The Manhattan Project

Paper Summary:

The paper talks about the Manhattan Project that began in 1939, with the goal of planning and designing the world's first nuclear weapon. The paper looks at Trinity Site, located in a remote part of New Mexico, which was selected for testing the bomb. The paper describes the Trinity test and explains that this test in fact put an abrupt end to World War Two, as the successful implosion sparked an enthusiastic attack on two Japanese targets: Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The paper contends, however, that with hardly any evidence and only one plutonium test at Trinity, the United States government foolishly launched nuclear weapons at Japan.

From the Paper:

"Whether due to a morbid self-satisfaction, naivete, or sheer stupidity, the members of the Manhattan Project reveled with "elation" and "jubilation" at the sight of the mushroom cloud (Department of Energy). The Trinity Site, located in a remote part of New Mexico, was believed to be far enough from the civilian population to guard against fallout, but local ranchers lived only 20 miles away. Official reports indicate that civilians suffered "little external injury," but that their "livestock were not as fortunate, suffering skin burns, bleeding, and loss of hair," (DOE). Stafford Warren, the project's chief medical officer, would later recommend that future tests be conducted within no less than 150 miles from human population and claimed that the Trinity nuclear tests had been near-misses (DOE)."

Sample of Sources Used:

• "Chapter 3: "Radiation Protection At Project Trinity." Retireved April 23, 2007 from http://www.worldwideschool.org/library/books/hst/northamerican/ProjectTrinity/chap3.html
• "The Manhattan Project." Retrieved April 23, 2007 from http://gk12.rice.edu/trs/science/Atom/man.htm#out
• "Trinity Site Pamphlet." White Sands Missile Range. Retrieved April 23, 2007 from http://www.wsmr.army.mil/pao/TrinitySite/trinph.htm
• United States Department of Energy. "The Manhattan Project." Retrived April 23, 2007 from http://www.mbe.doe.gov/me70/manhattan/index.htm
• Walton, Andy. "The First 'Ground Zero.'" CNN Interactive. Retrieved April 23, 2007 from http://edition.cnn.com/SPECIALS/cold.war/experience/the.bomb/route/03.trinity/

More papers on The Manhattan Project:

• Term Paper # 97053 : "The Manhattan Project"
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