The Manhattan Project (1139 words)

The Manhattan ProjectThe Manhattan Project
The Manhattan Project was and is still
one of the most secretive projects ever created in United States history.

The purpose of the Manhattan Project was simple: to build; test; and unleash
its power if necessary. Robert Oppenheimer and General Leslie Groves were
the two men put in charge of this mission. These two men along with
the top scientists from around the country were brought together to construct
the most deadliest thing known to man.

The project originated in the Pentagon
in 1942 when General Groves was told, by the White House, he was to lead
the Manhattan Project. World War II had already been raged for three
years when the Nazis, after being victorious in Europe, declared war on
the United States. This was nine months after the bombing of Pearl
Harbor. In September of that year, Groves, met with Leo Szilard and
asked him if making the atomic bomb was possible. Leo told him how
an atomic bomb would work, but also that it is impossible to build.

General Groves only wanted to hear that an atomic bomb was conceivable
in theory and then he knew to start the project.

In October of 1942 Groves went to California
to meet with Robert Oppenheimer, one of the most brilliant scientists in
the country. Groves informed Oppenheimer that he had been selected
to lead the expedition on trying to invent the atomic bomb. Oppenheimer
immediately started preparing by telling Groves that they needed an isolated
area with one ringmaster(Oppenheimer).

General Groves was in charge of the military
or security part of the project, while Oppenheimer was in charge
of the organization of the scientists and ideas. At times,
Oppenhiemer and Grooves had some nasty arguments over policies. Even
though Groves was the one who reported to Washington, Oppenheimer had more
power and Groves was aware of this. If they had a disagreement, Oppenheimer
would threaten to leave the project and take his scientists with him.

Groves knew if this occurred then the project would never be finished.

So, Grooves most always ended up agreeing or letting Oppenheimer do what
ever he wanted to do.

In April of 1943, this isolated area was
being build in Las Alamos, New Mexico. The borders consisted of barbed
wire fence accompanied by guard dogs. Many laboratories, storage
buildings, shelters, hospitals, dining halls, and other buildings were
found inside these borders, also. One thing that was not found
inside these borders though was women, not even wives of the scientists.

No scientist was allowed to talk to anyone outside the camp about what
they see, hear, taste, or even smell. Everything they knew belonged
to the army now. Everything they knew from here on was highly confidential.

There job was to create the atomic bomb and to do nothing else but that.

They were to refer to bomb as the gadget or devise for security reasons.

The scientists were given 19 months to complete their mission. Most
of them complained that it could not be done, that it was not enough time.

Under the leadership of Oppenheimer the
work and research began. After several days, their work got them
no where. They were faced with the problems such as weight, velocity,
and detonation. To make such a bomb they needed materials heaving
enough to weight tip the biggest cranes in the world. Late one night,
while eating an orange and talking to another scientist, Seth Neddermeyer
(a scientist) thought of an idea called implosion. He got the idea
from the orange he was eating. This was probably the one idea that
the atomic bomb is centered around. Without implosion, the atomic
bomb could not be created. When he squeezed the orange, juice squirted
out or an outwards explosion. If you can reverse this process, then
the explosion goes in creating a even bigger force. This theory applies
to Plutonium. Implosion occurs causing a chain reaction which in
return causes an outwards explosion. If an inwards explosion occurred
the Plutonium atoms would split apart creating the biggest explosion known
to man. The problem was now creating an inward explosion.

By this time, turmoil started to arise
inside the camp. Many scientists began complaining about the drastic
security measures that were being taken. Things such as the guard
dogs and the FBI talking to the families of the scientists bothered them
greatly. Also the scientists feared that Germany was ahead of them
in creating the bomb. Not helping the situation, Oppenheimer had
an affair with a Communist woman named Jean who he had known for quite
some time. The army learned of this and under General Groves orders,
were to keep it quiet. If word got out about this, Oppenheimer would
be done and so would the whole project along with their work. Groves
knew this and that is why it was kept a secret. Oppenheimer was told
to end this relationship, immediately.

In November of 1944, Groves received a
message that Germany was not even close and never was close to creating
the atomic bomb. Groves did not tell a sole about this news,
for fear that the scientists would quit working on the bomb because they
thought they had no reason to go on. Groves figured if the United
States was the first country to create the atomic bomb, then we would have
an extreme advantage over other countries.

The closer the scientists got to the discovery
of the bomb, the more they doubted the use of the bomb. They did
not like the idea that they were creating a bomb that was going to be used
to kill thousands of innocent people. At one point, a petition was
drawn up to stop the research and the whole project. By the time
the petition was looked at by everyone, the atomic bomb was completed.

The only job left, was to test it. Many people argued over whether
to test it or not. General Groves believed it should be tested while
Oppenheimer did not think it should be tested. They both agreed to
leave the decision up to the President, Harry Truman. He decided
to test the bomb. The bomb was tested at Trinity Test Site in New
Mexico on July 16, 1945 and was a complete success. The Americans
had finally complete building the first atomic bomb. The scientists
held a parade in happiness, not only for successfully completing the project,
but being able to go home and see their families and lead a normal life.

Twenty one days later on August 6, 1945
Little Boy was dropped on Hiroshima. Three days after that, Fat Man
was dropped on Nagasaki. Over 200,000 lives were taken because of
the bombings. On September 2, 1945 Japan surrendered , unconditionally.

Robert Oppenheimer was recognized as a
national hero in the United States. In 1949, the White House asked
him to lead a project in making the H+ Super Bomb. For recognizable
reasons, he declined this offer. In 1954, his security clearances
were revokedand he was slowly pushed out of public services. Robert
Oppenheimer died of cancer in 1967.

BIBLIOGRAPHY
Bondi, Victor. American Decades.

Detroit: Gale Research Inc., 1995
Lapp, Ralph E. “Manhattan Project,”
The World Book Encyclopedia, 1988, Volume 13,
p.141
Mark, Carson. “Atomic Bomb,” Encyclopedia
Americana, 1989, Volume 2, p. 641-642