The 20th century witnessed one of the most destructive conflicts in human history, WWII. After the incidents of Pearl Harbor, 1941, the U.S declared war on Japan. In return Germany, Italy, Japan and its allies declared war on the U.S. In May 1945 the Germans had surrendered unconditionally, while the Japanese still stood firm. Their defeat was inevitable, yet they refused to concede. The casualties kept climbing as the war prolonged, so a quick end was necessary. Under the codename the “Manhattan Project” the atomic bomb was developed to bring an end to the war, it would be the most destructive weapon ever utilized in human history. [7] The atomic bomb is a weapon of mass destruction, capable of destroying entire cities. The atomic bomb could produce the …show more content…
More copious funds were given to the top secret Manhattan Project, nearly $2 billion was spent developing and building the weapons. [3] In 1943 a lab run by Robert Oppenheimer was built in Los Alamos, New Mexico. Here they would build the weapon in the form of a bomb, they had to devise ways to deploy and detonate it. By 1945 they created and tested the first ever atomic bomb. The plutonium bomb, named “The Gadget,” would be tested at a test site in New Mexico dubbed Trinity. [4] “The Gadget” was detonated on top of a steel tower; a blinding light flashed and was followed by a shockwave and intense heat. A fireball emerged and the iconic mushroom cloud appeared extending 40,000 feet. The test was a success, and with that the Manhattan Project’s goal completed. [5] The time finally came to end the war. On august 6th, 1945 “Little Boy” was dropped on Hiroshima. With the force of 15,000 tons of TNT the uranium bomb killed 70,000 people and 67% percent of the city’s structures were