The Manhattan Project

The Manhattan Project was a program developed for both developing and researching atomic bombs. An American program, the Manhattan Project was and still is to a certain extent considered an accomplished engineering and instruction effort that was secretly run. The project was considered both a scientific success in the area of concept assimilation and engaging individuals from all fields of science in formulating an impressive collaboration. The Manhattan Project is an example of what communication and collaboration can do within certain fields.

The Manhattan Project and What is Was

The project is frequently deemed as an archetype for solving both social and technical problems and concerns. There are many who feel that a project such as the Manhattan Project needs to be done to find remedies to diseases such as cancer and diabetes and to solve distresses, we have regarding climate change. So what is it about the project that was so substantial? The project became known for finding ways to manufacture and create material for bombs, notably the atomic one. Leaders of the project both supported and funded three distinctive methods to improve the element uranium and a specific technique that would construct plutonium. The expectation here was that one of the elemental techniques would work. As a result of this experimentation, two specific types of bombs would be developed. When there was conversation regarding the theory for each of the methods, the intricacy of turning theory into something significant was what initially plagued scientists involved in the project (Norris, 2008; "The Manhattan Project," n.d.). The Manhattan Project then was a technological victory for the United States and for the scientific arena.

Why the name Manhattan Project? As a general rule of thumb, codes names as well as cover stories are by and large no particular indicator of covert operations. There is an assumption regarding that this general observation and context held true for the Manhattan Project. A historian named Robert S. Norris began a quest to unravel the obscurity regarding why it was called the Manhattan Project noting that the project was super secretive and that it offered much insight into how industries can be enigmatic about experiments when they want to be. Even now, the Manhattan Project remains more of a conundrum than one of overt data and that in itself is an unbelievable facet of it. To find out why it was called the Manhattan Project, Norris embarked on a quest to find out what the bomb program was all about. In his historical adventure, Norris discovered that many of the individuals who worked on the project were very well-known and that had people probed into the mystery surrounding the project, there was a possibility that it would have been uncovered (Broad, 2007). Essentially, the project according to Norris was named for the location where the majority of the experimentation happened.

The project took place between 1942 and 1946. The onset of it began when key scientists conveyed anxiety that the country of Germany was in fact building a weapon and they suggested that America formulate a research response to thwart it. In January of 1942, President Franklin D. Roosevelt would subsequently give sanction for the project's development, which entailed the conception of an atomic bomb. There were many uncertainties with this, but the project would gather several scientists to successfully create an astonishing creation. In December of 1942, President Roosevelt gave authorization for the creation of a nuclear bomb. By August of 1945, President Truman opted to utilize the bomb at two sites against the country of Japan. Japan would end up surrendering following a second bomb attack (Stine, 2009). It is estimated that the project cost close to $2.2 billion during the time of experimentation. It can be reasoned that this was significantly greater than the original cost and time associated with what had initially been projected for the project. It was noted by much literature that initial estimates were close to $148 million but during a 2 year timeframe. Once the project began and was in operation for a year, officials essentially allowed for any costs associated to be funded (Norris, 2008; Stine, 2009).

The Manhattan Project Legacy

There are both cultural and political impacts associated with the Manhattan Project. One could posit that they are both far-reaching as well as profound. The project itself provided a formal network of nationwide laboratories including the Ames Laboratory, the Oak Ridge National Laboratory and Los Alamos National Laboratory. The specifics of the project provided the scientific field with an immense amount of knowledge in building new creations associated with medicine, in addition to reactors. It also provided notable application methodologies for researching treatments associated with diseases such as cancer (such as iodine-131 and phosphorus-32). Scientists were also able and continue to utilize the isotopes that were engendered from the project in additional research pertaining to agriculture and biology (Hewlett & Duncan, 1969; Stine, 2009). 

The Manhattan Project continues to be discussed at events and venues within the field of science as a viable model for achievement. The legacy of the project is a testament regarding what can be accomplished on a significant level when intellectual and scholarly minds come together and diligently focus on a determined goal or objective.

References

Broad, W. J. (2007, October 30). Why they called it the Manhattan Project. The New York Times. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/

Hewlett, R. G., & Duncan, F. (1969). Atomic shield, 1947–1952. A history of the United States Atomic Energy Commission. University Park, PA: Pennsylvania State University Press.

The Manhattan Project. (n.d.). Retrieved http://www.pitt.edu/~sdb14/atombomb.html

Norris. (2008, September 5). Lessons of the Manhattan Project [Presentation]. Retrieved from http://docs.nrdc.org/nuclear/files/nuc_08100901A.pdf

Stine, D. D. (2009, June 30). The Manhattan Project, the Apollo Program, and Federal Energy Technology R&D Programs: A Comparative Analysis. Congressional Research Service, 1-13.