Manhattan Project: The Beginning of the Nuclear Era

By Md. Sulyman Hossain

“Now I am death, the destroyer of worlds"—when t the Manhattan project finished,
Oppenheimer, who was one of the scientists who were behind the project, said these
exact words. Why did he say this? And what is this Manhattan Project that marked the
beginning of a new era in world history, which is known to us by the name of “Nuclear
Era?”.

The Manhattan Project started at the beginning stage of World War II under
the direct supervision of the U.S. Government, and it was a terrible and
terrifying chapter for humanity. This project was established for creating a
nuclear bomb. And it reached its finish line by exploding the bombs that were
the product of this project in World War II. It was directed under the strict
supervision of the U.S. military. The seeds of the Manhattan project were sown
in the late 1930s, when the field of nuclear physics was advancing at a great
pace. Which opened a new door of hope for the nuclear physicists. In 1938, German
physicists Otto Hahn and Fritz Strassmann discovered the nuclear fission reaction. A
nuclear fission reaction is a reaction that can be used for creating mass destroyer
weapons. The time was the beginning stage of World War II. Therefore, this
revolutionary discovery aroused speculation among scientists
that the Nazis might be working for the creation of atomic
weapons. In response to this, many renowned scientists, along
with Albert Einstein and Leo Szilard, wrote a letter to the then
U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1939. The letter
represented the speculation that the Germans were maybe
pursuing the atomic weapons. This letter spurred action to the
U.S. government and pursued the government to give funds for
nuclear research. Then in 1942, when World War II escalated, the
U.S. government officially established the Manhattan project by
the direct intervention of U.S. Military Engineers and Army
Corps under the leadership of Colonel Leslie R. Groves. The
total cost of this project was about 2 billion U.S. dollars, which
in Bangladeshi Taka is around 13,718,808,000 Taka.
This massive project’s goals were very farsighted. And the main objective was to create
a successful atomic bomb before the Nazis of Germany. But there were some other key
objectives too. Which were:
1) Scientific Research and Development: One of the key objectives of this project was to
study the nuclear fission reaction more practically and use it for creating an atomic
bomb. For this purpose, the scientists working on this project provided many practical
theories related to radioactive isotopes. They worked mainly with the Uranium-236 and
the Uranium-239 isotopes.
2) Designing Weapons and Experimenting: The
second key objective of this project was to
experiment with different types of warheads
and create an ultimate warhead that will be
effective. After experimenting with various
designs, the scientists came up with their two
ultimate designs, which were uranium-based
“Little Boy” and plutonium-based “Fat Man.”
3) Industrial Manufacturing: This project not only created the bombs but also worked for
collecting the raw materials for the bombs. Collecting the raw materials for an atomic
bomb is a very difficult task. But the U.S. military created several plants for creating
every part of the bomb from scratch. Some of these plans were: Oak Ridge (Tennessee),
Hanford (Washington), and Los Alamos (New Mexico), where many renowned
scientists like Robert Oppenheimer worked tirelessly for creating an atomic bomb.
4) Security and Secrecy: As the effect of this project can change the world’s geopolitical
condition, this project was carried out with ultimate secrecy and under strict security
maintenance. Although about 175,000 people worked for this project, few of them knew
the main objective of the project. A selected number of U.S. military higher-ups and a
little number of confidential personnel knew the main objective of this project. Even the
then U.S. Vice President Harry S. Truman only knew about this project’s key objective
when he became president in 1945.

Although many important people worked on this project, there

are some special people who played the key role on this project.
The most important of those persons are:
  Robert J. Oppenheimer: Known as the father of the atomic bomb, Oppenheimer
was the director of the Los Alamos research laboratory. Where the main bomb was
assembled.
 Leslie R. Groves: He was the director of the whole project, and he was a colonel
of the U.S. Military. He supervised the project’s development.
 Enrico Fermi: Italian physicist Enrico Fermi first discovered the nuclear chain
reaction in Chicago in 1942. Which was a great milestone for this project.

This project was very big, and it was not possible to do all the activities in one single
place. This project’s activities were conducted throughout the U.S. in different locations
and worksites. Some of those worksites are most important. They are:
 Los Alamos, New Mexico: It was the primary place for
making the bomb and assembling the whole bomb.
 Oak Ridge, Tennessee: This place was used for refining
the uranium.
 Hanford, Washington: This place was used for creating
the Plutonium.
The result and the success of this project were witnessed by the
whole world in 06 and 09 August 1945, when the atomic bombs
“Little Boy” and “Fat Man” destroyed Hiroshima and
Nagasaki, two cities of Japan. But the scientists involved with
this massive project witnessed the success of their work by the
end of July 1945, about one week before the world, by the
successful explosion of the first atomic bomb, "Trinity,” in
Alamogorado, New Mexico. The effect of this project was not
short-term. It has both short- and long-term effects.
Short-term Effects:
1. The End of World War II: Japan was forced to surrender after the bombings at
Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Which led to the end of a long period of bloodshed.
2. Change in Geo-Political Relationship: After World
War II, the U.S. emerged as a superpower. Because
the possession of an atomic weapon proves to be an
 upper hand for the U.S. It was proved that the U.S. is far ahead of many states of
that time, like the Soviet Union and the United Kingdom. It gave an upper hand
for America when establishing international relationships.
Long-term Effects:
1. Spread of Nuclear Research: Following
the U.S., other nations like the Soviet
Union, China, France, and the and the
U.K. started their own nuclear research
for creating atomic bombs. And after only
a few years, they’ve tested their atomic
weapons successfully, and they’ve
strengthened their nuclear weapons over
the year. This created a very big problem, as the weak nations feel insecurity now.
2. Ethical and Moral Questions: Usage of atomic weapons in war has been a topic of
great debate since the beginning of the nuclear era. Critics think that it was not
necessary to use nuclear warheads and create mass destruction for making Japan
surrender. On the other hand, the proponents believe that the usage of nuclear
warheads stopped the prolonged war.
3. The Nuclear Era: The Manhattan
project officially started a whole new
era in the history of this world. Which
is known to all as “The Nuclear Era."
In this era, people started harnessing
the power of nuclear fission reactions
for both creating electricity and nuclear
warfare. Although nuclear power
became a threat for humanity, it can be
useful too. We have witnessed the Mutually Assured Destruction (MAD) during
the Cold War already. Which is a threat to humanity.
In conclusion, we can all agree with the point that the Manhattan Project was a
monumental scientific and military effort. This project not only ended World War II
successfully, but it also became a medium of mass destruction for the whole world. This
project was a revolution for science, and it also raises questions about the ethics and
morals of humanity. As the world moves under the grip of nuclear power, it will prove to
be “death, the destroyer of worlds." Just like Oppenheimer feared.

The End