Atomic Bombs
The atomic bombs used in World War II were a huge scientific advance, but also will be long remembered because of their radiation effects. Although the weapon was the most destructive of any in World War II, it was one of the advantages the U. S. was able to use in order to defeat Japan. Leo Szilard, Eugene Wigner, and Edward Teller realized the danger that Germany might produce the first atomic bomb, resulting in a victory over World War II. They then prevailed upon Albert Einstein to write a letter to President Franklin Roosevelt. In 1939, Roosevelt ordered an American effort to obtain an atomic weapon before the Germans. Nothing came of the effort until Vannevar Bush, the coordinator of scientific activities, took charge several years afterward. In 1942, the project went under U. S. Army control and was named the Manhattan Project. In order to create an atom bomb, the isotope uranium-235 was needed, but less that 1% of naturally occurring uranium is this isotope. Most uranium, which is found in the ore pitchblende (obtained from metallic veins in the earth) is the isotope uranium-238. Thus, the problem arose of how to obtain enough U-235 to sustain a chain reaction. A solution was found in Oak Ridge, Tennessee when gaseous
Though the bombs may have helped to end World War II, the effects were devastating. The explosion was once described by a survivor: "There is a blinding flash of light, unbearable heat, a deafening explosion, and then a fantastic multicolored cloud rising out of itself, a poisonous mushroom growing into the sky, its fiery roots lashing out with the intensity of a tornado." The source of the great release of energy was the loss of mass between the initial and final products of the reaction. During fission of uranium-235, the total loss of mass is approximately equal to 200 MeV, a little more than two neutrons for each atom. The neutrons are released because of the large amount of available energy in the reaction. The production of excess neutrons is what permits the chain reaction. An implosion device of this type was finally assembled using plutonium and tested at Alamogordo, New Mexico, on July 16, 1945. It was a bomb of this type that was used to destroy Nagasaki, Japan, on August 9, 1945. More than 100,000 people were killed and a like number were injured. This bomb was named "Fat Man", being the larger of the two bombs. The atomic bomb was a huge scientific advance and was a powerful weapon in World War II. It was first used by the U. S. to bomb Japan, and killed thousands, perhaps millions. Even years after the bombs were dropped, the radiation continued to cause deadly diseases and various sicknesses, such as leukemia and bone cancer. Perhaps the atomic weapon should not have come about. The
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Approximate Word count = 1019
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)
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