Chemical and Engineering News Insert, August 1 0 , 1945 Combined Policy Committee, composed at the outset of Secretary of War Stimson, Dr. Bush, and Dr. Conant for the United States; Field Marshall Sir John Dill and Col. J. J. Llewellin for the United Kingdom; and Mr. C. D. Howe for Canada. Col. Llewellin was later replaced b}r Sir Ronald I. Campbell, who in turn was succeeded by the Earl of Halifax; the late Field Marshall Dill was succeeded by Field Marshall Sir Henry Maitland Wilson. The United States' members have had as their scientific adviser Dr. Richard C. Tolman; the British, Sir James Chadwick; and the Canadians, Dean C. J. MacKenzie. The dropping of the first atomic bomb upon military targets brings to fruition a spectacular discovery in the field of science. In its development it appears that many decades ahead there will ultimately flow multiple benefits for all mankind. To ensure the study of the best use of the discovery the Secretary of War has appointed an Interim Committee consisting of the following: The Secretary of War, chairman, James E. Byrnes, now Secretary of State, Ralph A. Bard, former Undersecretary of the Navy, William L. Clayton, Assistant Secretary of State, Dr. Bush, Dr. Conant, Dr. Karl T. Compton, president of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and George L. Harrison, alternate chairman, special consultant to the Secretary of War, and president of the New York Life Insurance Co. Assisting this group as a scientific panel are J. R. Oppenheimer, E. O. Lawrence, A. H. Compton, and Enrico Fermi.
Secret city, O a k Ridge, near Knoxville, Tenn., mushroomed into existence when "Manhattan Project" became factory reality. Hospital is in foreground in this airview looking east. Dormitories and business section of town are in background
The attention of President Roosevelt was invited to the potentialities of the atomic bomb in 1939. The research which had been conducted on a small scale with Navy funds was put on a greatlyexpanded basis. At the end of 1941 progress had been sufficient to warrant additional expansion. In the meantime the project had been placed under the direction of the Office of Scientific Research and Development, with Vannevar Bush, Director of OSRD in charge. At the same time the President appointed a General Policy Group, consisting of the then Vice President Hemy A. Wallace, Secretary of War, Henry L. Stimson, Gen. George C. Marshall, Dr. James B. Conant, and Dr. Bush. •The General Policy Group recommended in June 1942 that the atomic bomb project be greatly expanded and placed under the direction of the War Department. This action was taken and Maj. Gen. Groves, experienced and resourceful U. S. Army construction engineer, was placed in complete control. At the same time, in addition to the General Policy Group there was appointed a Military Policy Committee consisting of Dr. Bush, chairman, Dr. Conant, his alternate, Lt. Gen. Wilhelm B. Styer, U.S.A., and Rear Admiral William R. Purnell, U.S.N. The need for the weapon and its potential value led to the decision in December 1942 to start construction of an industrial empire that was eventually to consist of entire cities and employ upwards of 125,000. Two of the plants were constructed on a 59,000-acre government reservation IS miles west of Knoxville, Tenn. It assumed the name of Oak Ridge and became the fifth largest city in the state. The third plant was erected at the Han-
ford Engineer Works on a 450,000acre government t r a c t 15 miles northwest of Pasco, Wash. This became the city of Richland. A special laboratory was established in an isolated area of N"ew Mexico, about 30 miles northwest of Santa Fe. The ramifications of the atomic bomb project reached such proportions that in August 1943 it was decided to establish a
Tested in New M e x i c o First test of atomic before Tension
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KA ANKIND'S successful entrance to a. new ' * • age, the Atomic Age, was ushered in July 16, 1945, before the eyes of a tense group of renowned scientists and military men gathered in the desert land of New Mexico to witness the first end result of their two billion dollar effort. Here in a remote section of "the Alamogordo Air Base, 120 miles southeast of Albuquerque, the first man-made atomic explosion, the outstanding achievement of nuclear science, was achieved at 5:30 A.M. of that day. Darkening heavens poured forth rain and lightning immediately up to zero hour to heighten the drama. Mounted on a steel tower, the weapon, destined to change war as we know it, or which may even be the instrumentality to end all major wars, was set off with an impact which signalized man's entrance into a new physical world. Suc-
cess was greater than the most ambitious estimate. A small amount of matter, the product of a chain of huge specially constructed industrial plants, was made to release the energy of the universe locked up within the atom from the beginning of time. A fabulous achievement had been reached. Speculative theory, barely established in prewar laboratories, had been projected into a practicality. This phase of the atomic bomb project which was headed by Maj. Gen. Leslie It. Groves, was under the direction of J. R. Oppenheimer, theoretical physicist of the University of California. He is to be credited with achieving implementation of atomic energy for military purposes. Tension before the actual detonation was at a tremendous pitch. Failure was an ever-present possibility. Too great a 1403
A t o m i c Energy Harnessed
success envisioned by some of those present may have meant an uncontrollable, unusable weapon. Final assembly of the atomic bomb began on the night of July 12 in an old ranch house. As the various component assemblies arrived from distant points, tension among the scientists mounted apace. Coolest of all was the man charged with the actual assembly of the vital core, R. F. Bacher, in normal times a professor at Cornell University. The entire cost of the project, involving the erection of whole cities and radically new plants spread over many miles of countryside, plus unprecedented experimentation, was represented in the pilot bomb and its parts. Here was the focal point of the venture. No other country in the wrorld had been capable of such an outlay of brains and technical effort. Pioneers into A n o t h e r A s e
The full significance of these closing moments before the final actual test was not lost on these men of science. They fully knew their position as pioneers into another age. They also knew that one false move would blast them and their entire efforts into eternity. Before the assembly started receipt for the vital material was signed by Brig. Gen. Thomas F. Farrell, Gen. Groves' deputy. This signalized the formal transfer of the irreplaceable material, which had originally been produced at one of the great separation plants, from the scientists to the Army. During final preliminary assembly, a bad few minutes developed when the assembly of an important section of the bomb was delayed. The entire unit was machine-tooled to the finest measurements. The insertion was partially completed when it apparently wedged tightly and would go no farther. Dr. Bacher, however, was undismayed and reassured the group that time would solve the problem. I n 3 minutes' time, Dr. Bacher's statement was verified and basic assembly was completed without further incident. Specialty teams, comprised of top men assigned to specific stages, all of which were bound up in the whole, took over their specialized parts of the assembly. On Saturday, July 14, the unit which was to determine the success or failure of the entire project, was elevated to the top of the steel tower. All that day and the next, the job of preparation went on. In addition, the apparatus necessary to cause detonation and complete instrumentation to determine all the reactions of the bomb were rigged on the tower. The ominous weather which had dogged the assembly of the bomb had a very sobering effect on the assembled experts whose work was accomplished among lightning flashes and peals of thunder. The weather, unusual and upsetting, blocked aerial observation of the test. It even held up the actual explosion, 1404
scheduled at 4 A.M., for an hour and a half. For many months the approximate date and time had been set and had been one of the high-level secrets of the best kept secret of the entire war. Nearest observation point was set up 10,000 yards south of the tower where, in a timber and earth shelter, the controls for the test were located. At a point 17,000 yards from the tower at a point which would give the best observation, the key figures in the atomic bomb project took their posts. These included Gen. Groves, Vannevar Bush, and James B. Conant. Actual detonation was in charge of K. T. Bainbridge of Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He and Lt. Bush, in charge of the military police detachment, were the last men to inspect the tower with its cosmic bomb. At 3 o'clock in the morning the party moved forward to the control station. Gen. Groves and Dr. Oppenheimer consulted with the weathermen. The decision was made to go ahead with the test despite the lack of assurance of favorable weather. The time was set at 5:30 A.M. Gen. Groves rejoined Dr. Conant and Dr. Bush, and just before test time, they joined the many scientists gathered at the base camp. Here all present were ordered to lie on the ground, face downward, heads away from the blast direction. Tension reached a tremendous pitch in the control room as the deadline approached. Several observation points in the area were tied into the control room by radio, and with 20 minutes to go S. K. Allison of the University of Chicago took over the radio net and made periodic time announcements. Tension Increases
The time signals, "minus 20 minutes, minus 15 minutes", and on and on increased the pitch to the breaking point as the group in the control room, which included Dr. Oppenheimer and Gen. Farrell, held their breath, all praying with the intensity of the moment which will live forever with each man there. At "minus 45 seconds", robot mechanism took over. From that point on, the whole great complicated mass of intricate mechanism was in operation without human control. Stationed at a reserve switch however, was a soldier scientist ready to attempt to stop the explosion should the order be issued. The order never came. At the appointed time, there was a blinding flash lighting up the whole area brighter than the brightest daylight. A mountain range 3 miles from the observation point stood out in bold relief. Then came a tremendous sustained roar and a heavy pressure wave which knocked down two men outside the control center. Immediately thereafter, a huge multicolored surging cloud boiled to an
altitude of over 40,000 ft. Clouds in its path disappeared. Soon the shifting substratosphere winds dispersed the nowgray mass. The steel tower had been entirely vaporized. Where the tower had stood there was a huge sloping crater. Dazed but relieved at the success of their test, the scientists promptly marshalled thieir forces to estimate the strength of America's new weapon. To examine the stature of the crater, specially equipped tanks were wheeled into the area, one of wliich carried Enrico Fermi, noted nuctear scientistGeneral Grove's Impressions Interviews of Gen. Groves and Cren. Farrell give the following "on the scene" version of the test. Gen. Groves said, "My impressions of the night's high points follow: After about an hoiax's sleep I got up at 01:00 and from that time on until about 05:00 I was with Dr. Oppenheimer constantly. Naturally he was tense, although his mind was working at its usual extraordinary efficiency. 1 attempted to shield him from the evident concern of many of his assistants, \vrfio were disturbed by the uncertain weatlher conditions. By 04:00 we decided that we could probably fire at 05:30. By 04:00 t h e rain had stopped but the sky was nea-rly overcast. Our decision became firnaer as time went on. During most of th.=ese hours the two of us journeyed from -the control house out into the darkness to look at the stars and to assure each ot£ier that the one or two visible stars were Ibecoming brighter. "At 05:10 I left Dr. Oppenheimer and returned to the main observation po-int which was 17,000 yards from the point of explosion. I n accordance with our orders I found all personnel not otherwise occupied massed on a bit of high groiund. "Two minutes before the scheduled firing time, all persons lay face down \rith their feet pointing toward the explosion. As the remaining time was called over t h e loud speaker from the 10,000-yard control station there was complete and awesozme silence. Dr. Conant said he had never imagined a second could be so long. M ost of the individuals, in accordance with orders, shielded their eyes in one way or another. "First came the burst of light of a bxilliance beyond any comparison. We all rolled over and looked through dark glasses at the ball of fire. About 40 seconds later came the shock wave followed by the sound, neither of which seemed startling after our complete astonishment a t the extraordinary intensities of lighting. "A massive cloud was formed which whirled and billowed upward with t r e mendous power reaching the substratosphere in about 5 minutes. "Two supplementary explosions of minor effect other than the lighting oc-
Chemical and Engineering News Insert, August 1 0 , 1 9 4 5 curred in t h e cloud shortly after t h e main explosion. " T h e cloud traveled t o a great height first in t h e form of a ball, then mushroomed, t h e n changed into a long trailing chimney-shaped column and finally was sent in several directions by t h e variable winds at t h e different elevations. " D r . C o n a n t reached over a n d wo shook hands in m u t u a l congratulations. D r . Bush, w h o was on t h e other side of me, did likewise. T h e feeling of t h e entire assembly, even the uninitiated, was one of profound awe. D r s . C o n a n t and Bush and myself were struck by an even stronger feeling t h a t t h e faith of those who had been responsible for t h e initiation and t h e carrying on of this herculean project had been justified." Scene at Forward Observation Post Gen. FarrelFs impressions are: " T h e scene inside the shelter was dramatic beyond words. In and around t h e shelter were some 20-odd people concerned with last-minute arrangements. Included were D r . Oppenheimer, director, who had borne the great scientific burden of developing t h e weapon from the raw material processed in Tennessee a n d t h e S t a t e of Washington, a dozen of his key assistants, D r . Kistiakowsky. D r . Bainbridge, who supervised all the detailed arrangements for t h e test; the weather experts, and several others. Besides these, there were a handful of soldiers, two or three Army officers, and one N a v a l officer. T h e shelter was filled with t h e great variety of instruments and radios. " F o r some hectic 2 hours preceding the blast, Gen. Groves stayed w i t h the director. T w e n t y minutes before zero hour, Gen. Groves left for his station a t t h e base camp, because it provided a b e t t e r observation point. M J u s t after Gen. Groves left, announcements began to be broadcast of t h e interval remaining before the blast to t h e other groups participating in a n d observing t h e test. As t h e time interval grew smaller and changed from minutes t o seconds, t h e tension increased b y leaps and bounds. Everyone in t h a t room knew t h e awful potentialities of t h e thing t h a t they t h o u g h t was about to happen. T h e scientists felt t h a t their figuring must be right and t h a t t h e b o m b h a d to go off, b u t t h e r e w a s in everyone's mind a strong measure of doubt. " W e were reaching into t h e u n k n o w n a n d we d i d not know what might come of it. If t h e shot was successful it was a justification of t h e several years of intensive effort of t e n s of thousands of people— statesmen, scientists, engineers, manufacturers, soldiers, and m a n y others in every walk of life. " i n t h a t brief i n s t a n t in t h e remote New Mexico desert, t h e tremendous effort of the brains and brawn of all these people came suddenly a n d startlingly to t h e fullest fruition. Dr. Oppenheimer, on w h o m had rested a very heavy burden,
grew tenser a s the last second ticked off. He scarcely * breathed. He held onto a post to steady himself. For the last few seconds, he stared directly ahead a n d when the announcer shouted 'NowP a n d there came this tremendous burst of light followed shortly thereafter b y t h e deep growling roar of t h e explosion, his face relaxed into a n expression of tremendous relief. Several of the observers standing back of t h e shelter to watch the light effect were knocked flat b y the blast. " T h e tension in the room l e t up and all started congratulating each other. Everyone sensed "This is it!' No matter what might h a p p e n now all knew t h a t t h e impossible scientific job had been done. Atomic fission would no longer be hidden in t h e cloisters of the theoretical physicist's dream. I t was almost full grown at birth. " D r . Kistiakowsky threw his arms around D r . Oppenheimer a n d embraced him with shouts of glee. Others were equally enthusiastic. All the pent-up emotions were released in those few minutes and all seemed t o sense t h a t the explosion had far exceeded t h e most optimistic expectations a n d wildest hopes of the scientists. All seemed to feel t h a t they had been present a t the birth of a new
age—the age of atomic energy—and felt their profound responsibility to help i n guiding in t h e right channels the t r e mendous forces which had been unlocked. Blast Beyond Description " T h e effect could well be called u n precedented, magnificent, beautiful, s t u pendous, and terrifying. No m a n - m a d e phenomena of such tremendous power had ever occurred before. T h e lighting effect beggared description. The whole country was lighted b y a searing light with the intensity m a n y times that of t h e mid-day sun. I t was golden, purple, violet, gray, a n d blue. I t lighted every peak, crevice, and ridge of the n e a r b y mountain ridge with a clarity and b e a u t y t h a t cannot b e described, b u t m u s t b e seen to be imagined. I t was t h a t b e a u t y the great poets dream about b u t describe most poorly a n d inadequately. T h i r t y seconds after the explosion, first came the air blast, pressing hard against t h e people a n d things, followed almost immediately by a strong, sustained, awesome roar. W o r d s are an inadequate tool for t h e j o b of acquainting those n o t present with t h e physical, mental, a n d psychological effect. I t had to be witnessed to be realized."
Clinton Engineer W^orks Clinton
Engineer Works
covers a Auge government
the heart of the TV A country near Knoxville,
Tenn.
city grown to fifth largest in the stater is located and is the administrative
reservation
Oak Ridge, a new on this
center for the entire atomic
T H E location of suitable areas for largescale research and production presented several difficulties. Ultimately it was determined t o locate t h e project a t 2 widely separated sections of the country, one site near Knoxville and the other at Richland near Pasco on t h e Columbia River in the State of Washington, and designated t h e Hanford Engineer Works. I n less t h a n 3 years the town of Oak Ridge, 18 miles west of Knoxville, has not only grown from nothing to fifth largest city in Tennessee, with a population of nearly 75,000, b u t in the course of this time has managed to become one of the historic cities of America, a town t h a t will ever remain associated with t h e greatest secret project of World W a r I I . Oak Ridge was the heart of t h e twobillion dollar atomic b o m b project, which, under t h e camouflage name of t h e M a n h a t t a n Engineer District operated by the W a r D e p a r t m e n t under t h e immediate direction of Maj. Gen. Leslie R. Groves and Col. Kenneth D . Nichols, succeeded in harnessing atomic energy into the
in
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bomb
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most devastating weapon in history, a n d in s o doing, built a great industrial empire. Oak Ridge, situated on what is k n o w n as Black Oak Ridge, one of 5 principal oak- and pine-covered ridges in the reservation area, w a s named by Col. (now Brig. Gen.) J. C. Marshall, former district engineer of t h e M a n h a t t a n District. T h e name was chosen from among m a n y suggested by workers. Gen. Marshall was succeeded as district engineer b y Col. Nichols. Few persons outside of t h a t section of the South in which Oak Ridge is situated and fewer throughout the country k n e w much about O a k Ridge, even though a n industry which was the best kept secret of the war was being built around it. I n addition to t h e town inhabitants, some 200,000 residents of Knoxville knew t h a t O a k Ridge h a d been built around a vital secret war project. But they learned to avoid discussions involving secret projects and cooperated in maintaining security. T h o u s a n d s of workers who h a d been employed on construction and t h e n
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