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The Manhattan Project is widely recognized as the U.S.-led mission that successfully developed the first atomic bomb. This triumph directly contributed to the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945, leading to Japan's unconditional surrender and the end of World War II.
The initiative was exceptionally complex and perilous, resulting in the deaths of some of its scientists. Despite its dangers, the project remains one of the most remarkable human accomplishments in history. Today, we present ten captivating facts about the Manhattan Project and the individuals behind this groundbreaking achievement.
10. Einstein Played a Key Role in the Project's Success
The origin of the Manhattan Project is often traced back to the Einstein-Szilard letter. This renowned letter, signed by Albert Einstein in 1939, was addressed to U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt. Leo Szilard, the primary author, worked with fellow physicists Eugene Wigner and Edward Teller. The letter stemmed from their realization that a powerful new force was emerging from nuclear research—a force capable of unprecedented destruction, especially if harnessed by Nazi Germany.
Szilard took the initiative to compose the letter with Einstein’s help, and it was sent to President Roosevelt. The letter warned that this new scientific discovery could lead to bomb production and that such technology could be available in the near future. It also highlighted that Germany was already acquiring uranium from Czechoslovakia, implying that the Nazis were advancing in nuclear research. Roosevelt, upon receiving the letter, took swift action by establishing the Advisory Committee on Uranium. This marked the beginning of U.S. government investment in uranium research, eventually leading to the Manhattan Project in 1942.
9. The Project Was Penetrated by the Soviet Union
The Manhattan Project was a closely guarded secret, with U.S. intelligence agencies and the FBI working tirelessly to prevent Nazi Germany or Japan from discovering its existence. Even though the USSR was an ally, the U.S. aimed to keep them in the dark to prevent them from gaining any advantage from the research. Despite these efforts, Soviet intelligence managed to infiltrate the project. They noticed a drop in British and American publications on nuclear fission, which raised suspicions and pointed to a significant development in nuclear technology.
It is reported that Soviet spies attempted to infiltrate the Manhattan Project multiple times, but only a few succeeded in passing crucial information—one of the most infamous being Klaus Fuchs. Fuchs, a physicist, had secretly pledged allegiance to the USSR and was working at the Los Alamos laboratory on bomb research and design. While at Los Alamos, he covertly sent intelligence to the Soviets and was eventually caught after the war, confessing his actions. There are still unidentified spies whose identities were never revealed by U.S. counterintelligence.
8. The Project's Price Tag Was Nearly $2 Billion
The Manhattan Project was a massive undertaking, with multiple sites spread across the United States and Canada. Key locations included Oak Ridge in Tennessee and Los Alamos in New Mexico. Oak Ridge served as the main production facility, responsible for enriching uranium needed to create the atomic bomb. Los Alamos, a secluded laboratory, focused on the bomb's design and construction. The first successful nuclear bomb detonation occurred in New Mexico during the Trinity test.
With numerous other sites contributing to the effort, the costs quickly mounted. A significant portion of the expenses came from the Oak Ridge site. The total cost of the project was estimated at $1.9 billion, which would be over $20 billion in today's money.
7. The Project Was Considered a Success
Despite the project surpassing its original budget, the casualties during its execution, and the scientific hurdles faced, the Manhattan Project was ultimately regarded as a success. The primary goal was to arm the U.S. with an atomic bomb to counter the threat of Nazi Germany or Japan potentially developing one. However, whether this project was truly a success remains more of an ethical debate than a matter of fact. The result was the creation of the only two atomic bombs ever detonated in warfare, with an estimated death toll of between 150,000 and 200,000 people.
The bombings ushered in a new nuclear age where the U.S. and Russia emerged as superpowers, each capable of destroying entire cities in an instant. While the bombings in Japan in 1945 effectively ended the war and likely saved many American lives, the morality of these bombings remains contentious. Some argue they were a war crime, while others defend them as a justified and necessary act. Without the 'success' of the Manhattan Project, it’s uncertain which country would have been the first to use a nuclear bomb in World War II.
6. The Demon Core
Reports indicate that 24 people lost their lives during the course of the Manhattan Project. While many of these fatalities were due to construction accidents, the deaths of scientists Harry Daghlian and Louis Slotin were the result of entirely different, tragic incidents. Daghlian, while conducting experiments with the third nuclear core (after the first two were used in Japan), made a fatal mistake on August 21, 1945. He dropped a tungsten carbide brick onto the plutonium core assembly, causing it to become supercritical. Although he immediately removed the brick, he was exposed to a lethal dose of radiation and died in agony a month later.
Despite this incident, just nine months later, Slotin would also die from radiation exposure in a similar accident. On May 21, 1946, he was using a screwdriver to hold a beryllium neutron reflector in place above the core assembly when the screwdriver slipped. The half-sphere reflector fell onto the core, triggering a burst of lethal radiation and a flash of blue light. Slotin quickly managed to remove the reflector, preventing further exposure, but he succumbed to acute radiation poisoning nine days later.
Due to its association with the deaths of the two scientists, the plutonium core became known as the 'Demon Core.' Eventually, it was melted down, and its material was repurposed for use in other cores.
5. Thin Man
At the outset of the Manhattan Project, significant research was dedicated to creating a plutonium-based 'gun-type' bomb, code-named 'Thin Man.' This design was meant to be the counterpart to the 'Fat Man' bomb that was dropped on Nagasaki. While Fat Man utilized plutonium implosion, Thin Man would have worked by bringing two plutonium masses together at high speed inside the bomb.
The Thin Man project was eventually abandoned due to several complications. For one, the bombs were designed to be 5.2 meters (17 ft) long, which made it difficult to find an aircraft capable of carrying them. Though bombers could be modified to accommodate the longer design, the two plutonium masses in the bomb were prone to pre-detonating. This led to the need for extended casings, which made the design impractical for planes of the era. As a result, the project was scrapped. Instead, the 'Little Boy' bomb, which was dropped on Hiroshima, was a gun-type design using uranium-235 instead of plutonium-239, as originally intended for Thin Man.
4. The Trinity Test Had Provisions In Case Of Disaster
A major milestone in the Manhattan Project was the Trinity test, marking the first-ever explosion of a nuclear bomb. This historic event took place on July 16, 1945, when the 'Gadget,' a device similar to the 'Fat Man' bomb, was detonated. The test was a success and marked the dawn of the atomic age.
Before the test, which was classified, officials scrambled to find ways to keep it hidden from the public and the media, given the magnitude of the expected explosion. To manage the coverage, a writer from The New York Times, William Laurence, was enlisted to assist in crafting press releases. Laurence was tasked with creating four different press releases, with the most dramatic one detailing the potential fatalities from the blast and evacuation instructions.
There was significant concern that such a press release would be required. Ultimately, the release that was issued downplayed the event by attributing the explosion's heat and noise to a 'remotely located ammunition magazine containing a significant amount of high explosives and pyrotechnics' that had detonated.
3. The Project Is Still Referenced In Popular Culture Today
The impact of the Manhattan Project remains significant more than 70 years after its conclusion. It continues to influence popular culture across various genres, essentially giving rise to an entire subgenre focused on nuclear destruction. The project has been depicted in numerous TV shows, films, documentaries, fictional works, music, art, and even video games and board games.
Shortly after the project's conclusion, the 1947 film The Beginning or the End was released, offering an inaccurate and somewhat villainous portrayal of how the atomic bombs were created. Decades later, the TV movie Day One presented a more faithful depiction of the project, winning an Emmy Award for Outstanding Drama. More recently, the Manhattan Project has been referenced in the Marvel Cinematic Universe in Iron Man, where Tony Stark mentions his father’s involvement in the project.
Other notable depictions include books like Los Alamos by Joseph Kanon and The Wives of Los Alamos by Tarashea Nesbit. In 2014, the television series Manhattan aired for two seasons, receiving critical praise before its cancellation in 2016. The story of the Manhattan Project continues to capture our imagination, and new portrayals will undoubtedly emerge, as we remain captivated by the work done during the project even over 70 years later.
2. The Doomsday Clock Was Born Out Of The Manhattan Project
Following the conclusion of the Manhattan Project, many scientists were left reflecting on the lasting effects that the nuclear bomb would have on the future of Earth. This contemplation grew even more poignant after the bombings of Nagasaki and Hiroshima. In response to these concerns, the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists was established in 1945. The publication began releasing monthly reports to inform the public about the dangers and developments of the newly coined 'Atomic era.' One of the Bulletin's founders, biophysicist Eugene Rabinowitch, who had worked on the Manhattan Project, expressed that the publication's goal was to “awaken the public to the full understanding of the horrendous reality of nuclear weapons and of their far-reaching implications for the future of mankind.”
In 1947, the Bulletin introduced the Doomsday Clock, a symbolic representation of how close humanity was to obliterating the world through nuclear warfare. When the clock was first unveiled, the time was set at 11:53 PM, just seven minutes before midnight. The furthest the clock has ever been from midnight was in 1991, when the Cold War between Russia and the US came to an end. Currently, the clock stands at two minutes to midnight, its most dire position, as tensions between nations remain high.
1. The Project Was Not Based In Manhattan
Despite the project’s name, much of the work of the Manhattan Project didn’t actually take place in Manhattan. The most significant operations occurred in New Mexico and Tennessee. Initially called 'Development of Substitute Materials,' the project’s official title never truly caught on. President Roosevelt had entrusted the Army with the project, and General Leslie R. Groves began his involvement in Manhattan, primarily to tap into the nearby Corps of Engineers division.
Initially, the project was named 'Development of Substitute Materials,' but it was quickly deemed too obvious. Instead, they opted for 'Manhattan District.' As the project grew and the need for various sites and laboratories became clear, the Army moved away from Manhattan. Yet, the name stuck. Over time, the 'District' part of the name was gradually phased out, and the project became simply known as the 'Manhattan Project.'
