The manhattan project
- Plan to develop nuclear weapons
- By 1945 three bombs, "Trinity", "Little Boy" and "Fat Man"
In 1965, Robert Oppenheimer, the Scientific director of the Manhattan Project said about the process of developing the nuclear bomb:
"We knew the world would not be the same. A few people laughed, a few people cried. Most people were silent. I remembered the line from the Hindu scripture, the Bhagavad Gita; Vishnu is trying to persuade the Prince that he should do his duty and, to impress him, takes on his multi-armed form and says, 'Now I am become Death, the destroyer of worlds.' I suppose we all thought that, one way or another."
"We knew the world would not be the same. A few people laughed, a few people cried. Most people were silent. I remembered the line from the Hindu scripture, the Bhagavad Gita; Vishnu is trying to persuade the Prince that he should do his duty and, to impress him, takes on his multi-armed form and says, 'Now I am become Death, the destroyer of worlds.' I suppose we all thought that, one way or another."
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Summary
The Manhattan Project was very important for the USA. They needed to win the race about developing the first nuclear weapon to show the world how powerful they were.