Why did humans create the atomic bomb?
It wasn’t like someone said “Hey, let’s see if we can come up with an atomic bomb!” The question was probably more like “How can we create mass destruction to the enemy without endangering our boys?” So the “mass destruction” part allows for the atomic bomb, and later the hydrogen bomb and the neutron bomb, and the “without hurting any of our boys” leads you to drop a bomb on someone from a height that you can outrun the shock waves. Did it work? It only took two and the war with Japan was at an end without any further loss to Ameircan life. Was it a difficult decision to make? Also, yes, and probably one that Harry Truman agonized over. Had we not been at war, perhaps we could have come up with a way to control the splitting of the atom and use it as an energy source — the way we did later — but at the time, the most immediate need was to end the loss of life in the Pacific. And although the loss of Japanese life was monumental, without it, the war might’ve drug on or the casualtie
It was not an over night decision. Einstein first came up with E=MC2 equation. A Hungarian physicist Leo Szilard came up with a practical theory for splitting an atom to create a chain reaction using Einstein’s equation. Enrico Fermi creates a controlled nuclear chain reaction in the late 30s. German scientists produce a nuclear fission in 1938, realizing the potential for military use although they have second thoughts about putting it in the hands of their dictator. After Germany takes over Checkoslovakia and invades Poland, shipments of uranium and heavy water are restricted by Germany, leading western scientists to believe that Germany was building the bomb. Einstein writes a letter to FDR warning him of the German plan and the potential of this weapon, and thus the Manhattan Project was born. It was not until after the war did the west find out that the German scientists working on the project for Hitler had deliberately stalled and dragged their feet on developing the bomb. As fa
We were faced with a war on two fronts against ruthless enemies, both of which were capable of nuclear research. The Germans were actually ahead. Our eventual victory was no sure thing. We could well have been defeated. When faced with this situation you do what is necessary for survival. To actormyk: The question is create, not use the bomb. The decision to start the Manhattan project began to come together with Einsteins letter to Roosevelt in 1939. Major funding and implementation of the Manhattan project did not occur until early 1942. At that time our pacific fleet was sunk, the miracle of Midway had not occurred, the battle of the atlantic was being lost and England was being pulverized by the Luftwaffe. In 1942 the result of the war was anybody’s guess.
