The Manhattan Project 2
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
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. Wood, Linda. "Men and Mission of the Manhattan Project." World War 2. Jul. 1995: 38-45. SIRS Researcher. CR computer network. SIRS, 1995.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). Badash, Lawrence. "Manhattan Project." Dictionary of American History. Vol. 4. New York: Charles Scriber's Sons, 1976.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). 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 supercri
Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 1729
Approximate Pages = 7 (250 words per page double spaced)
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