Essay On History Of Atomic Bomb

The origins of the atomic bomb can be traced back to beginnings of modern physics. In 1898, french physicists Pierre and Marie Curie discovered a highly radioactive element they called radium in uranium ore—at that time it was referred to pitchblende, a term first used by German miners who were unaware of the ore's metal content. By 1903, the couple had won the Nobel Prize in Physics for their research in radiation phenomena. In 1902 Ernest Rutherford—who would later have an element named after him in the periodic table—came up with a theory that shook the early history of modern physics: he proposed that atoms could break down into new elements. This would only be the first step in research that would later culminate in the creation of the atomic bomb, a weapon that would irrevocably change world history forever. It was the eve of World War II when Adolf Hitler had been elected Chancellor of Germany in 1933. This had prompted many Jewish scientists to flee the country with antisemitism on the rise, afraid for their lives. Many speculate that if those scientists not been

Before the results of their experiment had been published, the news had already spread across the world, leading to further research at Columbia Universtiy in the United States where scientists were able to isolate the radioactive part of uranium: uranium-235. Spurred by these recent developments, many scientists became aware that it would be possible to make a weapon harnessing the potential energy of uranium. This prompted Albert Eistein to sign a letter detailing the proposal to Franklin D. Roosevelt, who was still unsure about committing the required funding for the research required; prior to the attack on Pearl Harbor, only $6,000 was allocated in the United States to uranium