THE HISTORY OF THE ATOMIC BOMB
THE BOMB'S BEGINNING
The groundwork for the creation of the atom bomb began years before World War II and Hitler's rise to power. Smaller inventions and discoveries collectively contributed to the creation of this destructive weapon, as well as the important use it served to end WW II. The bomb's inception begins in the small scale in 1931, grows rapidly during the second world war and the Cold War, and does not quiet down until 1996. Over the years, the bomb becomes more precise, more complex, and more deadly.
BABY STEPS
In 1931, American scientist Harold Urey discovered the presence of deuterium (an isotope of hydrogen) in natural hydrogen compounds. This discovery would later assist in separating the isotope Uranium-235, which helps to sustain the fission required for a nuclear reaction). On the other side of the world in Britain, Sir James Chadwick had proven the existence of the neutrons by 1932. His work not only earned him a Nobel Prize in Physics, but began the trend of scientists bombarding isotopes with neutrons to test their radioactivity. Without the work of Urey and Chadwick and their crucial discoveries, the development of a nuclear bomb would have taken much longer.
The groundwork for the creation of the atom bomb began years before World War II and Hitler's rise to power. Smaller inventions and discoveries collectively contributed to the creation of this destructive weapon, as well as the important use it served to end WW II. The bomb's inception begins in the small scale in 1931, grows rapidly during the second world war and the Cold War, and does not quiet down until 1996. Over the years, the bomb becomes more precise, more complex, and more deadly.
BABY STEPS
In 1931, American scientist Harold Urey discovered the presence of deuterium (an isotope of hydrogen) in natural hydrogen compounds. This discovery would later assist in separating the isotope Uranium-235, which helps to sustain the fission required for a nuclear reaction). On the other side of the world in Britain, Sir James Chadwick had proven the existence of the neutrons by 1932. His work not only earned him a Nobel Prize in Physics, but began the trend of scientists bombarding isotopes with neutrons to test their radioactivity. Without the work of Urey and Chadwick and their crucial discoveries, the development of a nuclear bomb would have taken much longer.
NEW LEADERS, NEW CONFLICTS, NEW DISCOVERIES
Shortly after the scientific community began to chip away at the tip of the atomic iceberg, World War II began politically. For the last few years, Japan and China have been at war. On September 18th, 1931, Japan bombed their own portion of railway in the Chinese territory of Manchuria. After blaming the attack on China, they used it as an excuse to invade the area to take the land for Japan. This incident was only the first in a series of invasions, battles, and general Chinese-Japanese conflicts in World War II, but in 1933 Japan dropped out of the League of Nations. This absence, as well as tensions from the bombing of Manchuria, would contribute to the need for the bomb's existence.
The war in Europe was also in the early stages of forming. On January 30th, 1933, Adolf Hitler was named German chancellor, beginning a new era not only in German politics, but German science. As a result of Hitler's radical anti-semitic and pro-Aryan laws, native scientists began to flee from Germany in droves. Many of these immigrants arrived on the shores of the United States, and they brought with them their ideas and innovation. This mass community of German scientists, which included the likes of Albert Einstein, would continue their work under America's recently elected president Franklin Delano Roosevelt. Their contributions to science, particularly the science of the atomic bomb, was imperative.
Amongst these immigrants was Hungarian physicist Leo Szilard. Although not a natural German citizen, he attended school in Berlin and was one of the many to flee Germany under the rise of Hitler. Szilard's discovery was the basic process of a nuclear chain reaction. While nuclear fission was not yet known to exist, Szilard came up with the idea of a nuclear chain reaction in 1933. He predicted that if an element that was able to be split by neutrons and could produce two neutrons for every one neutron it absorbed, such an element could sustain a chain reaction of nuclear size (with unknown effects.)
Shortly after the scientific community began to chip away at the tip of the atomic iceberg, World War II began politically. For the last few years, Japan and China have been at war. On September 18th, 1931, Japan bombed their own portion of railway in the Chinese territory of Manchuria. After blaming the attack on China, they used it as an excuse to invade the area to take the land for Japan. This incident was only the first in a series of invasions, battles, and general Chinese-Japanese conflicts in World War II, but in 1933 Japan dropped out of the League of Nations. This absence, as well as tensions from the bombing of Manchuria, would contribute to the need for the bomb's existence.
The war in Europe was also in the early stages of forming. On January 30th, 1933, Adolf Hitler was named German chancellor, beginning a new era not only in German politics, but German science. As a result of Hitler's radical anti-semitic and pro-Aryan laws, native scientists began to flee from Germany in droves. Many of these immigrants arrived on the shores of the United States, and they brought with them their ideas and innovation. This mass community of German scientists, which included the likes of Albert Einstein, would continue their work under America's recently elected president Franklin Delano Roosevelt. Their contributions to science, particularly the science of the atomic bomb, was imperative.
Amongst these immigrants was Hungarian physicist Leo Szilard. Although not a natural German citizen, he attended school in Berlin and was one of the many to flee Germany under the rise of Hitler. Szilard's discovery was the basic process of a nuclear chain reaction. While nuclear fission was not yet known to exist, Szilard came up with the idea of a nuclear chain reaction in 1933. He predicted that if an element that was able to be split by neutrons and could produce two neutrons for every one neutron it absorbed, such an element could sustain a chain reaction of nuclear size (with unknown effects.)
RAPID RISE TO TOTAL CONTROL
Once Hitler gained power in 1933, he didn't take his time putting his agenda into action. Almost immediately, Hitler began to strip Germans of their rights. On March 23 of 1933, not even two months after Hitler's appointment as chancellor, the Enabling Act was passed. This piece of legislature essentially appointed Hitler as dictator, and permitted him to do whatever he wanted. Over the next several months, Hitler would come to gain power by appointing himself as Fuhrer, expanding his military, building concentration camps, recruiting the German youth, and brainwashing citizens into believing in his idea of an Aryan race.
Once Hitler gained power in 1933, he didn't take his time putting his agenda into action. Almost immediately, Hitler began to strip Germans of their rights. On March 23 of 1933, not even two months after Hitler's appointment as chancellor, the Enabling Act was passed. This piece of legislature essentially appointed Hitler as dictator, and permitted him to do whatever he wanted. Over the next several months, Hitler would come to gain power by appointing himself as Fuhrer, expanding his military, building concentration camps, recruiting the German youth, and brainwashing citizens into believing in his idea of an Aryan race.
SUCCESSFUL MISTAKE
The first person to successfully achieve nuclear fission did not originally realize what it was he had accomplished. Nuclear fission is the splitting of an atom into smaller parts, and if these smaller parts are unstable, the reaction can be destructive. Italian scientist Enrico Fermi was unaware that by his irradiation of uranium using neutrons (under Szilard's idea of chain reaction) he had partially deconstructed the atom and had in turn discovered the process for setting off an atomic bomb. Instead, Fermi believed he had actually created the first transuranic element. A transuranic element is an unstable, radioactive element that decays into other elements. In the atom of uranium he was testing, Fermi believed that the atom was decaying instead of undergoing nuclear fission. Despite his confusion, Fermi shared his findings with colleague Leo Szilard, who had been making enormous progress of his own. On July 4th, 1934, Szilard filed a patent on an application for an atomic bomb that included his idea of exchanging one neutron for two more neutrons. Although Szilard now understood the reaction necessary for this bomb, he did not know how to set off the reaction itself.
GERMANY ENTERS THE NUCLEAR FRONTIER
Until this point, Germany had not had much success in the creation of their own atom bomb. Szilard had done his best to keep his patent quiet, but Fermi's experiments using bombardment had gained international traction. Only four years after Szilard files his patent in the United States, German scientists Otto Hahn, Fritz Strassmann, and Lise Meitner built from Fermi's research and effectively split the atom using nuclear fission. Although the trio were split across Europe due to Hitler's regime, it was concluded through a series of letters that after bombarding uranium with neutrons they had successfully split the atom in half.
The first person to successfully achieve nuclear fission did not originally realize what it was he had accomplished. Nuclear fission is the splitting of an atom into smaller parts, and if these smaller parts are unstable, the reaction can be destructive. Italian scientist Enrico Fermi was unaware that by his irradiation of uranium using neutrons (under Szilard's idea of chain reaction) he had partially deconstructed the atom and had in turn discovered the process for setting off an atomic bomb. Instead, Fermi believed he had actually created the first transuranic element. A transuranic element is an unstable, radioactive element that decays into other elements. In the atom of uranium he was testing, Fermi believed that the atom was decaying instead of undergoing nuclear fission. Despite his confusion, Fermi shared his findings with colleague Leo Szilard, who had been making enormous progress of his own. On July 4th, 1934, Szilard filed a patent on an application for an atomic bomb that included his idea of exchanging one neutron for two more neutrons. Although Szilard now understood the reaction necessary for this bomb, he did not know how to set off the reaction itself.
GERMANY ENTERS THE NUCLEAR FRONTIER
Until this point, Germany had not had much success in the creation of their own atom bomb. Szilard had done his best to keep his patent quiet, but Fermi's experiments using bombardment had gained international traction. Only four years after Szilard files his patent in the United States, German scientists Otto Hahn, Fritz Strassmann, and Lise Meitner built from Fermi's research and effectively split the atom using nuclear fission. Although the trio were split across Europe due to Hitler's regime, it was concluded through a series of letters that after bombarding uranium with neutrons they had successfully split the atom in half.
CALL FOR RESEARCH
After Germany's invasion of Poland in 1939, a year after nuclear fission is discovered, World War II rips through Europe. Hitler's enormous Nazi empire enter full conflict with the rest of the world, finding fewer allies than enemies. As the horrors of Hitler's regime are exposed, it is obvious that he needs to be stopped. The news of Hahn, Strassmann, and Meitner's research has spread to the United States, and with it came enormous worry. Only a month prior to the official start of WW II, Leo Szilard had penned a warning letter to President Roosevelt, including with it a signature from Albert Einstein to demonstrate the significance of the matter. Szilard informed Roosevelt not only of the promising future an atom bomb could have for the US, but the devastating effect of the Nazis beating everyone else to that technology. In the letter, they asked for funding for research on Uranium, and the potential splitting Uranium atoms could possess. Roosevelt immediately sees the importance of the atom bomb, and in December of 1941, he authorizes the Manhattan Project.
After Germany's invasion of Poland in 1939, a year after nuclear fission is discovered, World War II rips through Europe. Hitler's enormous Nazi empire enter full conflict with the rest of the world, finding fewer allies than enemies. As the horrors of Hitler's regime are exposed, it is obvious that he needs to be stopped. The news of Hahn, Strassmann, and Meitner's research has spread to the United States, and with it came enormous worry. Only a month prior to the official start of WW II, Leo Szilard had penned a warning letter to President Roosevelt, including with it a signature from Albert Einstein to demonstrate the significance of the matter. Szilard informed Roosevelt not only of the promising future an atom bomb could have for the US, but the devastating effect of the Nazis beating everyone else to that technology. In the letter, they asked for funding for research on Uranium, and the potential splitting Uranium atoms could possess. Roosevelt immediately sees the importance of the atom bomb, and in December of 1941, he authorizes the Manhattan Project.
THE MANHATTAN PROJECT
By the time Roosevelt appoints the Manhattan Engineering District $2 billion in 1941 for the creation of a nuclear weapon, World War II has been going on for two years in Europe. The day after Roosevelt initiated the Manhattan Project, the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor (in modern day Hawaii). This important American naval base was not the first to be bombed in WW I, but it is the first direct attack to the US, and Americans take it seriously. While not nuclear, bombs have been hurled all throughout the war, and the need for a nuclear weapon is increasingly obvious as the conflict carries on. The Manhattan Project, the desperate attempt to create the atom bomb needed to end the war, began in 1942. Led by the United States and fueled by the assistance of the UK and Canada, Major General Leslie Groves directed the development of the world's most dangerous weapons from 1942 to 1946. Over the four years the Manhattan Project was run, the necessity of ending the war fueled science like it has at no other point in history. In this short period, scientists not only discovered how to create a weapon that could destroy the world, but how that same weapon could save it.
TWO STEPS FORWARD, ONE STEP BACK
Due to the time-sensitive nature of the Manhattan project, the development of the atomic bomb runs quickly. In 1942, Fermi successfully creates the world's first self-controlled and self-sustained nuclear reaction in Chicago. With this achievement, it is now known to be definitely possible to create a bomb. The US government begins outfitting the B-29 bomber to be able to carry the weapon once it is created. However, in 1944, tragedy strikes. An important military post in San Francisco Bay explodes, killing 323 people and disintegrating two ships and a train. Analysts blame a freak accident of nuclear testing, but the US learns just how powerful the weaponry they are dealing with can be. Exactly a year later in the July of 1946, the atom bomb is ready to be tested.
By the time Roosevelt appoints the Manhattan Engineering District $2 billion in 1941 for the creation of a nuclear weapon, World War II has been going on for two years in Europe. The day after Roosevelt initiated the Manhattan Project, the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor (in modern day Hawaii). This important American naval base was not the first to be bombed in WW I, but it is the first direct attack to the US, and Americans take it seriously. While not nuclear, bombs have been hurled all throughout the war, and the need for a nuclear weapon is increasingly obvious as the conflict carries on. The Manhattan Project, the desperate attempt to create the atom bomb needed to end the war, began in 1942. Led by the United States and fueled by the assistance of the UK and Canada, Major General Leslie Groves directed the development of the world's most dangerous weapons from 1942 to 1946. Over the four years the Manhattan Project was run, the necessity of ending the war fueled science like it has at no other point in history. In this short period, scientists not only discovered how to create a weapon that could destroy the world, but how that same weapon could save it.
TWO STEPS FORWARD, ONE STEP BACK
Due to the time-sensitive nature of the Manhattan project, the development of the atomic bomb runs quickly. In 1942, Fermi successfully creates the world's first self-controlled and self-sustained nuclear reaction in Chicago. With this achievement, it is now known to be definitely possible to create a bomb. The US government begins outfitting the B-29 bomber to be able to carry the weapon once it is created. However, in 1944, tragedy strikes. An important military post in San Francisco Bay explodes, killing 323 people and disintegrating two ships and a train. Analysts blame a freak accident of nuclear testing, but the US learns just how powerful the weaponry they are dealing with can be. Exactly a year later in the July of 1946, the atom bomb is ready to be tested.
TRINITY TEST
Under the rapid work of the Manhattan Project, a bomb was quickly prepared for testing in the Alamogordo Bombing and Gunnery Range in the middle of the New Mexico desert. Amongst those present for the world's first nuclear detonation were Fermi, Chadwick, and Manhattan Project director Leslie Groves. At about 5:30 in the evening, the device, nicknamed "The Gadget" exploded with an energy equivalent to approximately 20 kilotons of TNT. The result was an enormous amount of heat, light, a massive boom, a mushroom cloud that reached 7.5 miles in the air, and a crater 5 feet deep and 30 feet wide. The explosion was felt up to 100 miles away, and it caused local panic. Using colorful terms, the team of the Manhattan Project realized that they had created the world's first nuclear atom bomb -- the same weapon that could end the war.
VIDEO FOOTAGE OF TRINITY TEST
Under the rapid work of the Manhattan Project, a bomb was quickly prepared for testing in the Alamogordo Bombing and Gunnery Range in the middle of the New Mexico desert. Amongst those present for the world's first nuclear detonation were Fermi, Chadwick, and Manhattan Project director Leslie Groves. At about 5:30 in the evening, the device, nicknamed "The Gadget" exploded with an energy equivalent to approximately 20 kilotons of TNT. The result was an enormous amount of heat, light, a massive boom, a mushroom cloud that reached 7.5 miles in the air, and a crater 5 feet deep and 30 feet wide. The explosion was felt up to 100 miles away, and it caused local panic. Using colorful terms, the team of the Manhattan Project realized that they had created the world's first nuclear atom bomb -- the same weapon that could end the war.
VIDEO FOOTAGE OF TRINITY TEST
ENDING THE WAR
Shortly before the Trinity test, Adolf Hitler had committed suicide, and the Nazi party quickly began to disband. However, Japan was still fighting a hard battle with the world, and the US intended to put this to a stop. Following the testing in New Mexico, two atom bombs were created. "Little Boy" and "Fat Man" were nicknamed respectively for FDR and Winston Churchill. Between August 6-9 of 1945, these bombs are dropped on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The results proved to be devastating. In these bombings, the only time nuclear warfare has ever been used, between 129,000-246,000 people died as result from immediate explosions. In the months to follow, many thousands more would suffer and die from radiation poisoning, burns, illness, and malnutrition. The effects of the bombs were so horrific that less than a week later, Japan signed a treaty and surrendered. World War II offically came to an end.
Shortly before the Trinity test, Adolf Hitler had committed suicide, and the Nazi party quickly began to disband. However, Japan was still fighting a hard battle with the world, and the US intended to put this to a stop. Following the testing in New Mexico, two atom bombs were created. "Little Boy" and "Fat Man" were nicknamed respectively for FDR and Winston Churchill. Between August 6-9 of 1945, these bombs are dropped on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The results proved to be devastating. In these bombings, the only time nuclear warfare has ever been used, between 129,000-246,000 people died as result from immediate explosions. In the months to follow, many thousands more would suffer and die from radiation poisoning, burns, illness, and malnutrition. The effects of the bombs were so horrific that less than a week later, Japan signed a treaty and surrendered. World War II offically came to an end.
TESTING CONTINUES
For years to come, nuclear testing would continue worldwide. The United States still holds the record for nuclear testing, but countries such as Russia, China, France, the Koreas, the UK, and Germany all have conducted their own nuclear tests. Since the Trinity test, over 2,000 nuclear tests have taken place globally. During the Cold War, a period of hostile international relations following World War II, the fear of being bombed by nuclear weapon was constant. In 1996, the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty was adopted by the United Nations. Although it is not enforced due to the lack of signatories from 8 specific states, it has helped to quell the testing of the world's most dangerous weapon.
The video below gives a colorful view of the over 2,000 nuclear explosions following World War II. As more and more countries enter the nuclear field, the impact is made visible by the spectacular amount of lights and sounds on the video map.
For years to come, nuclear testing would continue worldwide. The United States still holds the record for nuclear testing, but countries such as Russia, China, France, the Koreas, the UK, and Germany all have conducted their own nuclear tests. Since the Trinity test, over 2,000 nuclear tests have taken place globally. During the Cold War, a period of hostile international relations following World War II, the fear of being bombed by nuclear weapon was constant. In 1996, the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty was adopted by the United Nations. Although it is not enforced due to the lack of signatories from 8 specific states, it has helped to quell the testing of the world's most dangerous weapon.
The video below gives a colorful view of the over 2,000 nuclear explosions following World War II. As more and more countries enter the nuclear field, the impact is made visible by the spectacular amount of lights and sounds on the video map.