Development f the Atomic Bomb
In the 1930s, some scientists theorized that bombarding an atom's nucleus with a neutron from another atom would cause the first atom to split in two. The splitting atom would release another neutron, which would then strike a neighboring atom, causing it to split, and so on. It was thought that each splitting atom would release a tiny spark of energy. In a nuclear chain reaction, trillions of atoms would split in less than a millionth of a second, thereby giving forth an awesome burst of power. This process of deriving energy through a chain reaction is called nuclear fission. One of the leading scientists interested in nuclear fission was Leo Szilard. The gifted physicist was born in Hungary and educated at German universities. While visiting London in 1933, Szilard was struck with a monumental idea: "What if he could find an element that would emit two neutrons each time it was bombarded by one neutron? He later wrote, "Such an element could surly sustain a nuclear chain reaction. While Szilard worked to advance his idea, Adolf Hitler and the Nazi party took over Germany. Under Hitler's control, Germany started building tanks, military airplanes, and bombs. At the time, German scientists led the world in nuclear physics. Szi
lard feared that the Nazis could develop an atomic bomb and become powerful enough to rule the world. The success at Chicago prompted President Roosevelt to give top priority to the creation of an atomic bomb. The focus of the Manhattan Project shifted from bomb research to bomb production. More than $2 billion was finally spent on the effort. The Manhattan Project team employed the country's brightest mathematicians and its most highly trained technical people. This included twelve Nobel Prize winners. Fermi was in charge of this vitally important and potentially dangerous test. "With a nod, Fermi ordered a technician to slowly pull out one of the rods, thereby allowing the reaction to begin. They had with them a special machine that counted neutron bombardments. The more the rod was pulled out the faster and louder the machine got. Once it was announced that the "pile" had gone critical, the rod was quickly pushed back in before the reactor blew up. The reaction proved that a nuclear bomb could be made. The project also encompassed research work being carried out at the University of California at Berkley and the University of Chicago. By 1942, the Manhattan Project moved its headquarters to Chicago. They set up a laboratory under the bleachers of a stadium once used by the University of Chicago's football team. On December 2, 1942 the Manhattan Project scientists assembl
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Approximate Word count = 937
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)
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