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German advancements
In early 1939, German physicists discovered how to split an uranium atom. This created fear that they could produce a bomb that would cause massive destruction.
http://www.ushistory.org/us/51f.asp -
Fermi and Einstein Step In
Enrico Fermi warned the US government of the German atomic developments to prepare them. Einstein sent a letter to Roosevelt insisting that the government should start building an atomic bomb.
http://www.ushistory.org/us/51f.asp -
Manhattan Project Started
In 1941, the top secret Manhattan project started. The goal was to create an atomic bomb before foreign nations.
http://nuclearweaponarchive.org/Usa/Med/Med.html -
First Controlled Nuclear Reaction
In 1942, the first controlled nuclear chain reaction occurred at Stagg Field at University of Chicago. The project started to pick up and gain more funding because there was thought to be a higher chance of success.
http://www.ushistory.org/us/51f.asp -
Main Plant
The main plant was in Los Alamos, New Mexico. They picked this site because it was not immensly populated but it could still receive resources easily. The project cost around $2,000,000,000 and employed around 150,000 people.
http://www.ushistory.org/us/51f.asp -
Oppenheimer
One of the main scientists involved in developing the atomic bomb.
http://nuclearweaponarchive.org/Usa/Med/Med.html -
First Test of Atomic Bomb
The first test of the atomic bomb was at Trinity Site near Alamogordo, New Mexico. The bomb was a success, blowing out windows in houses 100 miles away, and was visible 200 miles away. Because the project was top secret, the cover-up story was that an ammuntion site had blown up. The success of the atomic bomb was a start to a nuclear age.
http://www.ushistory.org/us/51f.asp
