On August 6, 1945, Hiroshima was devastated by "a most cruel and terrible new bomb," as described by Emperor Hirohito, one of the Axis leaders during World War II. Since then, nuclear weapons have become a major threat to humanity as more and more missiles, bombs, and other weapons are created by different countries. Today, many nations, including the United States and Russia, are working together to disarm their stockpile of nuclear weapons.Germany first started developing a fission bomb in 1939. Albert Einstein, along with other scientists, realized this and wrote to President Roosevelt regarding the threat to the Allies. Shortly after, the United States began serious efforts to produce an atomic bomb, later known as the Manhattan Project.When the Manhattan Project first started, its first objective was to provide a source of Uranium 235, a highly fissionable material. Unfortunately, this compound was very rare, with only one atom of U-235 to every five hundred of Uranium 238, which was virtually worthless in creating nuclear weapons at the time. Since the the two isotopes were almost exactly the same, a chemical method of extraction could not be used. A large plant was built in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, that had the sole purpose of separating the different forms of uranium. Using a process of magnetic separation devised by H. C. Urey, Ernest Lawrence successfully solved this major problem.Six years, and two billion dollars, were spent by some of the greatest minds in the world to create the first weapon of mass destruction. Led by J. Robert Oppenheimer, the team of scientists detonated the new bomb on July 16, 1945. Although successful, the general reaction was far from ecstatic. Many people on the project signed a petition to never use such a device. "I am become death," said one person, "the destroyer of worlds."Shortly after Hiroshima was attacked, Nagasaki fell victim to this terrible weapon. Emperor Hirohita, fearing ...
