The nuclear bomb, is one of the most destructive weapons known to mankind. In the 21st century nuclear armaments and nuclear deactivation themed political debates rage on between countries around the world. However, merely 76 years ago the thought and concept of nuclear armaments was only rumor. The race between The United States and the German Nazi power to create the next generation weapon, eventually ended in the double bombing of the Japanese homeland. The amount of chemistry applied to creating such doomsday devices is enormous. The chemistry behind the creation of nuclear bomb all started with a discovery in 1934. This discovery was made by the Italian- American physicist Enrico Fermi. He experimented with uranium, and quickly found
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This allows for a chain reaction because one of the products of the fission is the material needed to start the fission in the first place. This means that a chain reaction can be created in a bomb; this is what creates the large explosion. As these discoveries were being made, the knowledge and tension in the US scientific community regarding the creation of a Nazi bomb was growing. Finally, in 1942 President Roosevelt authorized the creation of the Manhattan Project. The Manhattan Project was the US’s response to the research and creation of nuclear weapons in Nazi Germany. The Manhattan Project was led by a scientist named Robert Oppenheimer. The scientists developed two different types of atomic bombs: the gun-type and the implosion device (Manhattan Project). In the gun-type device critical mass was obtained by firing a sub-critical uranium projectile through a barrel toward another sub-critical uranium target (Atomic Heritage). Sub- critical means that the uranium isn’t at the required mass for a chain reaction to occur. This type of device was later used in the bombing of Hiroshima, Japan. The bomb dropped was code named Little Boy. The …show more content…
This nuclear race can be compared to that of the 1950s-1960s space race between the US and USSR. This race pitted the allied countries, specifically the US against the Nazi powers in Germany. The entire race and the creation of the Manhattan Project was originally started because of intelligence from the German powers. President F. D. Roosevelt was informed about the possibility that Nazi scientists were rushing to create an atomic bomb. This became a top priority of the Allied powers because the leaders knew that Hitler would have no problem using the weapon as soon as it was created. Finally, in 1942 the Manhattan Engineer District was created (Manhattan Project, nd). On December 28, 1942, President Roosevelt approved the Manhattan project to create full-scale “gaseous diffusion, plutonium, and electromagnetic plants (US DOE, nd.).” As the atomic bomb was on the edge of successful creation in 1945, the bomb was becoming one of the US’s most important elements in ending the war. Many strategists understood that the Japanese would not surrender until their unfortunate end (US DOE, nd.). They also thought that the use of an atomic bomb would be a good alternative to a bloody and time-consuming main island invasion of Japan. Finally, as the war entered its close, the two bombs were dropped on Nagasaki and Hiroshima. The dropping of the bombs
This allows for a chain reaction because one of the products of the fission is the material needed to start the fission in the first place. This means that a chain reaction can be created in a bomb; this is what creates the large explosion. As these discoveries were being made, the knowledge and tension in the US scientific community regarding the creation of a Nazi bomb was growing. Finally, in 1942 President Roosevelt authorized the creation of the Manhattan Project. The Manhattan Project was the US’s response to the research and creation of nuclear weapons in Nazi Germany. The Manhattan Project was led by a scientist named Robert Oppenheimer. The scientists developed two different types of atomic bombs: the gun-type and the implosion device (Manhattan Project). In the gun-type device critical mass was obtained by firing a sub-critical uranium projectile through a barrel toward another sub-critical uranium target (Atomic Heritage). Sub- critical means that the uranium isn’t at the required mass for a chain reaction to occur. This type of device was later used in the bombing of Hiroshima, Japan. The bomb dropped was code named Little Boy. The …show more content…
This nuclear race can be compared to that of the 1950s-1960s space race between the US and USSR. This race pitted the allied countries, specifically the US against the Nazi powers in Germany. The entire race and the creation of the Manhattan Project was originally started because of intelligence from the German powers. President F. D. Roosevelt was informed about the possibility that Nazi scientists were rushing to create an atomic bomb. This became a top priority of the Allied powers because the leaders knew that Hitler would have no problem using the weapon as soon as it was created. Finally, in 1942 the Manhattan Engineer District was created (Manhattan Project, nd). On December 28, 1942, President Roosevelt approved the Manhattan project to create full-scale “gaseous diffusion, plutonium, and electromagnetic plants (US DOE, nd.).” As the atomic bomb was on the edge of successful creation in 1945, the bomb was becoming one of the US’s most important elements in ending the war. Many strategists understood that the Japanese would not surrender until their unfortunate end (US DOE, nd.). They also thought that the use of an atomic bomb would be a good alternative to a bloody and time-consuming main island invasion of Japan. Finally, as the war entered its close, the two bombs were dropped on Nagasaki and Hiroshima. The dropping of the bombs