THE MANHATTAN PROJECT

BACKGROUND

• 1939: the world's scientists learned that the Germans had successfully split uranium atoms
• Fear of the Nazis using their new technology to produce an extremely destructive bomb
• WWII had already begun at this time

BACKGROUND

• 1939: the world's scientists learned that the Germans had successfully split uranium atoms
• Fear of the Nazis using their new technology to produce an extremely destructive bomb
• WWII had already begun at this time

THE START OF THE PROJECT

• Scientists Albert Einstein and Enrico Fermi had fled to America from the dangers of Europe
• They saw the necessity of informing the president of this new deadly technology
• Fermi traveled to Washington D.C. to express his concerns
• Einstein and Leo Szilard wrote a letter to President Roosevelt to urge the creation of an atomic research program
• 1941: the program received it's code name, "The Manhattan Project"

THE START OF THE PROJECT

• Scientists Albert Einstein and Enrico Fermi had fled to America from the dangers of Europe
• They saw the necessity of informing the president of this new deadly technology
• Fermi traveled to Washington D.C. to express his concerns
• Einstein and Leo Szilard wrote a letter to President Roosevelt to urge the creation of an atomic research program
• 1941: the program received it's code name, "The Manhattan Project"

BEGINNINGS

• Primarily, it was based at a few universities
• Columbia University, University of Chicago, University of California at Berkeley
• 1942: Fermi led the production of the first nuclear chain reaction at the University of Chicago

BEGINNINGS

• Primarily, it was based at a few universities
• Columbia University, University of Chicago, University of California at Berkeley
• 1942: Fermi led the production of the first nuclear chain reaction at the University of Chicago

THE PROJECT GROWS

• Nuclear facilities were built at Oak Ridge, Tennessee and Hanford, Washington
• Main plant: Los Alamos, New Mexico
• J. Robert Oppenheimer was put in charge of the Los Alamos plant
• By this time, 130,000 Americans were employed by the project
• Secrecy was key: the Japanese and the Germans could not learn of the project

THE PROJECT GROWS

• Nuclear facilities were built at Oak Ridge, Tennessee and Hanford, Washington
• Main plant: Los Alamos, New Mexico
• J. Robert Oppenheimer was put in charge of the Los Alamos plant
• By this time, 130,000 Americans were employed by the project
• Secrecy was key: the Japanese and the Germans could not learn of the project

THE PROJECT'S SUCCESS

• July 16, 1945: Trinity site in New Mexico
• Oppenheimer and his team released the first atomic bomb
• The bomb was dropped from a 100-foot tower just before dawn
• Blinding flash visible for 200 miles; 40,000 foot mushroom cloud
• Blew out windows in homes 100 miles away and created an enormous crater

THE PROJECT'S SUCCESS

• July 16, 1945: Trinity site in New Mexico
• Oppenheimer and his team released the first atomic bomb
• The bomb was dropped from a 100-foot tower just before dawn
• Blinding flash visible for 200 miles; 40,000 foot mushroom cloud
• Blew out windows in homes 100 miles away and created an enormous crater

IMPORTANCE

• Nuclear weapons helped bring an end to WWII
• Began the nuclear age and determined how the Cold War would be fought
• Became the model behind American "big science" during the latter part of the 20th century

IMPORTANCE

• Nuclear weapons helped bring an end to WWII
• Began the nuclear age and determined how the Cold War would be fought
• Became the model behind American "big science" during the latter part of the 20th century

SOURCES

• "The Manhattan Project." AtomicTrauma. N.p., n.d. Web. 9 June 2014. .
• "The Manhattan Project." U.S. History. The Indepedence Hall Foundation, n.d. Web. 9 June 2014. .
• "Manhattan Project." Energy.gov. U.S. Department of Energy, n.d. Web. 9 June 2014. .
• "Manhattan Project." American History. ABC-CLIO, 2014. Web. 9 June 2014.

SOURCES

• "The Manhattan Project." AtomicTrauma. N.p., n.d. Web. 9 June 2014. .
• "The Manhattan Project." U.S. History. The Indepedence Hall Foundation, n.d. Web. 9 June 2014. .
• "Manhattan Project." Energy.gov. U.S. Department of Energy, n.d. Web. 9 June 2014. .
• "Manhattan Project." American History. ABC-CLIO, 2014. Web. 9 June 2014.

PHOTOS

• "Manhattan Project scientists." Image. Ernest Orlando Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. American History. ABC-CLIO, 2014. Web. 9 June 2014.
• "Manhattan Project scientists prepare atomic bomb for test." Image. AP Photo. American History. ABC-CLIO, 2014. Web. 9 June 2014.
• "The Manhattan Project." AtomicTrauma. N.p., n.d. Web. 9 June 2014. .

PHOTOS

• "Manhattan Project scientists." Image. Ernest Orlando Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. American History. ABC-CLIO, 2014. Web. 9 June 2014.
• "Manhattan Project scientists prepare atomic bomb for test." Image. AP Photo. American History. ABC-CLIO, 2014. Web. 9 June 2014.
• "The Manhattan Project." AtomicTrauma. N.p., n.d. Web. 9 June 2014. .