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Nuclear technology after World War 2
Nuclear technology after World War 2
Nuclear effect on the environment
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The Nuclear Era Begins: A Brief Background on the Trinity Project Introduction The 20th Century unleashed a fury of new technologies and discoveries that changed the course of the world. Developments in physics led the charge with the likes of Lise Meitner and Otto Frisch who, in 1939, demonstrated and coined the process of fission. Potentially, no individual discovery influenced the course of history like the development of nuclear fission. With the world at war, and the Axis forces winning on multiple fronts, the United States chose to utilize these latest discoveries to create the most devastating weapons this world had ever seen, the nuclear bomb. These theories of physics and engineering initially became a reality in New Mexico, and eventually led to the deployment of two nuclear bombs in Japan; thus, swinging the tide of World War II to the Allies’ favor. The top secret development, construction, and testing of these technologies is known as the Trinity Project and changed the world forever. From 1945 to 1962, the United States government, through the Manhattan Engineer District (MED) and its successor agency, the Atomic Energy Commission (AEC), conducted 235 tests of nuclear devices at sites in the United States and in the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. In total, an estimated 220,000 Department of Defense (DOD) participants, both military and civilian, were present at the tests. Project TRINITY, the war-time effort to test-fire a nuclear explosive device, was the first atmospheric nuclear weapons test (Lansing, 1965). Research Paper Establishment of a United States Nuclear Program Prior to World War II, the United States of America had very little interest in the development of a nuclear weapon. German forces seized c... ... middle of paper ... ...ng discovery of nuclear fission was the first piece leading to the Cold War between the United States and the USSR. The research at LASL has led to the creation of thousands of nuclear missiles, changing the scope of combat and political influence forever. Works Cited Bainbridge, K. T. (1976). Trinity. Los Alamos, N.M.: Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory. General Electric Company-TEMPO. (1979). Compilation of local fallout data from test detonations 1945- 1962 extracted from DASA 1251. Washington, DC: Defense Nuclear Agency. Lansing Lamont, (1965). Day of Trinity. 1st ed. New York: Atheneum. Los Alamos Scientific Labratory. (1967). Los Alamos: Beginning of an Era 1943-1945 .... Los Alamos, N.M.: LASL. Szasz, F. M. (1984). The day the sun rose twice: the story of the Trinity Site nuclear explosion, July 16, 1945. Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press.
In today’s society, many countries and even citizens of the United States question the U.S. government’s decision to get involved in nuclear warfare. These people deemed it unnecessary and stated that the U.S. is a hypocrite that preaches peace, but causes destruction and death. Before and during World War II the U.S. was presented with a difficult decision on whether or not to develop and use the atomic bomb. The U.S. decided to develop the atomic bomb based on the fear they had for the safety of the nation. In August 1939 nuclear physicists sent manuscripts to Albert Einstein in fear the Germany might use the new knowledge of fission on the uranium nucleus as way to construct weapons.
The creation of the hydrogen bomb, moreover the summoning of an arms race, spawned worldwide desire for nuclear arms, and worldwide fear for those who had them; The effects of such can be seen in the economic and diplomatic benefits exhibited by those with enough stamina and vigilance to endure its costs, and in the extreme measures taken by countries, nominally the United States, to respond to the security threat posed when other countries owned the bomb. Furthermore: For those whose economy could afford it, nominally the U.S., USSR and India, economic and diplomatic benefits followed its creation; For the U.S., following the creation of the bomb by enemies were extreme defense tactics; For all the benefits and costs compelled a worldwide
America’s development of this secret atomic bomb began back in 1939 when President Roosevelt was still alive. This project was so secretive that Roosevelt did not even want his Vice President Harry S. Truman to know a thing about it. Truman could not believe it, until he read the note from Secretary Stimson. That night he wrote a letter in his diary about the U.S. perfecting an explosive great enough to destroy the world. Tr...
1938 discovery of nuclear fission, Germany had a two-year head start on developing nuclear energy. The Americans' fear was that the Nazis would shape it into a weapon of mass destruction. Germany also had in its grasp two materials critical to its development, heavy water and uranium. They were available in abundance only in Norway and Czechoslovakia, both under Nazi control.
During World War II, a new, powerful, and top-secret weapon of mass destruction was necessary in order to defeat Hitler and Germany. This weapon was the Atomic Bomb, these bombs were controversial due to it 's sheer power to decimate an entire city, and kill possibly millions after it was tested. It 's name was Trinity in 1945. Let us rewind back three years when Nazi Germany was a strong force to be dealt with. There were fears and discussions about Nazi Germany was possibly developing and building a nuclear weapon during WWII. This fearfulness triggered President Franklin Delano Roosevelt to assemble a crew of top-secret scientist which even included the assistance of Albert Einstein.
The Trinity Project was a project conducted to test the effects of a nuclear weapon. The Trinity nuclear device was detonated on a 100-foot tower on the Alamogordo Bombing Range in south-central New Mexico at 0530 hours on 16 July 1945. (Rohrer, 1995-2003). This project was organized by the Manhattan Engineer District (MED). This organization worked diligently planning and coordinating all of the logistics for the groundbreaking event. From 1945-1946 over 1000 personnel either worked or visited the test site. The United States was trying to gain nuclear proliferation throughout the world so this project was necessary for our enemies to see the devastation of a nuclear blast.
In 1941, The United States began an atomic bomb program called the “Manhattan Project.” The main objective of the “Manhattan Project” was to research and build an atomic bomb before Germany could create and use one against the allied forces during World War II. German scientists had started a similar research program four years before the United States began so the scientists of the “Manhattan Project” felt a sense of urgency throughout their work (Wood “Men … Project”).
When President Truman authorized the use of two nuclear weapons in 1945 against the Japanese in the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki to end World War II, the nature of international security was changed irreversibly. At that time, the United States had what was said to have a monopoly of atomic bombs. Soon thereafter, the Soviet Union began working on atomic weaponry. In 1949, it had already detonated it first atomic bomb and tensions began to heat up between the two countries. With the information that the Soviets had tested their first bomb, the United States began work on more powerful weapons1, and a fight for nuclear superiority had begun.
n.d. - n.d. - n.d. Retrieved from http://www.nuclearfiles.org/menu/library/media-gallery/image/tredici/84.htm. Operation at the crossroads. n.d. - n.d. - n.d. Retrieved from http://nuclearweaponarchive.org/Usa/Tests/Crossrd.html. Stone, R. (Director), Rafferty, K. (Producer), Stone, S. (Producer), Weisgal, J. Producer & Rayter, J. Videographer (1987) -.
“Early in 1939, The worlds scientific community discovered that German physicists had learned the secrets of splitting the uranium atom and word spread quickly and several countries began to duplicate the experiment.” Albert Einstein warned President Roosevelt that Germany may have already built an atomic bomb. Roosevelt did not see an urgency for such a project, but agreed to proceed slowly. In 1941, British scientists pushed America to develop an atomic weapon. America’s effort was slow until 1942 when Colonel Leslie Groves took over. He quickly chose personnel, production sites and set schedules to invent the atomic
In October of 1939, after the start of World War 2 (WW2), Franklin D. Rosevelt received a letter from a Jewish Scientist in Nazi Germany. This man named Albert Einstein had claimed to have created a blueprint for a weapon using the power of nuclear fission said to be extremely potent and effective. After receiving this letter President Rosevelt had assembled a team to create this weapon, and the team had completed it at the height of the war. The atomic bombs had been dropped on the city of Hiroshima on august 7th and on Nagasaki on August 9th 1945. T...
The Cold War was a political standoff between the Soviet Union and the United States that again created a new worldwide nuclear threat. The destructive potential of nuclear weapons has created a global sweep of fear as to what might happen if these terrible forces were unleashed again. The technology involved in building the first atomic bombs has grown into the creation of nuclear weapons that are potentially 40 times more powerful than the original bombs used. However, a military change in strategy has come to promote nuclear disarmament and prevent the usage of nuclear weapons. The technology of building the atomic bomb has spurred some useful innovations that can be applied through the use of nuclear power.
The United States’ decision to drop an atomic bomb on Hiroshima required extensive research leading to its production. The main goal of the American side was to damage the enemy’s confidence, while choosing a target with the highest military output in order to conclude the war (Robinson).The group in charge of developing the technology was known as the Manhattan Project, and was kept top-secret. Selection began in the spring of 1945, with assistance from the Commanding General, Army Air Forces, his Headquarters (Robinson).There was a variety of experts working on the project, including mathematicians, theoretical physicists, and specialists trained in weather and blast effects Headquarters (Robinson). In order to monitor all of the results, the city had to be untouched, meaning the target had to have no signs of previous bombings. Based on these requirements, the designation of Hiroshima for the bombing was not a simple determination. After a target was selected and the weapon was developed, testing was set to begin. On July 16, 1945, the first test in Alamogordo, New Mexico, proved that the bomb was prepared for release onto...
The nuclear bomb was the most devastating weapon ever created by man. It was developed between 1942 and 1945 during the second World War. The project to build the worlds first atomic weapon was called The Manhattan Project. The nuclear bomb was based on the idea of splitting an atom to create energy, this is called fission. Three bombs were created, “Trinity”, “Little Boy”, and “Fat Man”. “Trinity” was dropped on a test site in New Mexico on July 16, 1945, proving the theories, engineering and mathematics of the bomb to be correct. Shortly after that, not more than 2 months, the U.S. performed the first actual nuclear attack in the history of war. The bomb “Little Boy” was dropped on the town of Hiroshima, instantly killing thousands. “Fat Man” was dropped shortly after on the town of Nagasaki. After the bombing almost all scientist involved with the creation of the bomb regretted its construction and spoke out against the abolishment of nuclear weapons.
The Cold War was a time of great tension all over the world. From 1945 to 1989, the United States was the leader and nuclear power and was competing with the Soviet Union to create huge stockpiles of nuclear weapons. However, even though the Cold War ended, nuclear weapons are still a threat. Countries around the world strive to create nuclear power, and they do not promise to use it for peaceful purposes. Some examples of the struggles caused by nuclear weapons include the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the Cuban Missile Crisis, and Iran’s recent nuclear weapon program. Surely, nuclear weapons have created conflict all over the world since the Cold War era.