Enrico Fermi: How The Atomic Bomb Changed The World

Perhaps one of the biggest breakthroughs in scientific history is the discovery of atoms, and later the splitting of atoms. This eventually lead to the use of atomic energy and its use to create a weapon far more destructive than any of those before it, the atomic bomb. This was a major breakthrough for the scientific and military community. In the 1940s, the United states created two atomic bombs that were dropped on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The atomic bomb changed the world forever, and it was known by scientists and politicians at the time that it would either contribute to world peace and there would not be another world war, or it could end the world as we know it. Immigrants’ influence allowed the United States to …show more content…
Enrico Fermi interest in physics was found at a young age by his father and his colleagues, and as Fermi progressed through school, he studied more in physics and won many awards. Fermi later went on to earn his doctorate degree from the University of Pisa in 1922. Following his graduation from the University of Pisa, Fermi was awarded a scholarship from the government to work with other physics professors, and would later become a professor himself. Several years later, Fermi won the nobel prize in 1938, and immediately after receiving the prize, he was forced to flee to the United States. His situation was remarkably similar to those of Einstein and Bohr, although he was such an accomplished scientist, he was forced to flee because of Mussolini's’ fascist dictatorship and the alliance with Nazi Germany. Enrico Fermi made it safely to the United States where he worked in New York, then to Chicago. In chicago, Fermi lead a team of scientists to create the first ever controlled nuclear chain reaction under the grandstands of Stagg Field at the University of Chicago. This breakthrough was a major leap in nuclear power, as without a controlled nuclear reaction, the atomic bombs would not be possible. After creating the first controlled nuclear reaction, a full size nuclear reactor was built, reactor B. As of 1944, this was the first and only full size nuclear reactor …show more content…
Many minds of many countries came together to form the Manhattan project, and American’s could not have and may not even have tried to do it alone at the time. Hitler forced many to flee because of his fascist dictatorship, and several of these immigrants played a major role in creating the atomic bombs, and without them the Soviet Union or even Germany could have become the most powerful nation in the world by acquiring nuclear weapons before the United States. Without Albert Einstein, Niels Bohr, and Enrico fermi the atomic bomb would not have been an American success. “Fermi, along with his fellow émigrés, played an indispensable role in the development of the atomic bomb by the Manhattan