User:Milton Beychok/Sandbox2: Difference between revisions

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The Manhattan project culminated with the detonation of the first nuclear weapon, known as the [[Trinity test]],  
The Manhattan project culminated with the detonation of the first nuclear weapon, known as the [[Trinity test]],  
in July 1945 at [[White Sands]], [[New Mexico]]. Since [[Japan]] was still waging an aggressive war in the [[Pacific]], President Truman decided to use atomic bombs on the Japsnese cities of [[Hiroshima]] and [[Nagasaki]]. The atomic bombs were dropped by air on Hiroshima on August 6, 1945 and on Nagasaki on August 9, 1945.  The Japanese surrendered shortly thereafter (August 14, 1945) and the war in the Pacific ended.<ref name=LANL-Overview/><ref name=HiroshimaBombing/> A formal surrender ceremony took place aboard the [[USS Missouri]] in [[Tokyo Bay]] on September 2, 1945.
in July 1945 at [[White Sands]], [[New Mexico]]. Since [[Japan]] was still waging an aggressive war in the [[Pacific]], President Truman decided to use atomic bombs on the Japsnese cities of [[Hiroshima]] and [[Nagasaki]]. The atomic bombs were dropped by air on Hiroshima on August 6, 1945 and on Nagasaki on August 9, 1945.  The Japanese surrendered shortly thereafter (August 14, 1945) and the war in the Pacific ended.<ref name=LANL-Overview/><ref name=HiroshimaBombing/> A formal surrender ceremony took place aboard the [[USS Missouri]] in [[Tokyo Bay]] on September 2, 1945.<ref name=TokyoBaySurrender/>


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<ref name=HiroshimaBombing>[http://www.century-of-flight.net/Aviation%20history/WW2/Atomic%20Bombing%20of%20Hiroshima.htm The Atomic Bombing of Hiroshima]</ref>
<ref name=HiroshimaBombing>[http://www.century-of-flight.net/Aviation%20history/WW2/Atomic%20Bombing%20of%20Hiroshima.htm The Atomic Bombing of Hiroshima]</ref>
<ref name=TokyoBaySurrender>[http://www.history.navy.mil/faqs/faq69-1.htm Tokyo Bay: The Formal Surrender of the Empire of Japan on Board USS Missouri, 2 September 1945] From the website of the [[Naval History & Heritage Command]].</ref>


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Revision as of 00:15, 3 June 2011

(PD) Photo: Los Alamos National Laboratory
Aerial view of Los Alamos National Laboratory as of 1995

Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) is a U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) national laboratory located in Los Alamos, New Mexico. Since 2005, it has been managed and operated by Los Alamos National Security (LANS)[1] and is one of the world's leading science and technology institutes.

LANL's primary mission is to ensure the safety, security, and reliability of the nation's nuclear deterrent.[2] In addition to its primary mission, LANL's research work serves to advance bioscience, chemistry, computer science, earth and environmental sciences, materials science, and physics disciplines.[3][4]

At various times in the past, LANL has been known as Site Y, Los Alamos Laboratory, and Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory.

History

(PD) Photo: Berlyn Brixner
Trinity test of an atomic bomb on July 15, 1945 at 0.016 seconds after detonation. The fireball was about 200 metres wide.

The Manhattan Project was the secret United States project conducted primarily during World War II, with the participation of the United Kingdom and Canada, that culminated in developing the world's first nuclear weapon commonly referred to at that time as an atomic bomb.

The project was initiated in 1939 by U.S. President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, after he received a letter from physicist Albert Einstein (drafted by fellow physicist Leó Szilárd) urging the study of nuclear fission for military purposes, under fears that Nazi Germany would be first to develop nuclear weapons. Roosevelt started a small investigation into the matter which eventually became the massive Manhattan Project that employed more than 130,000 people at universities across the United States, the United Kingdom and Canada as well as at the three major design, development and production facilities at:

  • The weapons design and development facility at Los Alamos, New Mexico known then as Site Y, later to become the Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory and now the Los Alamos National Laboratory.
  • The plutonium production facility at the Hanford Site in eastern Washington state.
  • The uranium enrichment facilities at Oak Ridge, Tennessee.

President Roosevelt died in mid-April 1945 and was succeeded by President Harry S. Truman, just a few weeks before the war against Germany and Italy in Europe ended in May 1945.

The Manhattan project culminated with the detonation of the first nuclear weapon, known as the Trinity test, in July 1945 at White Sands, New Mexico. Since Japan was still waging an aggressive war in the Pacific, President Truman decided to use atomic bombs on the Japsnese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The atomic bombs were dropped by air on Hiroshima on August 6, 1945 and on Nagasaki on August 9, 1945. The Japanese surrendered shortly thereafter (August 14, 1945) and the war in the Pacific ended.[4][5] A formal surrender ceremony took place aboard the USS Missouri in Tokyo Bay on September 2, 1945.[6]

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LANL Organization

(PD) Chart: Los Alamos National Laboratory
LANL Organization Chart

Staff and budget

References

  1. About LANS From the website of Los Alamos National Security, LLC.
  2. LANL History Overview] From the website of the Los Alamos National Laboratory.
  3. About LANL From the website of the Los Alamos National Laboratory.
  4. 4.0 4.1 Los Alamos Overview. From the website of the Los Alamos National Laboratory.
  5. The Atomic Bombing of Hiroshima
  6. Tokyo Bay: The Formal Surrender of the Empire of Japan on Board USS Missouri, 2 September 1945 From the website of the Naval History & Heritage Command.