The organization would expand to employ 130,000 people and end up totaling at a cost around $2 billion. An experimental reactor pile was tested in 1942, at the University of Chicago. It generated the first self sustaining-nuclear reaction. Following the reactor pile test, the Manhattan Project established a top secret laboratory at Los, Alamos, New Mexico, to design and build the atomic bomb. At the time they also constructed other secret facilities to create weapons grade plutonium.
If you had been an advisor to Truman in the discussions leading up to the decision to drop the atomic bomb on Japan, what would you have advised him and why? "The atom bomb was no 'great decision'“ -President Harry S. Truman. July 16th 1945-the day the Manhattan Project had accomplished its primary goal; building an Atomic Bomb. The theory for the Atomic Bomb was that the atoms in plutonium would rid themselves of billions of neutrons which, in turn, would split other atoms causing a massive chain reaction. This immeasurable release of energy would be the cause of the destruction of two Japanese cities, and perhaps America’s worst offensive move in the history of war.
This power was focused into the form of a bomb. This bomb would define life for everyone on the earth for the nearly the next 60 years. Although people feared the power of the atomic bomb and later the hydrogen bomb it was a necessary step in the advancement of the scientific understanding of the universe. The main catalyst for the building of the atomic bomb is a letter written to president Franklin D. Roosevelt by the famous physicist Albert Einstein (1). Einstein wrote this letter after learning of the work of Austrian physicist L. Szilard on nuclear fission.
The atomic bomb works by a physical phenomenon known as Fission. In this case, particles, specifically nuclei, are split and great amounts of energy are released. This energy is expelled explosively and violently in the atomic bomb. The massive power behind the reaction in an atomic bomb arises from the forces that hold the atom together called the strong nuclear force. The element used in atomic bombs is Uranium-235.
Founded in the 16th century, it was destroyed in World War II by the first atomic bomb used in warfare (August 6, 1945). The rebuilt city is an important commercial and industrial center. Population: 1,160,000. Nagasaki: A city of western Kyushu, Japan, on Nagasaki Bay, an inlet of the East China Sea. The first Japanese port to be opened to foreign trade in the 16th century, Nagasaki was devastated by the second atomic bomb used in World War II (August 9, 1945).
The Manhattan Project was the world’s first creation of an atomic bomb, and now many countries have many different kinds of nuclear bombs such as hydrogen bombs, and varying types of fission bombs. It has left a legacy of new and more powerful bombs that can be used during wartime that would ironically save lives. Before the nuclear bomb was successfully created, the US military had planned an invasion of the island of Japan. When this was planned the US started producing Purple Hearts at a tremendous rate, this way there would be enough to give to the families of those who had died during the raid. The US still had "Despite wastage, pilfering and items that were simply lost, approximately 495,000" Purple Hearts after WWII ended (Giangreco).
Period-7 Pros: If the Yucca Mountain is used as a nuclear waste depository then it will help store the large amount of nuclear waste that has been piling up in the nuclear power plants for many years. This build-up of nuclear waste poses a hazard to the areas that surround the power plants (such as New York City). The Yucca Mountain Depository resides is in a sparsely populated area and lies over 100 miles from the nearest city. Also the government already owns the land so it would be a waste if they did not use it for anything. The government has spent 10 billion dollars on the Yucca Mountain project already so it would be a waste to not use it, don’t we want our tax dollars to be well spent?
The toxic waste can be managed by treating it well and burying it underground. Also new technology has made it possible to run Nuclear Power plants with thorium. To use thorium the Nuclear Power Plant needs to be driven on the Accelerator Driven System. This system may have a large price tag but it will pay itself back within fifty years or so. Thorium compared to Uranium creates less toxic waste and also unlike Plutonium (the by-product of uranium) the toxic waste created by Thorium will only takes 500 years to be declared safe.
Childhood thyroid cancer and birth deformities are of the most common problems due to the high levels of radiation (What is Nuclear Energy). Nuclear power plant meltdowns can cause devastating effects on the
The Decision When Harry Truman learned of the success of the creation of nuclear weapons, he was faced with the most difficult decision in history. The capacity to end the war with Japan was in his hands, but it would involve unleashing the most terrible weapon ever known. Truman ultimately had to decide if the gains from ending the war would outweigh the destruction from ordering the bombs and leading the world into the nuclear age. After very careful deliberation Truman made the right decision on ordering the use of the atomic bomb. The decision prevented millions of American casualties, millions of Japanese casualties, and served as a deterrent to the USSR expansion.