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Life With The BombLoading...
A Historical Summary of The Manhattan Project, and Its Global SignificanceLoading...
Luca Oliver-Green
Forward/History
There were many events leading up to the discovery of nuclear fission. Even though fission opened the door for nuclear power and weaponry, its scientific discovery was based on a different theory. If you were to think of this entire stem of history as if it was an explosion itself, Otto Hahn, Lise Meitner, and Fritz Strassmann would evidently be the spark lightning the fuse. These three scientists brought together by the intriguing new possibilities of radioactivity, would eventually find the key to unlocking one of the most important scientific discoveries of their time.
This photograph was taken at Dr. Meitner's home in Cambridge, UK, when she received the Enrico Fermi award for 1966, shared with Hahn and Strassmann.
1931 — Heavy Hydrogen or Deuterium is discovered by Harold C. Urey.
1932 — The atom is split by John Crockcroft and E.T.S. Walton of Great Britain, thereby proving Einstein's Theory of Relativity.
1933 — Hungarian physicist Leo Szilard realizes the possibility of the nuclear chain reaction.
1934 — The first nuclear fission is achieved by Enrico Fermi of Italy.
1939 — The Theory of Nuclear Fission is announced by Lise Meitner and Otto Frisch.
1932 — The atom is split by John Crockcroft and E.T.S. Walton of Great Britain, thereby proving Einstein's Theory of Relativity.
1933 — Hungarian physicist Leo Szilard realizes the possibility of the nuclear chain reaction.
1934 — The first nuclear fission is achieved by Enrico Fermi of Italy.
1939 — The Theory of Nuclear Fission is announced by Lise Meitner and Otto Frisch.
Table Of Contents
Chapter One: Nuclear Physics
• January 26, 1939, The Discovery of Fission
• January 29,1939, J. Robert Oppenheimer, and The Fission War
• August 2, 1939, Albert Einstein, Leo Szilard and The Letter
Chapter Two: The Second World War and The Manhattan Project
• September 1, 1939, The War Begins
• December 6, 1941, FDR Authorizes The Creation of The Manhattan Project
• September 23, 1942, The Introduction of Leslie Groves
Chapter Three: Nuclear Weaponry
• December 2, 1942, Enrico Fermi and The First Controlled Nuclear Fission Reaction
• April 12, 1945, The Change of Presidency
• January 26, 1939, The Discovery of Fission
• January 29,1939, J. Robert Oppenheimer, and The Fission War
• August 2, 1939, Albert Einstein, Leo Szilard and The Letter
Chapter Two: The Second World War and The Manhattan Project
• September 1, 1939, The War Begins
• December 6, 1941, FDR Authorizes The Creation of The Manhattan Project
• September 23, 1942, The Introduction of Leslie Groves
Chapter Three: Nuclear Weaponry
• December 2, 1942, Enrico Fermi and The First Controlled Nuclear Fission Reaction
• April 12, 1945, The Change of Presidency
Table Of Contents Ext.
Chapter Four: The Beginning of The End
• May 25, 1945-July 1, 1945, Leo Szilard Warns The President and Signs a Petition
• July 13, 1945-July 16, 1945, ‘Unconditional Surender’ and The Trinity Test
• July 21, 1945, President Truman Orders Atomic Bombs to be Used
Chapter Five: The Bombs
• August 6, 1945, Little Boy
• August 9, 1945, Fat Man
Chapter Four: Impacts and Reconciliation
• August 9, 1945, President Trumans Speech
• September 2, 1945, Japan Formally Surrenders
• Impacts on Canada and New Mexico, Interviews & Historical Significance
• May 25, 1945-July 1, 1945, Leo Szilard Warns The President and Signs a Petition
• July 13, 1945-July 16, 1945, ‘Unconditional Surender’ and The Trinity Test
• July 21, 1945, President Truman Orders Atomic Bombs to be Used
Chapter Five: The Bombs
• August 6, 1945, Little Boy
• August 9, 1945, Fat Man
Chapter Four: Impacts and Reconciliation
• August 9, 1945, President Trumans Speech
• September 2, 1945, Japan Formally Surrenders
• Impacts on Canada and New Mexico, Interviews & Historical Significance
January 26, 1939
This particular date marks the start of something powerful. On the 26th of January, at the George Washington University, Neil’s Bohr announces of the findings of Otto Hahn, Lise Meitner, and Fritz Strassmann. The result of this new scientific break through is “fission,” releasing two hundred million electron volts of energy. (200 MeV) The announcement came just weeks after Otto Hahn and Fritz Strassmann, two of Bohr’s colleagues in Copenhagen, reported that they had discovered the element Barium after bombarding Uranium with neutrons.
Neils Bohr
Canada Science and Technology Museum’s Video on Basic Nuclear Fission and its Discovery
January 29, 1939
On the 29th of January J. Robert Oppenheimer hears about the discovery of fission. Within a few minutes, he realizes that excess neutrons must be emitted, and that it might be possible to build a nuclear chain reaction. By the time the Manhattan Project was launched in the fall of 1942, Oppenheimer was already considered an exceptional theoretical physicist and had become deeply involved in exploring the possibility of an atomic bomb.
J. Robert Oppenheimer
Oppenheimer's ID badge from the Los Alamos Laboratory
A group of physicists at the 1946 Los Alamos colloquium on the Super. In the front row are Norris Bradbury, John Manley, Enrico Fermi and J.M.B. Kellogg. Behind Manley is Oppenheimer (wearing a jacket and tie)
Julius Robert Oppenheimer was an American theoretical physicist and a professor of physics at the University of California, Berkeley. Later on Oppenheimer became the wartime head of the Los Alamos Laboratory and is often credited as being, “the father of the atomic bomb.”