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Prologue The Manhattan Project is a group of tenement buildings in lower New York City, If you think this is true, click the following link, click, if you think this is false, scroll down. |
Introduction The Manhattan Project was an underground project formed
by the U.S. government in 1942 to develop a nuclear fission
device called the atomic bomb. The chief reason for this was
to create a weapon that would potentially end the war
between the Axis powers and the Allied powers. It brought
into the mix the study of nuclear fission, and some of the
brightest minds from around the globe. Among these great men
were Albert Einstein, Enrico Fermi, J. Robert Oppenheimer,
and Neils Bohr. With the help of their knowledge, the U.S.
created a weapon of mass destruction that would forever
change history as we know it today.
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War situation at the time Japan, Germany, and Italy, were united as the Axis powers during WW2. Against them were a group of 21 countries, principally the USSR, Great Britain, France, and the U.S. As seen in the map above, Germany was surrounded on three sides, forming a triangle between Great Britain, the Soviet Union, and parts of Southern Italy that hated Mussolini. The U. S. entered the war after the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor, a naval base in present day Hawaii. In the year 1945, Germany had already pulled out of the fighting when the A-bomb (Atomic bomb) was finally used, as had Italy. All focus was placed on the South Pacific, where Japan was located. The main fighting was on islands around Japan. When the time came to make a decision between a full scale invasion that would cause an estimated 750,000 casualties on both sides or dropping the A-bomb, Harry S. Truman , President of the United States in 1945, chose the latter.
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Nuclear
Fission
Nuclear Fission is a chemical process that
splits an atom in two, releasing a colossal amount of
energy. A neutron, with an extreme amount of force,
enters an atom and splits it in half. The energy released
from the split releases more neutrons causing a chain
reaction of immense proportions. A nuclear fission
device made with Uranium, such as
Little Boy, would release the equivalent of 20,000 tons
of TNT or 40,000,000 sticks of dynamite. The two
radioactive elements that were
used in the bombs were Uranium and
Plutonium.
How A-bomb was
used
The three A-bombs created by the US were
trinity, Little Boy and Fat Man. Trinity was a test bomb
and was detonated in New Mexico. Little Boy eventually
landed in Hiroshima and Fat Man was sent to Nagasaki. The
bombs were dropped from a passing plane, the Enola Gay,
which dropped at a specific height to keep all plane
personnel at a safe distance from the radioactivity.
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Important Characters A procedure of this magnitude required a large amount of people. There were about 10 key figures, each of which could have caused the end or failure of the project if their job wasn't performed properly. J. Robert Oppenheimer directed the lab where the bomb was created. Enrico Fermi was an Italian physicist who developed the first nuclear reactor, key in creating the bomb. Otto Frisch calculated the energy needed to create nuclear fission. Franklin D. Roosevelt approved the making of the bomb, under Albert Einstein's suggestion. Einstein would later say his recommendation to use the bomb was his worst mistake. Harry S. Truman was the president at the end of WW2 and was the key decision maker in the choice of usage or non-usage. Neils Bohr came up with the theory of atomic structure, also vital in the harnessing of fusion. Oppenheimer once said, |
From left: Neils Bohr, Robert Oppenheimer, Richard Feyman, Enrico Fermi |
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Primary Source Document
This document is a copy of the letter sent from the leading German scientist, Albert Einstein, to the current U.S. president, Franklin Delano Roosevelt. In it he recommends the use of the atomic bomb, in order to stop the Nazis from gaining sole possession of the Nuclear Chain reactor, an invention created by Enrico Fermi, named above. Leo Szilard, a prominent scientist at the time, had to convince Einstein, a lifelong pacifist, to even consider sending the letter. Szilard was appalled at the lack of U.S. action and the only way to get through to the president was through Einstein. A photo of Szilard is located on the left. Einstein regarded the above letter as his only mistake in life. |
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Reasons to use it Many people have criticized Harry S. Truman for choosing to use the bomb in both past and present. In fact, he had many good reasons for using this power. The Japanese had an unofficial rule that said "die before surrender". 500,000 Japanese soldiers located on islands throughout the South Pacific were willing to die for their country and emperor, and nothing would convince them to turn back. Another 250,000 American troops were preparing for an invasion that would kill many more. He technically saved 300,000 Japanese people by dropping the bomb. The bomb was dropped from the Enola gay, a WW2 plane commanded by Paul Tibbets. |
 This is a picture of a B-29 superfortress. The Enola Gay was a B-29. The B-29's cost more to develop than the entire Manhattan Project. |
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Final Results The two bombs were dropped on Nagasaki and Hiroshima. 125,000 deaths were reported in Hiroshima, and 75,000 in Nagasaki. The emperor of Japan stepped down from his temple to tell the government to surrender, something that hadn't ever happened in Japanese history. As a result, the world saw how devastating of a world power the U.S. was. The Soviets created their own bomb, and that led to the Cold War. |
fission- splits atom into two smaller nuclei of approximately equal size. Nuclear fission causes a huge explosion when the energy of an atom is released when split in half. |
radioactive - decays or changes into other kinds of atoms by spontaneously releasing particles and energy. |
Uranium - "a radioactive metallic element used mainly in nuclear technology. It is extremely toxic both chemically and radiologically. It is number 92 (U) on the Periodic Table of Elements. Uranium is used in nuclear technology because it changes through nuclear fission and is radioactive. These reasons allow it too be used to make atomic bombs in order to fuel nuclear reactors. |
Plutonium - "an artificially produced radioactive element, a silvery metal that melts at 640 degrees Celsius, and is number 94 (Pu) on the Periodic table of elements. Plutonium is extremely poisonous. Microgram quantities in a skin wound may cause cancer. Plutonium oxide forms extremely fine particles of plutonium that can become suspended in the air and may cause a risk of lung cancer when inhaled. Once inside the body, plutonium is a bone seeker and thus can cause bone cancer. Plutonium is man-made." |
Bibliography: top^
· Bracchini, Miguel. The History and Ethics Behind the Manhattan Project. April 30, 1997. www.me.utexas.edu/~uer/manhattan/index.html. (11/14/02)
A professor at the University of Texas at Austin wrote this website. It gave us a basis for rudimentary facts and a good source of pictures. It also had information on many of the key figures involved in the Manhattan Project including Oppenheimer, Bohr, Einstein, and Feyman. This site also gave us the primary source of Oppenheimer's removal from the project in 1944.
· "Boeing B-29 Superfortress."
http://www.acepilots.com/planes/b29.html (12/20/02)
This site gave us the two images of the planes, one which was the Enola gay and another of just another B-29.
· "The crack in the fortress" The war in Europe, North Africa, and the Eastern Front. 2002.
http://www.teacheroz.com/WWIIEurope.htm (1/2/03)
This site was the location where we found the map of Europe, a critical part in getting a better idea of what was going on in Europe before Germany was defeated. ·
· Dannen, Gene, "Einstein to Roosevelt, August 2, 1939" . Copyright 1996.
http://www.dannen.com/ae-fdr.html (1/2/03)
This site gave us the primary source the website. It included the letter from Einstein to President Roosevelt. This letter was the only thing Einstein ever regretted doing in his entire life.
· "The First Atomic Bomb Is Successfully Detonated July 16, 1945" DISCovering World History. October 1997.
Galenet http://www.galenet.com/servlet/SRC/
This database entry gave us a source that was more stable and had a professional writer instead of some kid. Many useful facts were spread out throughout the document that will probably be seen and cited in our website.
· Leonard, Thomas. "Aug. 6 Pacific War zone" Day by Day: The Forties. Page 514. "1977
This collection of articles written by real American soldiers gave us a view of the conditions that were occurring in the Pacific during WW2, before the dropping of the bombs.
· Magee, Tyler. The Manhattan Project
http://198.248.92.140/ww2/manhattanproject/manhattan.htm. (11/14/02)
This web site was clearly made by a high school student for a school project. Despite its maker, there were many key facts in the site including the costs to make the three atomic bombs, Trinity, Little Boy, and Fat Man.
· "Manhattan Project". Encyclopedia America. 1999 Ed.
This site gave some basic information about the Manhattan Project. Many of the figures for deaths, costs, and the degree of radiation were taken from this source. It also gave a lot of information on the key figures that were involved in the project.
· "Nuclear fission." U*X*L Science. U*X*L, 1998. Student Resource Center. October 2001. Gale Group
http://www.galenet.com/servlet/SRC/
This site helped explain the backgrounds of atomic energy in its beginnings. It explained nuclear fission in scientific terms instead of from a moral standpoint, which a couple other sites had. It also had information on Uranium and Plutonium, the elements that made up Little Boy and Fat Man.
· "Plutonium". Encyclopedia America. 1999 Ed.
This encyclopedia entry was an excellent source on the element of Plutonium. It had information on the symbol, and how it worked in relation to the bomb itself. The uses and power of Plutonium.
· Rogers, Chan. "The bomb ended the war quickly." The Boston Globe 11. November. 2002
http://www.falklands.org/usaboard/messages/26962.html (12/20/02)
This letter to the editor was from a combat infantryman from WW2. It gave us a perspective of someone that was involved in the war and probably would have died had the bomb not been detonated. Even though it is not a primary source, it gives the perspective of some one who was actually there.
· "Uranium". Encyclopedia America. 1999 Ed.
This source was the same as the one for plutonium. It also had information on the uses of uranium other than the subject of this site. In this entry was found the definition of nuclear fission and radioactivity.
