Origins of the Manhattan Project
In August of 1939, President Roosevelt was warned in the form of a letter by Jewish physicist, Albert Einstein. He had fled Europe before and suggested that Germany was capable of creating an incredibly powerful new type of bomb called an atomic bomb. Roosevelt organized a group of top scientists to be brought together in a top secret project to construct an atomic bomb, called, The Manhattan Project.
Developing the Bombs
Scientists had already succeeded in splitting the nucleus of an uranium in the past, but they couldn't get a chain reaction to occur causing a larger explosion. But they still required means of causing a chain reactions splitting multiple nuclei apart. There was two types of bombs that were produced, one a gun type fission weapon, and the other one that would implode, not explode.
In August of 1939, President Roosevelt was warned in the form of a letter by Jewish physicist, Albert Einstein. He had fled Europe before and suggested that Germany was capable of creating an incredibly powerful new type of bomb called an atomic bomb. Roosevelt organized a group of top scientists to be brought together in a top secret project to construct an atomic bomb, called, The Manhattan Project.
Developing the Bombs
Scientists had already succeeded in splitting the nucleus of an uranium in the past, but they couldn't get a chain reaction to occur causing a larger explosion. But they still required means of causing a chain reactions splitting multiple nuclei apart. There was two types of bombs that were produced, one a gun type fission weapon, and the other one that would implode, not explode.
Testing the bombs
After the scientists found out how to cause the chain reactions, it was time to put the bombs to use. The first bomb was dropped as a test in a desert in the middle of New Mexico, dubbed, "The Trinity Test" created a massive explosion that shattered windows almost 100 miles away from the blast site.
After the scientists found out how to cause the chain reactions, it was time to put the bombs to use. The first bomb was dropped as a test in a desert in the middle of New Mexico, dubbed, "The Trinity Test" created a massive explosion that shattered windows almost 100 miles away from the blast site.