ucture and particle makeup of atoms, as well as how they behaved. During the 1930صs it became apparent that there was a immense amount of energy that would be released atoms of Gioielli 2certain elements were split, or taken apart. Scientists began to realize that if harnessed, this energy could be something of a magnitude not before seen to human eyes. They also saw that this energy could possibly be harnessed into a weapon of amazing power. And with the advent of World War Two, this became an ever increasing concern. In the early fall of 1939, the same time that the Germans invaded Poland, President Roosevelt received a letter from Albert Einstein, informing him about the certain possibilities of creating a controlled nuclear chain reaction, and that harnessing such a reaction could produce a bomb of formidable strength. He wrote: This new phenomena would lead also lead to the construction of bombs, and it is conceivable, though much less certain-that extremely powerful bombs of a new type may thus be constructed (Clark 556-557).The letter goes on to encourage the president to increase government and military involvement in such experiments, and to encourage the experimental work of the scientists with the allocation of funds, facilities and equipment that might be necessary. This letter ultimately led to the Manhattan Project, the effort that involved billions of dollars and tens of thousands of people to produce the atomic bomb. During the time after the war, until just recently the American psyche has been branded with the threat of a nuclear holocaust. Here was something so powerful, yet so diminutive. A bomb that could obliterate our nations capital, and that was as big as somebodies backyard grill. For the first time in the history of human existence here was something capable of wiping us off the face of the Earth. And most people had no control over that destiny. It seemed like peoples lives, the life of everything on th...
