On August 6 and August 9, 1945, United States dropped atomic bombs codenamed "Little Boy" and "Fat Man" on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in Japan respectively, speeding up the end of World War II and announcing the success of the "Manhattan Project".
1. Basic introduction to the Manhattan Project:
In June 1942, the United States during World War II began a secret program to develop an atomic bomb using nuclear fission reactions, also known as the "Manhattan Project". The Manhattan Project lasted three years, cost more than $2 billion, and more than 100,000 people participated, with a total of 560,000 people at its peak, including the best scientists in Western countries (except Nazi Germany) at that time, and successfully exploded at the Alamogol test site in Alamogol, United States, on July 16, 1945, and successfully produced two practical atomic bombs.
2. Background of the Manhattan Project:
In the 30s of the 20th century, fascism raged in Europe, and the flames of war were quickly ignited in Europe. In 1938 Germany physicist ·Otto Hahn discovered nuclear fission, which opened a new door to science, Germany physicist Paul ·Hartke immediately proposed to the Nazi Germany authorities to develop a nuclear explosive object to obtain a feasibility study, Germany began to implement the "uranium program" to develop nuclear weapons.
The famous physicist Albert Einstein was worried that the Nazi Germany would be a devastating disaster for mankind if they succeeded in developing a nuclear weapon with super-lethal power, so he cooperated with Hungary physicist Leo · Szilard to promote United States's nuclear program. In August 1939, Albert Einstein sent a letter to United States President Roosevelt, raising the feasibility of building an atomic bomb, reminding Roosevelt that the atomic bomb was far more powerful than any conventional weapon. Later, he wrote again to Roosevelt to emphasize the importance of this matter.
Until December 7, 1942, Japan attacked the Pearl Harbor base of the United States Pacific Fleet, United States suffered heavy losses and was forced to get involved in World War II United States. The Manhattan Project has a special priority over all actions and enforces a strict system of secrecy.
3. Launch of the Manhattan Project:
In the spring of 1943, under the leadership of the scientist Oppenheimer, a large number of scientists came to the little-known Los Alamos in Mexico to set up a laboratory to concentrate on tackling key problems, led by Brigadier General United States Groves, and the laboratory was in charge of Oppenheimer, officially starting the development of the atomic bomb. At the end of 1942, the U.S. military built an atomic bomb processing plant and manufacturing base. At the end of 1944, the uranium fuel needed for the atomic bomb was successfully extracted, and the key problem was solved. On July 16, 1945, the world's first atomic bomb was successfully exploded in the desert area of Alamodor Air Force Base in New Mexico, United States United States the "Manhattan Project" that began in 1942.
4. Key Scientists Involved in the Manhattan Project:
Oppenheimer, chief scientist, known as the "father of the atomic bomb";
Bohr, Nobel Laureate in Physics in 1923;
Chadwick, winner of the 1935 Nobel Prize in Physics;
Rutherford, the father of nuclear physics and winner of the 1908 Nobel Prize in Chemistry;
Wu Chien-shiung, a Chinese physicist, is known as the "Marie Curie of the East" and the "mother of the atomic bomb";
Von · Neumann, the father of modern computers.
5. The historical impact of the Manhattan Project:
In mid-July 1945, the Allies convened the Potsdam Conference, at which the Potsdam Proclamation was issued urging Japan to surrender unconditionally. At this time, the defeat of Japan's fascists was certain, but it still resisted stubbornly to the end, and as the Allied forces gradually approached Japan itself, Japan's resistance became more and more intense, and even shouted the terrifying slogan of "100 million jade shatters". In order to reduce human damage, speed up the end of World War II, and deter Japan, United States President Harry S. Truman ordered the use of atomic bombs against Japan.
On August 6 and 9, 1945, United States dropped an atomic bomb on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in Japan respectively, killing and wounding countless people, causing heavy casualties to Japan, causing serious panic in the psychology of the personnel, and accelerating the process of ending the war Japan Japan.
The power of the atomic bomb shocked all countries in the world, and then the global nuclear weapons race began, which completely changed the world political landscape and brought unprecedented and far-reaching impact on the course of human history.
Oppenheimer realized that the destructive impact of the atomic bomb on the world was staggering, quoting a phrase from the Bhagavad Gita of India: "I am now the god of death, the destroyer of the world", and between 1947 and 1952, when Oppenheimer was an adviser to the United States Atomic Energy Commission, he tried to lobby the international community to regulate armaments, advocate the control of nuclear weapons and nuclear non-proliferation movements, and strongly opposed the development of hydrogen bombs.
There is no absolute right or wrong weapon, it depends on the identity of the user. During World War II, the whole world united to fight against fascism and used atomic bombs to strike Japan as a last resort, Japan fascism brought great disasters to the people of the world, and continued to resist to the end in the later stage of the war and refused to surrender, seriously undermining world peace. On the other hand, after the end of World War II, the United States and the Soviet Union changed from an alliance to a confrontational relationship, and the two sides engaged in an arms race and vigorously developed nuclear weapons, which to a certain extent undermined world peace and stability.