Unleashing the power of the atom, the invention of the nuclear bomb marked a pivotal moment in human history. This technological marvel, steeped in controversy, forever altered the landscape of warfare and international relations.
Leo Szilard came up with the idea of splitting an atom by neutrons and emitting two or more neutrons
a mass of this element would emit vast amounts of energy in a self-sustaining chain reaction.
- However, it was not until 1938 that the breakthrough came – ironically in the Nazi capital Berlin – when German physicists Otto Hahn and Fritz Strassman bombarded uranium atoms with neutrons, revealing traces of the much lighter element barium.
Szilard remained convinced that the chain reaction was possible
He consulted fellow Hungarian émigrés Eugene Wigner and Edward Teller. They agreed that Einstein would be the best person to alert President Roosevelt to the danger.
- Einstein’s famous letter was sent soon after the outbreak of war in Europe, but had little impact
- Things changed dramatically in 1940
The Manhattan Project
Over the next four years the US, UK, and Canada poured vast resources into the Manhattan Project.
- On 16 July 1945 the US detonated the world’s first nuclear bomb in the New Mexico desert. The test was final, terrible proof that nuclear energy could be weaponized.
