomb and its effects yet hastily decided that the bomb be

used on Japan, considering Germany was no longer a target with the war

in Europe over. Initiated by Szilard, a petition was made to offer

the opinion that the bomb should be used only if Japan refused to

surrender, even after being informed of the bomb?s destructive

capabilities (Beyer 65). Nevertheless, the decision was made that the

bombs would be used until Japan surrendered.

The Hiroshima model is known as a gun-barrel-type atomic bomb.

Due to its long and narrow shape, the Hiroshima model was called “Thin

Man” at first, but during the manufacturing process the original plans

were modified, shortening the length and giving rise to the name

“Little Boy.” (Beyer 48).The energy released from the Hiroshima

A-bomb was originally thought to be equivalent to the destructive

power of 20,000 tons of TNT. Later estimates, however, put the energy

equivalent to approximately 15,000 tons of TNT, based on damage done

to buildings and research on the bomb’s composition. Despite the

release of such enormous energy, it is believed that less than one

kilogram of the 10 to 30 kilograms of uranium 235 housed in the bomb

achieved fission.

The fissionable material used in the Nagasaki bomb was

plutonium 239. The plutonium 239 was divided into below-critical-mass

units and packed into a spherical case. At the time of detonation, the

units were compressed to the center with a gun-powder explosion to

achieve fission. The Nagasaki model is known as an implosion-type

atomic bomb. Compared to the Hiroshima A-bomb, the one used in

Nagasaki was larger in diameter and round so it was called “Fat Man.”

Only slightly more than one kilogram of the plutonium 239 is thought

to have achieved fusion, but the energy released is estimated to be

equivalent to the destructive power of about 20,000 tons of TNT

(Hewlett 215).

Little boy killed about 100,000 people outright, wounded

another 100,000, and destroyed about 90 percent of Hiroshima (Hewlett

216). Yet, while the first atomic bomb was a roaring success, it

raised many ethical and controversial issues. Most of the people in

the United States of America supported the use of the atomic bomb,

even President Truman called it, “the greatest thing in history”

(Beyer 75). Many people, including the scientists that developed the

bomb, opposed the bombings and felt that it was immoral to kill that

many innocent people just to get an influence in the war.

The Manhattan Project was one of the most important parts of

American History. It was the first effort to create an atomic bomb,

that helped end the war in the Pacific. I enjoyed researching the

topic and learned a lot from my readings. Now I understand the atomic

bomb better and also understand the motives behind it. Researching

helped me understand the sheer strength and power of what a small

element can do. All of our lives have changed through the development

and bombing of the atomic bomb. The cold war, nuclear restrictions,

nuclear energy, are all results of the first nuclear breakthrough.

However, the controversial issues will still rage on. Nuclear

testing, nuclear power, and nuclear waste are still being debated for

over 50 years, and the United States, the only country to actually use

the bomb, is the leader.