History of the Atomic Bomb
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Atomic science began centuries ago with ancient philosophers and alchemists. Twenty six
hundred years ago, Thales of Miletus, an Ionian Greek, described the power of attraction in
electricity long before electricity was understood. Democritus, a Greek philosopher, argued that
all matter must consist of a number of fundamental pieces called "atoms" from the Greek word
"atomon" which means indivisible. In 79 BC, the Roman poet-philosopher Lucretius developed
atomic theory.
The seventeenth century produced Galilei Galileo who, through observation of falling objects
and controlled experiments, became the father of modern physics. Sir Isaac Newton developed
the laws of physic in the eighteenth century.
In the early 19th century, the English chemist John Dalton, developed the first useful atomic
theory of matter in 1803. The Italian chemist, Amedeo Avogadro drew the distinction between
the atom and the molecule. Jons Berzelius, a Swedish analytical genius undertook the
measurement of atomic weights.
Later in the 19th century Michael Faraday laid the foundation of electro-technology. Clerk
Maxwell, a Scottish physicist, stated that atoms were the foundation stones of the universe.
Lord Kelvin systematized knowledge of mechanics, electricity, and heat in formation of the laws
of energy. The Russian teacher Dimitri Mendeleef discovered of the periodic system of the
elements.
By the late 19th century, German professor William Konrad Roentgen’s discovery of X-rays
provided a revolutionary tool for science. Antoine Henri Becquerel, the French experimentalist,
discovered the phenomenon of radioactivity. Max Planck, of Germany, established the law of
radiation, which led to the theory of quanta and the modern understanding of the electronic
structure of matter.
The parents of nuclear physics were the French team, Pierre and Marie Curie. They realized that
the atom has a nucleus, or core, distinct from the shell governed by different laws of physics..
At the Cavendish Laboratory of Experimental Physics, in Cambridge, England, Sir J.J. Thomson,
discovered the electron, and his pupil, Lord Rutherford discovered the proton.
Meanwhile, Max von Laue, of Germany, interpreted the crystalline structure of matter, and in
1905, Albert Einstein wrote the mass-energy conversion equation. In 1932, a student of Lord
Rutherford, Sir James Chadwick, discovered the third fundamental particle, the neutron. This
would provide an ideal projectile for splitting the nucleus of the atom.
Frederick and Irene Joliot supplied Chadwick with the final clue to atomic energy. They had
observed a peculiar property of the radiation emitted when beryllium is bombarded with alpha
particles. In 1934, Enrico Fermi, an Italian physicist, bombarded uranium with slow neutrons
and created new elements. Niels Bohr, Danish physicist, is chiefly responsible for the planetary
concept of the atom.
In 1938, in Germany, leading names in the discovery of fission of the uranium nucleus by
neutron bombardment were Dr. Otto Hahn and Dr. Fritz Strassmann.
In June 1940, President Roosevelt organized the National Defense Research Committee. The
Uranium Committee became a part of this group, reporting to Dr. Vannevar Bush. Dr. Bush and
the National Defense Research Committee promoted an all out effort to develop an atomic
bomb.
Under the direction of Major General Leslie R. Groves, a new branch of the Army's Corp of
Engineers was established as “the Manhattan Project” to administer work on military uses of
uranium. Dr. J. Robert Oppenheimer arrived at Los Alamos, New Mexico, in March 1942 to take
charge of the development of the atomic bomb. In December of 1942, Enrico Fermi successfully
operated the first self-sustaining chain reaction pile at the university of Chicago.
His success led to the authorization for the construction of the Clinton diffusion plant at Oak
Ridge, Tennessee, and the giant plutonium producing plant on the Columbia River in Hanford,
Washington. The Oakridge plant was designed to concentrate U-235, one of five known
isotopes of uranium while the Hanford plant was the source of a new, man-made element,
Plutonium.
From Los Alamos came the design of the implosion bomb and treatment of many theoretical
problems. Methods of purifying materials to be used were developed. Finally, in July, 1945, a
practical atomic bomb was completed. On July 16, 1945, the first test, code named "Trinity"
was exploded at Alamogordo, New Mexico.