edeo Avogadro, the Italian chemist in 1811 published an article drawing the distinction between the atom and the molecule, which now is known as Avogadros Principle. The French team of Pierre and Marie Curie who are known as the parents of nuclear physics came to the realization that the atom has a core, or nucleus. It became apparent that different laws of physics govern the nucleus. In Cambridge England, Sir J.J. Thomson who in 1897 discovered the electron and his pupil Lord Ernest Rutherford discovered the proton. The history of the atomic age was coming right along on a steady pace then in 1905 Albert Einstein wrote the mass-energy conversion equation, and things started to progress very rapidly. In 1932 Sir James Chadwick discovered the neutron, this rovided an ideal projectile for splitting the atom. The final clue to the neutron and atomic energy was when an observation was noted that a peculiar property of the radiation emitted when beryllium is bombarded with alpha particles. In 1938 the discovery of fission of the uranium nucleus by neutron bombardment. In 1940 President Roosevelt organized the National Defense Research Committee, which was determined to develop an atomic bomb. Development and construction of the atomic bomb was the most closely guarded secret in scientific history. This was a culmination of enturies of step-by-step advances in the scientific quest to learn about the inner workings of the atom. Finally in 1945 a practical atomic bomb was completed, the first test code name Trinity was exploded in Alamogordo, New Mexico. At this point in history the new weapon had two purposes; first it could be used to force Japan to surrender. Secondly, possession of the bomb would enable the United States to control postwar policy. There were no battles fought in Hiroshima or Nagasaki, at 9:14 AM Tokyo time on August 6, 1945 Hiroshima was a busy functioning urban city with a large population. One minute later Hiroshima and...
