HISTORY82 - The Manhattan Project
This summer marks the 78 th anniversary of the development and employment of atomic weapons - events that remain controversial today. On July 21, 2023, the movie about the chief scientist who was in charge of designing the first bombs, Oppenheimer , was released in the United States, sure to spark renewed discussion about the ethical and moral issues surrounding the effort. Thus, it seemed to me to be a good time to remind ourselves about the project under which these seminal efforts were conducted, the Manhattan Project. This article will cover the details of the Manhattan Project. My next article will focus on life of J. Robert Oppenheimer, sometimes called the “Father of the Atomic Bomb.” After a short introduction, I will discuss the origins of the Manhattan Project, the project’s formation, the choices for type of bomb, the centers of development activity, the extreme secrecy of the program, the test of the first weapon, the decision to drop atom...