Post archives
Filtering for posts tagged with ‘Manhattan Project’
2020
August2020
4
Redactions
My new article in the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists outlines the history of casualty estimation attempts, and why they have been inherently fraught.
July2020
16
Meditations
If the first nuclear weapons test had been a flop, would the world be better or worse off?
June2020
9
Meditations
As we approach the 75th anniversary of the atomic bombings, we're going to see a lot of journalistic takes on them — many of them totally wrong.
2017
May2017
2
Redactions
Was the first history of the atomic bomb biased towards physics to avoid public associations with chemical weapons? My take on a recent article.
2016
September2016
30
Redactions
If he had lived to make the decision, would Roosevelt have dropped the atomic bomb?
July2016
25
Visions
On the anniversary of America's first nuclear disaster, when the Manhattan Project still ruled the bomb...
May2016
23
Redactions
Digging into the unusual death of Louis Slotin and the fate of the bomb core that killed him.
April2016
8
Meditations
Inventing the bomb was hard. Maintaining the bomb was harder.
February2016
26
Visions
What does Frayn's famous play get wrong, and what does it get right?
2015
December2015
11
Redactions
Who killed J. Robert Oppenheimer's Communist lover?
4
Meditations
What caused the atomic spies of Los Alamos to do what they did? Somewhere in the zone between ideology and ego, monsters live.
November2015
27
Visions
What does an atomic bomb scientist look like? Not just white men.
20
Redactions
Reading about the various radiation hazards in the Manhattan Project's history can be spine-tingling, even with a measured view of the dangers.
13
Redactions
At what point did the Manhattan Project scientists and administrators realize they weren't in a race with Nazi Germany after all?
6
Visions
The popular version of Oppenheimer at Los Alamos is one of infinite competence, confidence, and charm. The reality is far more complex.
October2015
30
Redactions
One of the most unusual, curious, and controversial members of the Manhattan Project was their in-house newspaperman from the New York Times.
23
Redactions
How far would Manhattan Project security go to deal with a problematic genius?
13
Visions
Some notes on doing historical consulting for the period-piece, neo-noir drama, "Manhattan."
9
Redactions
Niigata was one of the possible targets for atomic attack in 1945. Why was it spared? And why don't we ever talk about it?
September2015
4
Redactions
Did "Big Science" pioneer Ernest Lawrence believe that Japan should have been warned before Hiroshima?
August2015
3
Meditations
Considering a few of the options that were on the table in 1945.
July2015
17
Visions
What does the Trinity test signify, in the broad sweep of human history?
June2015
12
Meditations
What remains of the Manhattan Project? A lot of documents. Some people. A few places. And a handful of artifacts.
May2015
11
Redactions
Along with almost getting hit by a car, he made important contributions to the atomic bomb's design.
March2015
6
Redactions
In 1945, some scientists thought we should "demonstrate" the bomb to Japan before dropping it on a city. Others disagreed. Who was right?
February2015
13
Redactions
The details of the two dozen Manhattan Project deaths at Los Alamos reveal much about the work of building the bomb, and the people who did it.
January2015
30
Visions
Why creating a "Manhattan Project National Park" is an important and necessary step to preserve the past.
2014
September2014
5
Redactions
When the head of the Manhattan Project had questions about the history of the atomic bomb, he had a special, secret place to look for answers.
August2014
22
Meditations
The original target for the second atomic bomb was Kokura, not Nagasaki. Why was Kokura spared? Three theories are considered.
June2014
27
Meditations
How important was Albert Einstein's work or personal intervention to the making of the atomic bomb? Not as important as most people think.
Alex Wellerstein is a historian of science and nuclear weapons and a professor at theStevens Institute of Technology. He is also the creator of theNUKEMAP. This blogbegan in 2011. For more, follow@wellerstein.
Want more nuclear secrecy content? Check out my book:
Restricted Data: The History of Nuclear Secrecy in the United States (University of Chicago Press, 2021).I also have anew blog/newsletter which updatesmuch more regularly:
Doomsday Machines
Post-Apocalyptic Road Trips, End of the World-Building, and Interesting Times. A blog about how we think and have thought about end of the world, in both fact and fiction.Search
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