
The Trinity Test: The World's First Atomic Explosion
Everything Everywhere Daily: History, Science, Geography & More
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The Manhattan Project: A History of Nuclear Reactions
There were several debates amongst the scientists in the Manhattan Project as to how a bomb could and should be built. It wasn't just a matter of what could work, but also what would be the easiest to build and the most effective. There were two competing designs that were debated in the program. The gun-type bomb was the design used for the little boy bomb which was dropped on Hiroshima. Richard Tolman's implosion device didn't initially get much support because it was considered too complex. Nothing like this had ever been built properly before so mathematics weren't really behind it.
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