The Origins, Production, and Use of the Atomic Bomb An Interdisciplinary Undergraduate Seminar Frank A. Settle, ~r.,' Donald Erbschloe, and William Astore United States Air Force Academy, USAFA, CO 80840 Donald Thomas Virginia Military Institute, Lexington, VA 24450 While many authors have produced entertaining fiction based on events of the 20th century, few, if any, of these works can rival the factual account of the making and use of the atomic bomb. This fascinating tale, stretching over 50 years and set on a worldwide stage, is played out by a varied cast of characters from the political, scientific, industrial, and military communities. The successful development of the bomb required enormous advancements in both science and technology over a n a relativelv short oeriod of time. Its use aeainst .. J a ~ a had pmfimnd effrct on history and remains a controversial subiect. The enterurise that oroduced the bomb. the Manhatt a n Project, spawned themilitary-industriai complex and became the prototype for the major scientific efforts undertaken by the United States since World War 11. The obiective of the seminar was to examine the bomb from the"perspectives of both scientists and policy makers before its use in order to understand the course of events since Hiroshima. The viewpoint of the present is flawedbiased by a knowledge of the Cold War. In A World Destroyed, Martin Sherwin outlines how an objective position may be achieved ( I ) For a proper assessment of the outlook and actions of the time, scientists' proposals need to be studied as closely ss diplomatic policies; British policies must be scmtinized as carefully as American; the decision to use the bomb must be eualuted in the light ofthe entire history ofthe wapon'sdeuelopment; and the problem of impending peace must be considered with the exigencies of war. Texts The i n i t i a l seminar, offered to a group of eight sophomore and senior honors students a t the Virginia Military Institute during the spring 1991semester, used Richard Rhodes's The Making of the Atomic Bomb as the primary text. This comprehensive work challenged the participants and provided a balanced prospective on the bomb. Auxiliary materials, including copies of original documents, such as the Franck report and original scientific articles, supplemented the readings in Rhodes. In the seminar presented at the United States Air Force Academy during the spring semester of 1992, three shorter texts gave the participants the positions of several authors. The Making of the Atomic Age by Alwyn McKay, Brighter than a Thousand Suns by Robert Jungk, and The Manhattan Project: A Documentary Introduction to the Atomic Age by Michael Stoff, Jonathan Fanton, and Hal Williams were the primary texts. McKay, a scientist, provides a concise, well-organized account from a British viewpoint. Jungk, a German journalist, takes more liberty with the material in order to exonerate the German effort, while excoriating the Americans and British for producing 'Visiting Professor, 1991-1992, Professor of Chemistry, Virginia Military Institute, Lexington, VA 24450.
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the bomb. Stoffand coauthors present many of the original documents associated with the Manhattan Project with brief commentaries and provocative questions. These documents ~rovidedthe most challeneine assienments for the studen&. The three texts complemented each other and provided diverse perspectives on the bomb. Amore balanced historical view can be obtained bv s u b s t i t u t i n e Martin Sherwin's, A World Destroyed, f i r Brighter than a Thousand Suns.
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Content The organization of the seminar eave students different .. perspectives on the orifins, production, and uses of the atomic bomh (Table 1). Additional r c a d i m fmm ohvsics. chemistry, engineering, political science,histo& ethics; fiction, and two poems (see bibliography) supplemented the assigned reading in the texts. Video presentations, talks by experts, an audio musical selection, and field trips were timed to complement the assigned readings and discussions. The first three portions of the seminar highlighted developments in physics and chemistry that formed the scientific foundations for the development of the bomb. The first section emphasized events in atomic and nuclear ohvsics, from the discovery of radioactivity by Roentgen in'l&5 to the identification of the neutron hv Chadwick in 1932. The students explored the interesting experiments, theories, and controversies among members of the scientific community, with particular emphasis on the social and political changes affecting science during this period. The second section featured neutron experiments leading to the recognition of fission in late 1939 with a counterpoint of the rapid evolution of National Socialism in Germany and its adverse impact on the scientific community. The third section addressed the potential for a nuclear chain reaction resulting from fission and its affect on the scientific and political communities. The fourth part of the seminar compared the initial attempts of atomic scientists in Germany, Britain, France,
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Table 1. Outline of Seminar Topics I.
Introduction to the Golden Age of Physics (18951932)
II.
The Neutron and After (1932-1939)
111.
Fission ( I 93S-1940)
I v.
Initial Bomb Projects (194CL1942)
v.
Making the Bomb (1942-1945)
VI.
Decision to Use the Bomb (194?-1945)
v.
Using the Bomb (1945)
VI.
The Aftermath H945 -
".
and the United States to communicate the militaw uotential of fission to their respective governments. These attempts provide dramatic examples of the tensions existing between science and government. The origin and operation of the Manhattan Project was the subject of the ffih part. This included a detailed study of the physical and chemical techniques used to produce fissionable material (uranium235 and plutonium-239) and the engineering required for the bomb assemblies (gun and implosion). The domestic scene was examined through the relat~onshipsamong congress, the executive branch, the military, and the scientists working on the Manhattan Project. The seminar also reviewed the exchange of information and personnel bes Britain as well as discussions tween the United ~ t i t e and among scientists and government officials concerning nuclear power in the post-war world. A discussion of the German failure to produce a bomb occupied several sessions. The showing of the superb dramatization video production "Day One" capped this section. p he sixth sidion addressed the circumstances leading to the use of the bomb. These included accounts h m both conventional and revisionist historians concerning the war in the Pacific, the relationships between the Soviet Union and the Western powers, and the successful testing of the bomb in New Mexico. This section also considered the ethical positions on war and how they relate to the decision to use the bomb. The seventh section focused upon the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The discussion encompassed the immediate effects of these bombings upon Japan, as well as the long term consequences for the United States and the rest of the world. The video T h e Day After Trinity" provided insights into the thinking of the scientists who developed the bomb. The final portion of the course presented some of the literature and music written about the atomic bomb. This includes John Hersey's factual account, Hiroshima; P a t Frank's novel, Alas Babylon; Anderson and Beason's historical/science-fiction novel, The Dinity Pamdoz; and two poems: "F'lutonian Ode" by Allen Ginsberg and "Bomb" by Curso. Seminar participants listened to ~rzysztol Penderecki's 'Threnody to the Victims of Hiroshima" and viewed "The Atomic Cafe", a video on the post-war attitudes of the United States government with respect to the bomb.
re gory
Organization A presentation in the form of a lecture or video tape introduced each of the maior periods (Table 1).These wesentations covered signifi&nt'scientific, technologica< political, diplomatic, and military events occurring during the period. l b o or three discussion sessions followed each presentation. Students were required to come to the discussion periods prepared to examine concepts, events, and people associated with this period. This preparation included a 3- to kpage brief on a topic selected by the student from the assigned readings. The size of the seminars, 8-12 students, and a student:faculty ratio of 3:l to 4 1 , compelled each participant to enter into the discussions. Some discussion periods involved the entire seminar, while in others, smaller groups of students rotated among the seminar leaden for several periods. A chemist and a historian led the VMI seminar: invited speakers included a physicist, a Japanese historian, and a orofrssor of ethics. At the Air Force Academy. the seminar h a s led by a chemist, a physicist, and a histozan; avisiting professor of ethics spoke to the group. Shortly before midterm, each student made an oral presentation of approximat&y 10 min, describing a person and an event that the student felt had been important in the development of the bomb. The written midterm exam
Table 2. Toplcs Selected for Final Papers
Design and Detonation: The Engineering of the Atomic Bomb General George C. Marshall and General Leslie Groves The Rise and Fall of the German Atomic Bomb Project J. Robelt Oppenheimer: A Patriot Remembered
ThermonuclearAwakening Plutonium: The Deadly Element How Los Alamos Changed Science National Security and the Manhattan Project The Russian Atomic Bomb Project The Decision to Use the Bomb Atomic Families: The Effectof Nuclear Research on Scientists' Families The Medical Effects of the First Atomic Bombs A Study in Contrasts: General Groves and Dr. Oppenheimer
The Life and Times of J. Robert Oppenheimer The Nagasaki Bomb: Why?
covered these presentations. By midterm, students seand, after receiving aplected topics fortheir term proval from the seminar leaders. began to develop outlines ?or these papers. They submitted outlines for grades about one month before the final papers were due. The final papers, 25 pages in length, addressed a broad spectrum of topics (Table 2). Oral presentations of these -papers occupied the final class Each seminar included a t r i ~ to facilities used bv the Manhattan Project: Oak id& Tennessee, with the: Vireinia Military Institute students: Los Alamos and the Trinrty test site in New Mexiw with the Air Force cadets. In addition to touring these sites, the students met several persons who workcd in the Manhattan Project, heard their stories, and questioned them about their participation. At Los Alamos, the students had the opport&iity to obtain the views of Harold Agnew, former director of the Los Alamos National Laboratories. Agnew, a graduate student of Enrico Fermi, flew both the Hiroshima and Nagasaki missions on an observation plane. These meetines were iuvaluable in providing s t d e n t s access to the li& history of the Manhattan Project. The Role of Chemistry This seminar emphasized the prominent role of chemistrv and chemists in both the develo~mentof nuclear ~ h u s i& and the creation of the atomic bomb. Important coniributions of chemists to nuclear physics include: the isolation of two new elements, poloniuk and radium from pitchblende, the ore of uranium, by Pierre and Marie Curie of the natural radioactive transmutation of i2); the thorium to radium by Frederick Soddy, the chemist who worked with Lord Rutherford a t McGill University (3);the challenge to Enrico Fermi's conclusion that neutron bombardment of uranium produced transuranium elements by Ida Nodack (4);and finally the discovery of fission by the tedious isolation and identification of b&um as a product n of the neutron bombardment of uranium by Otto ~ i h and Fritz Straussman (5). Two Nobel laureates in chemistw. Harold Urev and in the ~ l e Seaborg, k held important Project. Urey, a professor of chemistry at Columbia Uni-
anc cat tan
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versitv directed the seoaration of uranium-235 from uranium-"238 by gaseous &fision (61,while Seaborg's group a t the Universitv of California. Berkelev. isolated and f identified the new fissionable 239 isotope i Other less famous chemists makine critical contributions to the project include: Franz ~ i m o na, n emigr6 to Britain from Germanv. whose gaseous diffision work with uranium hexafludride led & its use in isotope separation (8); Carl Heussener. a n electrochemist a t the Chrvsler Corooration, who dev&oped the method used to nickel-plate ihe b a m e r s for gaseous diffusion (9):Clarence Larson who found that hybrogen peroxide could be used to remove uranium-235 from the walls of the electromagnetic devices used to separate uranium isotopes thereby increasing the yield of fissionable material from these devices (10); and Ravmond Gills who imnlemented a techniaue for encasing " uranium slugs in alum'1num a t the ~anfor'dplutonium facility (11). When the group charged with developing a n implosion technique for the plutonium bomb ran into diffiOnoenheimer called on Georee Kistiakowskv. c u l t ~Robert . a professor of ;gemistry from Harvard, & take charge of this oroiect (12). Kistiakowskv oroduced the shaoed exdosives' ~ ~ ~ u iand r ~this d , wor"k'resu1ted ~ in the 'successful test a t Alamoeordo. The detailei presentation of the chemistry associated with the bomb allowed the chemistry students in the seminar to see chemistry in a broader context and forced students from other disci~linesto learn some basic chemistrv. Students from all di&iplines gained a better perspecti;e on the relationships among science, technology, politics, and diplomacy.
Conclusion The seminar provided the diversity of topics required to hold the attention of both students and instructors from different disciolines. Of course individual students had diC ficulty maintaining maximum intensity through every session, but the morale and interest in both seminars remained high throughout the semester. The preparation of seven briefs (short papers), a term paper, participation in the discussions, and two presentations provided students with numerous opportunities to improve their writing and oral communication skills. The written work compleof mented the writing - across the curriculum .Droerams both institutions. As the 50th anniversarv of Hiroshima aooroaches. manv . institutions may wish offer seminars on the atom& bomb. New material will be added to the voluminous resources currently available. The integrated approach described in this oaver offers a n exciting - omortunitv for students and teachers a t all educational levels from-primary through continuing education. &
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Selective Bibliography This bibliography is not intended to be exhaustive, but i t represents some of the materials found to be most useful in the seminars. Amore exhaustive bibliographical database in dBASE N format mav be obtained bv sendine a 3.5-in. high-density formatted disk to: rank^. settle, Jr., Department of Chemistry, Virginia Military Institute, Lexington, VA 24450.
Texts Jungk, R. Brighter Than a Thousand Suns; Pelican: New York, 1982. McKay, A. The Making of the Atomic Age; Oxford Press: New York, 1984. Rhodes, R. The Making of the Atomic Bomb: Simon and Sehuster: New York, 1986. Stoff. M.: .Fanton. J: Williams. R. The Manhattan Project: MCG;~W-H~~I:'N~W York, 1991.
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Journal of Chemical Education
'
Other Reference Books: Alperovitz, G. Atomic Diplomacy: Hiroshima and Potsdam; Penguin: New York, 1985. Blow, M. History of the Atomic Bomb; American Heritage Publishing Ca.: New Yark, 1968. Cassidy, D. Uncertainty: The Life and Times of Werner Heisenberg; W. H. Freeman Co.: San Francisco, 1991. Craig, P.; Jungerman, J. Nuclear Arms Race: Science and Society; McGraw-Hill: New York, 1990. Davis, N. Lawrence and Oppenheimer; Da Capo Press: New York, 1986. Feis, H. The Atomic Bomb and the End of World War II; Princeton University Press: Princeton, NJ, 1966. Fermi, L. Atoms in the Family; University of Chicago Press: Chicago, 1954. Gamow, G. Thirty Years that Shook Physics: The Story of Quantum Tkory; Doubleday: Garden City, NY,1966. Goodchild, P. J. Robert Oppenheimer: Shatterer of Worldq Fromm International Pub. Co.: New York, 1985. Gowing, M. Britain and Atomic Energy; St. Martin's Press: New York, 1964. Groves, L. Now It Can Be Told; Harper and Row: New York, 1962
Hersey, J. Hiroshima; Vintage Bwks: New York, 1989. Hewlett, R.; Anderson, 0. A History of the United States AtomieEnergy Commission: Vol. I, TkNew World, 19391946; Pennsylvania State University Press: University Park. ~ ~ - PA - - 19fi2. -~ I ~ n g D. , The Germon Atomic Bomb; Simon and Schuster: New York, 1968. Libby, L. The Uranium People: Crane Russak: New York. . igw. Pais, A. Neils Bohr's Thes in Physics, Philosophy and Polity; Oxford: New York, 1991. SegrC, E. From X-Rays to Quarks: Modern Physicists and Their Discoveries; W. H. Freeman: San Francisco, 1980. Sherwin, M. A World Destroyed: Himshima and the Origins of the Cold War; Vintage: New York, 1987. Truman, H. Memoirs-Vol. I: Year ofDecision; Doubleday: Garden City, NY, 1955. Weart, S. Nuclear Fear:A History of Images; Harvard University Press: Cambridge, MA, 1988. Wyden, l? Day One; Before Hiroshima and & e ~ ; Simon and Schuster: New York, 1984.
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Fiction The following represent fiction associated with the bomb: Anderson, K; Beason, D. Dinity Paradm; Bantam Books: New York, 1991. Frank, l?Alas Babylon; Bantam Books: New York, 1959. Wells, H. G. A World Set Free; Macmillian: London, 1914.
Journals and Magazines The Bulletin of Atomic Scientists, Physics %day, and Scientific American contain numerous articles of interest to seminar participants. The May 1989 issue of this Journal was devoted to a series of articles on nuclear fission. The following articles have been used successfully with the seminars: Bohr, N. "Disintegration of Heavy Nuclei"; Nature 1939, 47, R R. L. ' R. R.~ . . .
Chadwick, J. "The Existence of the Neutron"; Prm. of the Royal Soe. 1952, I36A, 692-696. Cunningham, B; Werner, L. "The First Isolation of Plutonium"; J.Am. Chem. Soe. 1949,71(5),1521-1529. Hahn, 0.; Straussmann, F. "Proof of the Formation of Active Isotopes of Barium from Uranium and Thorium Irradiated with Neutrons"; J. Chem. Educ. 1989, 66(5), 362?fi?
Heisenberg. W. "Research in Germany on the Technical Applications of Atomic Energy"Noture 1946,160,211-214 Seabore. G:Wahl. A. The Chernml PronerhPs of Elements 93 an29kq. J. AA. Chem. Soc. 1948,/~3),1129-1134.
Seidel, R. "Books on the Bomb"; ISIS 1990,81,51%537. Smith, A "The Elusive Dr. Szilard";Harpers 1960,July. Stimson, H. "The Bomb and Opportunity"; Harpers 1948, March. Walker, J. "The Decision to Use the Bomb: A Histmigraphic Update"; Diplomatic History 1990,14(1),97-114.
Stilwell, E. Dirge for a New Sunrise; Dial Press: Garden City, NY,1985.
~
Videos T h e following VCR presentations were selected for use with t h e seminars: Bronowski, J. The Ascent of Man, Part 10: ffiowledge or Certainiy, BBC, 1974,Time-Life Film and Video: Paramus, NJ 07652,52min. Day One.Aaron Spelling Productions, 1989,150min. The Day After Wnity: J. Robert Oppenheimer and the Atomic Bomb. Dir. J. Else. Pyramid Film and Video, 1981, 90 min. The Atomic Cafe; HBO Home Video, 1959.
Music Pendetecki, K. Threnody to the Vitims of Hiroshima; 1961. Poetry Curso, G. Bomb; City Light Books: San Francisco, 1958. Ginsberg, A Plutonian Ode; City Light Books: San Francism, 1980. Hagedom, H. The Bomb that Fell on America; Assmiation Press: New York, 1950.
Literature Cited M. A World Deabbpd:Hiroshima a d Ulo Or-i@na of the Cold War;Vin1987, pp 4 4 2. Se@, E. Fmm X-Roy. to Quwks: Modem PhysCists and Thpir Dkmerips; W H. 1. She-,
t a ~New : Yo*,
.
...
Reeman: Sw Francimo. 1980. oo 3M9.
Ref. 2, p 66. Rhodes,R. The Making ofthe AtomicBomb; Simon and Sehuater: New York, 1986,
pp 23&232. 5. Ref.4, pp 251-255.
6. Graue4 S. MonhattanPmjecf: Tho UnfoldStory ofthe M o k i ~ o f t h e A t o m i c B o m k Little, Bmwn Company:Bostrm, 1961, pp 182184. 7. Ref. 6.. on .. 148-1E3. 8. Caving, M.B~itainandAtomlcEm?gy;St. MartlnkPress: New York, 1964,~ ~ 2 1 %
222.
Acknowledgment The authors would like to acknowledge financial support from t h e Honors Program of Virginia Military Institute a n d the Research Development Fund of t h e United States Air Force Academy. The support of Susan Kaplan, Director of t h e VMI Honors Program, a n d Hans Mueh, Head, Department of Chemistry, the U. S. Air Force Academy is r e ognized. T h e loan of original documents from Robert Wagner (USA, retired), New Mexico Military Institute, i s also acknowledged.
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