The Manhattan Project: Physics That Changed the World

The Manhattan Project was a secret U.S.-led effort during World War II to build the first atomic bomb.
It began in 1942, bringing together top scientists, engineers, and military leaders.
Albert Einstein’s letter to Roosevelt helped spark the project, though he did not work on it.
Physicists like Oppenheimer, Fermi, and Szilard played key roles in its development.
The project built massive research sites, including Los Alamos, Oak Ridge, and Hanford.
On July 16, 1945, the first nuclear test, called “Trinity,” was conducted in New Mexico.
The bombs “Little Boy” and “Fat Man” were dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, ending the war.
The project cost nearly $2 billion at the time and employed over 130,000 people.
It ushered in the nuclear age, changing global politics, warfare, and science forever.
The Manhattan Project remains both a triumph of physics and a cautionary tale of its power.