The Manhattan Project for the development of the atomic bomb was officially established on 13 August 1942. Los Alamos, New Mexico, was the site of the laboratory in which the first atomic bomb was constructed was established as a regular military post. The scientific program of Los Alamos was directed by J. Robert Oppenheimer, Ph.D. The University of California served as the scientific contractor.
Unfortunately, the radioactive effects upon humans of the detonation of the first atomic bomb were entirely speculative. It was estimated that during the detonation of the bomb, about a million curies of radioactive fission material might be released. These products--all as yet unknown--would presumably be in element form, but they would immediately become oxides and perhaps then would agglomerate with vaporized moisture and debris. It was also thought that these materials would rise very high in the large, hot, ascending cloud expected after the detonation, and that, while they were falling back to earth, they might be carried by the wind for considerable distance, perhaps even far from the test site.
FIRST
PREVIOUS