The Manhattan Project Essay - 1507 Words

The Manhattan Project The Manhattan Project was the code name of the America’s attempt to construct an atomic bomb during World War II. It was named after the Manhattan Engineer District of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, because a lot of it’s earlier research was done in New York City. An atomic bomb is a weapon that uses the energy from a nuclear reaction called Fission for its destruction. The idea that mass could be changed into energy was predicted by Albert Einstein in the earlier part of the 1900’s. John D. Cockcroft and Ernest Walton confirmed this by experiments in 1932. Then in 1938, nuclear fission was discovered by German scientists, and it was feared by many of the U.S. scientists, that Hitler would try to build a†¦show more content†¦It’s first use was made in military action over Hiroshima, Japan, on August 6, 1945. The bomb uses a device called an altimeter to measure how far it is from the ground. It sends out radio frequencies which are bounced back to it. Microchips in the bomb determine how far it still has to fall, and when to detonate. The bombs also have fuses in the front which arm ! the bomb. They are not inserted until the bomb is ready to be launched. Before this bomb was developed, another kind was proposed. Uranium-238 could capture a neutron and become Uranium-239. All uranium has 92 protons. U-238 has 146 neutrons, and the added neutron raised the mass to 239. But U-239 is very unstable and it decays to neptunium-239 (93 protons, 146 neutrons), and plutonium-239 (94 protons and 145 neutrons). Plutonium-239 was fissionable, and could be separated from uranium by chemical techniques ( much easier than physical process of separating the different isotopes of 235 and 238 of the same element). The first successful reactor was made at the University of Chicago under the Italian physicist Enrico Fermi. On December 2, 1942 it made a controlled chain reaction. Five large reactors were built at Hanford, Washington, where U-238 was blasted with neutrons to make plutonium. It was then sent to Los Alamos. Since another isotope of plutonium was also fissionable, there was a fear that a chain reaction could start to soon when the pieces of plutonium where broughtShow MoreRelatedThe Manhattan Project1114 Words   |  5 PagesThe Manhattan Project The Manhattan Project was to see if making an atomic bomb possible. The success of this project would forever change the world forever making it known that something this powerful can be manmade. The Manhattan Project’s success was something that had an impact on everybody involved since they helped create something with so much destructive power it could destroy a city within seconds. The University of Chicago in Illinois had a huge role with the making of the atomic bombRead MoreThe Manhattan Project568 Words   |  2 Pagesneutral so it sent suicide bombers to attack our naval base in Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. Thus leading into the use of the atomic bomb, but first the construction, an event referred to as the Manhattan Project. The name Manhattan Project came about because the program began under the Manhattan Engineering District of the War Department. Early 1939, the scientist of the world learned that German scientist had discovered a way to spit a uranium atom, created a bomb that was capable of the destructionRead MoreOutline Of The Manhattan Project1621 Words   |  7 Pages The Manhattan Project Jervontae Young Mr.Davis English III 16 october 2017  Outline Thesis Statement: The Manhattan Project was the American program for researching and developing the first atomic bombs because of the project it cost a lot of people their lives. Introduction Which President form the Atomic Bomb in why? The agencies leading up to the Manhattan Project were first formed in 1939 by President Franklin D. Roosevelt U.S. intelligence operatives reported that scientists workingRead MoreThe Manhattan Project : The York Project2877 Words   |  12 PagesHonors - Period 3 30 November 2014 The Manhattan Project Everyone has secrets, even the U.S. Government. The Manhattan project was one of the many secrets the Government kept from the United States until after the damage was done. What was the Manhattan Project? The manhattan project was a multi-billion dollar enterprise, 2.2 billion to be exact, that provided U.S. Military forces with the single most destructive weapon known to man; the atomic bomb. The project was to be a kept at high secrecy fromRead MoreEssay on Manhattan Project1664 Words   |  7 Pagesamp;quot;The Manhattan Projectamp;quot;. On Monday July 16th, 1945, a countdown for the detonation of the first atomic bomb took place near Los Alamos, New Mexico. This atomic bomb testing would forever change the meaning of war. As the atomic bomb was detonated it sent shock-waves all over the world. There was endless research done on the bomb in the United States. The research was called amp;quot;The Manhattan Engineer District Projectamp;quot; but it was more commonly known as qu ot;The Manhattan ProjectRead MoreThe Manhattan Project Essay545 Words   |  3 PagesThe Manhattan Project was a very important event throughout the World War II history. It began the development of the atomic bomb and other nuclear weapons that were of good help during the war. It first began with a German scientist separating the uranium atom, which made people be scared of what Hitler might be capable of. Also Hitler and his people had begun discovering new types of weapons that were useful for them in the war. Something that apparently Hitler did not quite think about, was theRead MoreThe Manhattan Project Essay901 Words   |  4 PagesThe world was shocked when the United States dropped two atomic bombs on Japan in 1945. The bombs were a result of years of research and testing completed by the nation’s top physicists in a top-secret project called the Manhattan Project. The Manhattan Project was a crucial development by the United States because it quickly ended the war with Japan. In August 1939, Albert Einstein and Leo Szilard drafted the Einstein-Szilard letter to send to President Roosevelt. The letter outlined the needRead More The Manhattan Project Essay941 Words   |  4 PagesThe Atomic Bomb The research for the first Atomic bomb took place in the United States, by a group of nuclear engineers; the name of this research was called, â€Å"The Manhattan Project†. On July 16, 1945, the detonation of the first atomic bomb was tested near Los Alamos, New Mexico. As the atomic bomb was detonated, it sent shock-waves across the globe, which demonstrated that nuclear power would forever change the meaning of war. To create a nuclear bomb, nuclear fission must occur. The processRead MoreEssay on The Manhattan Project1934 Words   |  8 Pages Before the Manhattan Project, in the beginning there were many advancements in understanding made in the world of physics. These resulted in the recognition of nuclear fission and its potential as an energy source and as a potential weapon. Of these advancements none was more central and important than the development of the nuclear model of the atom, which by the year of 1932 contained a nucleus containing most of the mass of an atom in the form of two particles, protons and neutrons. This nucleusRead MoreAlbert Einstein/the Manhattan Project2254 Words   |  10 Pagesand evolution of the Manhattan Project and why did Einstein’s thoughts and involvement in the Manhattan Project change throughout World War II? Albert Einstein was undoubtedly one of the geniuses of the twentieth century. His work with gravity, relativity, light, and the universe helped to herald in a golden age for the study of science, of which scientists are still marveling at and studying today. Additionally, he was well-known for his participation in the Manhattan Project and the construction