The Birth of Decay
“Now, I am become Death, the destroyer of worlds.”
― Robert Oppenheimer
Benevolent Origins
Before we can understand the need for nuclear weapons, we must first explore the origins of sustained nuclear reactions and how nuclear power was developed. In this section we will be exploring nuclear reactions and the Unites States history of nuclear power, otherwise known as The Manhattan Project. When most people think of nuclear reactions, they immediately imagine an explosion of great magnitude, however, that is not the original use for said reactions. In fact, “The world’s first nuclear reactor operated about two billion years ago. The natural nuclear reactor formed at Oklo in Gabon, Africa, when a uranium-rich mineral deposit became flooded with groundwater that acted as a neutron moderator, and a nuclear chain reaction started. These fission reactions were sustained for hundreds of thousands of years until a chain reaction could be supported no longer” (Nuclear Power, 2021). Motivated by nature, humans began work on our own for of nuclear reactions which are now commonly known as man-controlled nuclear reactions. These man-controlled reactions, though, have two classifications according to the time scale they are restricted. In direct nuclear reactions, “a projectile and a target nucleus are within the range of nuclear forces for a very short time allowing for an interaction of a single nucleon only. [Conversely,] in compound nuclear reactions, a projectile and a target nucleus are within the range of nuclear forces for the time allowing for a large number of interactions between nucleons.” (Nuclear Power, 2021)
Pictured: 2 billion year old Oklo nuclear reaction site in Gabon, Africa.
Petricevic, I. (2021, October 19). There's a 2 billion-year-old natural nuclear reactor on Earth. Curiosmos. [Image]. Retrieved November 30, 2021, from https://curiosmos.com/theres-a-2-billion-year-old-nuclear-reactor-on-earth/.
The Manhattan Project
Pictured: Enrico Fermi and his team of scientists who conducted the first nuclear reactor experiment.
Wbur, W. (2017, November 28). 75 years ago, these scientists conducted a nuclear experiment that changed the world. 75 Years Ago, These Scientists Conducted A Nuclear Experiment That Changed The World | Here & Now. [image]. Retrieved November 30, 2021, from https://www.wbur.org/hereandnow/2017/11/28/chicago-nuclear-chain-reaction.
For the team of scientists working tirelessly at the University of Chicago in the early 1940’s to try and create the first man-controlled nuclear reaction, lead by Enrico Furmi, the goal was to namely establish if such an act was possible with the ultimate hope that it may provide an ultra-efficient way of producing mass amounts of energy to further economic growth and industrial development. As Jacobs (2019) describes in his paper titled: Born Violent: The Origins of Nuclear Power, he writes:
“On December 2, 1942 at the University of Chicago, a group of scientists and engineers produced an amazing technological achievement: a sustained nuclear chain reaction. Nuclear power was intentionally released in a controlled manner, adjusted, and then turned off. This experiment opened the doors for human beings to develop both nuclear power plants and nuclear weaponry. Indeed, both outcomes were a part of our world less than three years after that cold December day” (p. 9).
Like a dam waiting to burst, all it took was the confirmation that we could in fact control nuclear reactions for the US Military to start pouring massive amounts of funding into the development of this new breakthrough. As Jacobs (2019) writes,
“All of these efforts were part of the Manhattan Engineering District, or as it came to be known: the Manhattan Project. While the specific scientific discoveries that had opened the door to releasing the energy held within the nuclei of atoms were achieved by small research teams working at universities, the large-scale engineering required to harness that energy was funded entirely by the U.S. military, with the sole purpose of building nuclear weapons.” (p. 10)
Little Boy and Fat Man
Pictured: "Little Boy" (left) and "Fat Man" (right) before detonation in 1945.
​Atomic Heritage Foundation. (2014, July 23). Little boy and Fat Man. Atomic Heritage Foundation. [Image]. Retrieved November 30, 2021, from https://www.atomicheritage.org/history/little-boy-and-fat-man
For the first time in human history, we had graduated War class. We now held in our hands the ability to completely eradicate not only ourselves, but every living being on the planet, making Earth sterile and cold as our compassion. The first and only two nuclear warheads to be used for purposes other than testing were detonated at the end of WWII in Japan at Nagasaki and Hiroshima, killing nearly a quarter of a million people – these were Little Boy and Fat Man.
"Little Boy"
“In this gun-type device, the critical mass is achieved when a uranium projectile which is sub-critical is fired through a gun barrel at a uranium target which is also sub-critical. The resulting uranium mass comprised of both projectile and target becomes critical and the chain reaction begins. Dropped on the Japanese city of Hiroshima on August 6, 1945, it was the first nuclear weapon used in a war.” (Atomic Heritage Foundation, 2014).
"Fat Man"
“In the implosion-type device, a core of sub-critical plutonium is surrounded by several thousand pounds of high-explosive designed in such a way that the explosive force of the [heavy explosives] is directed inwards thereby crushing the plutonium core into a super-critical state. Dropped on the Japanese city of Nagasaki on August 9, 1945, it was the second nuclear weapon used in a war.” (Atomic Heritage Foundation, 2014).