The Atomic Age began at 3:25 p.m. on Dec. 2, 1942. It began in secret, on a squash court under the west stands of old Stagg Field at the University of Chicago. (Allison 30) Two and a half years later, on August 6, 1945, an American B-26 bomber, the Enola Gay dropped the world’s first atomic bomb on the city of Hiroshima, Japan. Days later a second bomb was dropped on Nagasaki. (Grossman) On August 15th, Japan’s Emperor Hirohito surrendered. World War II was finally over. Without Japan’s final surrender, the War and its outcomes will always be left open for debate. What is not up for debate, is that the Atomic Bomb ended the war. But how did this bomb come to be? It was developed as a result of the Manhattan Project and the story of its
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In 1934 Enrico Fermi, who lived in Italy at the time, announced his discovery of neutron-induced radioactivity. (DeGregorio) This discovery would become the first step in using nuclear energy. Fermi’s work continued and by the age of 37, Fermi was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics for his "demonstrations of the existence of new radioactive elements produced by neutron irradiation, and for his related discovery of nuclear reactions brought about by slow neutrons". (Fermi Produces) He had become the world’s leading authority on nuclear reactions. After Fermi received the prize in Stockholm in 1938, he did not return home to Italy, but rather continued on to New York City with his family in December 1938. The facist government in Italy was becoming worrisome and he made the brilliant decision to not return. (Cooper 82)
While in New York, Fermi was offered appointments at the leading American Universities and finally made New York his home. In 1939, Fermi was appointed professor of physics at New York's Columbia University. During his time at Columbia, Fermi discovered that if uranium neutrons were emitted into fissioning uranium, they could split other uranium atoms, setting off a chain reaction that would release enormous amounts of energy. (Cooper 94) This energy could be harnessed and utilized in a bomb. Fermi would be able to actually create a nuclear …show more content…
Getting through to the President was the first roadblock, but Fermi faced other roadblocks as an immigrant from a fascist land. Fermi was not allowed to travel freely within the United States for the Project. He was given 90-day permits that let them travel to specific cities. Fermi could go to New York; Washington, DC; Chicago; Beverly, Mass.; and Princeton, N.J. Each permit needed to be renewed when it ran out. (Wellerstein) It was tedious to participate in the research taking place but he forged ahead with his studies and
In 1934 Enrico Fermi, who lived in Italy at the time, announced his discovery of neutron-induced radioactivity. (DeGregorio) This discovery would become the first step in using nuclear energy. Fermi’s work continued and by the age of 37, Fermi was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics for his "demonstrations of the existence of new radioactive elements produced by neutron irradiation, and for his related discovery of nuclear reactions brought about by slow neutrons". (Fermi Produces) He had become the world’s leading authority on nuclear reactions. After Fermi received the prize in Stockholm in 1938, he did not return home to Italy, but rather continued on to New York City with his family in December 1938. The facist government in Italy was becoming worrisome and he made the brilliant decision to not return. (Cooper 82)
While in New York, Fermi was offered appointments at the leading American Universities and finally made New York his home. In 1939, Fermi was appointed professor of physics at New York's Columbia University. During his time at Columbia, Fermi discovered that if uranium neutrons were emitted into fissioning uranium, they could split other uranium atoms, setting off a chain reaction that would release enormous amounts of energy. (Cooper 94) This energy could be harnessed and utilized in a bomb. Fermi would be able to actually create a nuclear …show more content…
Getting through to the President was the first roadblock, but Fermi faced other roadblocks as an immigrant from a fascist land. Fermi was not allowed to travel freely within the United States for the Project. He was given 90-day permits that let them travel to specific cities. Fermi could go to New York; Washington, DC; Chicago; Beverly, Mass.; and Princeton, N.J. Each permit needed to be renewed when it ran out. (Wellerstein) It was tedious to participate in the research taking place but he forged ahead with his studies and