The Atomic Bomb
· The atom bomb creates an explosion through a process called nuclear fission where the nuclei of atoms split apart.
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| Model of the "Little Boy" atom bomb |
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| Model of the "Fat-Man" atom bomb |
In 1939,
before the beginning of World War II, Albert Einstein wrote a letter to President
Franklin. D. Roosevelt. He and several scientists informed the president about
Nazi Germany’s attempts to purify uranium-235, which could be used to build the
atomic bomb. Under the code-name “The Manhattan Project”, the United States
Government started their own experiments for a viable atomic bomb. Over the
course of the war, from 1939 to 1945 over $2 billion was spent on the Manhattan
Project. The man who led the project was Robert Oppenheimer.
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| The atom bomb being successfully tested in New Mexico |
On July
16, 1945 when the atom bomb was tested, it ushered in the atomic age. The
explosion created radioactive material and it had a characteristic mushroom
cloud. The atom bomb has been use only two times in warfare. The first was in
Hiroshima and the second in Nagasaki. On August 6, 1945 a uranium bomb was
dropped Hiroshima, killing 66 000 people instantly and injuring 69 000. “Fat
Man” was a plutonium bomb, much powerful than the one that struck Hiroshima,
was dropped over Nagasaki on August 9, 1945. This time 39 000 people were
killed and it left 25 000 injured.
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| Mushroom cloud after Nagasaki blast, 1945 |
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