The Manhattan Project: The Secret Race to Build the Atomic Bomb

Overview

The Manhattan Project was a vast, secret 2 billion dollar enterprise launched during World War 2, racing to build the atomic bomb after nuclear fission was discovered in 1938. Led by General Leslie Groves and J. Robert Oppenheimer, it culminated in the Trinity test and the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945, ending the war but ushering in the nuclear age.

In this video

• Nuclear fission, the splitting of an atom's nucleus, was discovered in 1938, revealing the terrifying energy locked inside matter.
• In 1939, a letter warned President Roosevelt of the danger that Nazi Germany might build an atomic weapon first.
• By 1942, the project became the Manhattan Project, a vast secret enterprise led by General Leslie Groves, costing 2 billion dollars.
• Los Alamos, a secret laboratory on a remote New Mexico mesa, gathered the brightest minds of a generation to solve impossible scientific problems.
• Secret cities and colossal plants at Oak Ridge and Hanford focused on enriching uranium and breeding plutonium on an unprecedented industrial scale.
• Approximately 130,000 people labored on the project, with the vast majority having no idea what they were truly building due to absolute secrecy.
• Scientists pursued two paths simultaneously: a uranium 'gun' device and a more complex plutonium 'implosion' device, which required testing.
• The world's first nuclear device, code-named Trinity, was successfully tested on July 16th, 1945, in the desolate New Mexico desert.
• On August 6th, 1945, a single atomic bomb fell on Hiroshima, followed by a second bomb on Nagasaki three days later, leading to Japan's surrender.
• The Manhattan Project unleashed the nuclear age, an arms race, and forever reshaped the balance of global power, carrying immense human cost.

Frequently asked questions

When did the Manhattan Project begin?

The Manhattan Project formally began in 1942, evolving from earlier scientific discoveries in 1938 and urgent warnings to President Roosevelt in 1939.

How much did the Manhattan Project cost?

The Manhattan Project was a colossal undertaking with a cost of 2 billion dollars, secretly funded and implemented across the country.

Where was the main secret laboratory for the Manhattan Project?

The heart of the project was Los Alamos, a secret laboratory located on a remote mesa in New Mexico, where top physicists and scientists worked.

What was the Trinity test?

The Trinity test, conducted on July 16th, 1945, was the code name for the world's first test of a nuclear device, detonated in the New Mexico desert before dawn.

How did the Manhattan Project end World War 2?

The atomic bombs developed by the project were dropped on Hiroshima on August 6th, 1945, and Nagasaki three days later. Japan's subsequent surrender brought an end to the Second World War.