Nuclear Weapons In The 1940's

Technology has allowed for the furtherance of warfare, from the invention of gun powder to the splitting of the atom. These findings have propelled the leap of numerous nations’ in the ability to wage war against each other. Of these discoveries, the splitting atom spawned an invention that would hurl the world from conventional warfare into the nuclear age. These ideals were the brainstorming of some of the greatest minds in America and abroad. These scientists began to formulate the creation of the atomic bomb, a device that would change the world in ways that had never been imagined before.

By September, 1944, before Roosevelt’s death, the threat of a nuclear arms race and possible retaliation for the use of this weapon is already a point of concern. The Office of Scientific Research and Development’s memorandum to Secretary of War Henry Stimson outlines some of the dangers the United States and Great Britain face in continuing the secret development of this “art”. Realizing this technology in the hands of the Soviet Union or other countries, especially defeated enemies, would make highly populated cities especially vulnerable. They also concluded that there was a high possibility of a “major power, or former major power undertaking this development.” The threat of the Soviet Union or Germany developing this weapon was a

The amount of research that went into developing the atomic bomb was unsurpassed by any other country. There was a group of scientists who all came together

The only reason many of the scientists kept working for the project was because they saw it as a necessary evil and a weapon that could stop the war, stop the bloodshed. Joseph Rotbalt a Polish physicist, and one of the many scientists brought to Los Alamos to work on the two atomic weapons found himself in a great moral dilemma. He was against the bombs but saw the Nazis as a great danger to the world that needed to be destroyed, an idea held by many of the scientists inside the Manhattan Project. But once it was discovered by Rotblat that US did not intend to use the weapon on the now ailing Nazi empire, but as a deterrent for the Soviets, he was appalled. ‘‘Until then I thought our work was to prevent a Nazi victory, and now I was told that the weapon we were preparing was intended for use against the people who were making extreme sacrifices for that very aim,’’ Rotblat would later comment. He was the only scientist to leave Los Alamos after it was transpired that the weapons would be used on enemies other than the Nazis. 5 Concerned by what he had learned in the Manhattan Project, Rotblat took up the helm in the disarmament community. He collected signatures from well-known scientists including the renowned Albert Einstein, denouncing the use of nuclear and atomic weaponry. He was the warrior fighting nuclear weaponry at the time and after the testing of a hydrogen bomb at Bikini Atoll, Rotblat investigated and discovered that the bomb had released radioactivity far greater than the US scientists working on the bomb had revealed. He also cofounded the Pugwash organization that is committed to nuclear disarmament. 6 In 1995 Joseph Rotblat and the Pugwash Conference of 1957 were awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for their efforts in nuclear disarmament. Rotblat had this to say after he was awarded the

Since the invention of nuclear weapons, they have presented the world with a significant danger, one that was shown in reality during the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. However, nuclear weapons have not only served in combat, but they have also played a role in keeping the world peaceful by the concept of deterrence. The usage of nuclear weapons would lead to mutual destruction and during the Cold War, nuclear weapons were necessary to maintain international security, as a means of deterrence. However, by the end of the Cold War, reliance on nuclear weapons for maintaining peace became increasingly difficult and less effective (Shultz, et. al, 2007). The development of technology has also provided increasing opportunities for states

The research for a weapon which could end the world’s most devastating war World War II started almost immediately after the attack on Pearl Harbor. Pearl Harbor got sneak attacked by Japan which entered the United States to the allied side of World War II. In 1938 some german scientists discovered that if you bombard Uranium with neutrons you could split the Nucleus of an atom. When the war started scientists thought about military uses of this new discovery. When the atoms split it releases energy and if you put billions of these atoms together it could start a chain reaction and make a massive explosion. Three physicists leo Szilard, Eugene Wigner, and Edward Teller, believed that a

Nuclear weapons have been used twice in war – on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945. More than 210,000 civilians died, while many more suffered small injuries. Even if a nuclear weapon were never again exploded over a city, there are horrible effects from the production, testing and deployment of nuclear weapons that are experienced as a personal and community catastrophe by lots of people around the world. This must inform and motivate efforts to get rid of these weapons.

When the United States created the atomic bombs during World War II, American officials questioned when and where the bombs would be used. A select group of people comprised of, “government officials, military advisors, and scientists” were brought together in order to decide how the United States should proceed with the new

In the manhattan project two scientists helped in the development of the next two atomic bombs which were enrico fermi and robert j oppenheimer . In the letter from einstein enrico fermi found out how to make a nuclear chain reaction and it was the major factor in the

Britannica, Encyclopaedia and Dr. Thomas B. Cochran. nuclear weapon. n.d. Inc. Encyclopaedia Britannica. 18 November 2015. .

Topic: Nuclear weapons in the 1940’s to 1990’sThesis: How have nuclear weapons changed over timeNuclear weapons have changed so much since the first nuclear bomb test launch in 19451 that was when it all began they have changed a lot in the short time they dropped the first on hiroshima that one killed more than 140,000 thousand people. More people died later from radiation related illnesses. Three days later another bomb was dropped on Nagasaki and 74,000 people died in that explosion and at the time cost the US 2 billion dollars just to make one of the bombs and the tested a couple of them too.1 http://www.atomicarchive.com/Timeline/Time1950.shtml

This project will discuss nuclear weapons technology and its impact on the Treaty on the Nonproliferation of Nuclear Weapons, also known as the NPT (Nonproliferation Treaty). The Treaty covers three main pillars: disarmament, nonproliferation, and peaceful uses of nuclear energy. It was signed in 1968 due to concern that the safety of the planet was at risk by having a high number of nuclear weapon states. After the United States bombed the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki using vastly destructive nuclear fission bombs, it became apparent that the States and possibly other countries could divert resources towards weapons rather than peaceful uses of nuclear energy. Thus, nuclear weaponry prompted the creation of the Treaty.

In early 1939, the scientific community was stunned when German scientists discovered how to split a uranium atom. The world was shocked at the possibility of Nazi Germany building an atomic weapon, capable of destruction never before seen in warfare. Luckily for the Allied Powers, scientists Albert Einstein and Enrico Fermi, worked for the United States atomic research program codenamed the Manhattan Project. Einstein and Fermi had escaped Nazi Germany and the Fascist government in Italy, respectively. Initially the worth of the project was not realized, and it proceeded slowly. Eventually, as the worth was proved, new resources and funding were allocated, totaling 120,000 employees and two billion dollars. On July 16, 1945 the United States successfully tested an atomic bomb, and won the atomic race (The Manhattan Project). While the United States was working on the Manhattan Project, Nazi Germany was working on its own nuclear weapons program, but unlike the United States, the Nazis never realized the importance of a nuclear weapon, and allocated only a fraction of the personnel, resources, and funding the United States did. The progress of the Nazi atomic weapons program was further slowed (Walker). The debate continues whether or not a Nazi atomic bomb was ever completed, but if it were, it was not ever used in combat. Had a bomb been completed a significant amount of time before the end of the war, the Nazis had advanced and sufficient planes, submarines, and rockets

Today, the manufacturing of nuclear weapons plays an integral part in diplomacy. The part it plays is deeply rooted in history, going as far back as the mid 20th century. In July of 1945, the US tested "Gadget," a 20-kiloton nuclear bomb. This project, known as the Manhattan Project, was led by J. Robert Oppenheimer, who quoted the Hindu

“We knew the world would not be the same. A few people laughed, a few people cried, most people were silent.” (Oppenheimer). This infamous quote comes from J. Robert Oppenheimer, the “Father of the Atomic bomb”, describing the reaction of observers watching the first successful test of an atomic bomb. Oppenheimer was correct, nuclear weapons have changed the world. However, whether that change has been for better or for worse is a topic for debate. While nuclear weapons do have the capability of causing massive death and destruction, one must not ignore the fact that they can also be used to prevent death.