A Primer on Nuclear Technology and its

Applications
Ryan Buratti
English 202C

March 17, 2010

BY COURIER
J. Robert Oppenheimer
Scientific Director
Manhattan Project
Alamogordo, New Mexico
February 10, 1945

Dr. Oppenheimer,

A decision is soon to be made on the wartime budget. As the war drags on, I
fear that many senators will vote to appropriate funds toward more conventional
means of achieving victory. Most of the Committee, including myself, is not
convinced that such a fantastic device can be created. I ask that you follow up with
a brief description of the device and an explanation of how it works.

Sincerely,

Carter Glass
Chairman, Senate Appropriations Committee
 U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
Manhattan Project
February 15, 1945

MEMORANDUM FOR THE SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE

FROM: J. Robert Oppenheimer

Scientific Director

SUBJECT The Manhattan Project

Purpose

The purpose of this memo is to explain to members of the Senate Appropriation

Committee the theory behind nuclear power and how a prototype nuclear weapon
would work. This document seeks to ensure continued funding for the Manhattan
Project in hopes that a nuclear device can be used to swiftly end the war in favor of
the United States of America.

Introduction

Recent discoveries have proven that heavy radioactive materials can be

manipulated to create energy much more effectively than conventional chemical
fuels and explosives. Nuclear fuels can be used in specialized power plants,
revolutionizing electricity generation. The Manhattan Project seeks to create a
weapon that harnesses the power of nuclear fuel to destroy an entire city in a single
blast.

Nuclear Theory

Nuclear power is based on a natural

phenomenon known as “fission.” In
fission, a large, unstable atom such as
Uranium will absorb a neutron and
break into two smaller pieces. Each
fission event produces several neutrons
which can induce more Uranium atoms
to fission, resulting in a self-sustaining
chain reaction (Figure 1). By tapping
the forces within the nucleus of an
atom, a fission event produces millions Figure 1: Uranium-235 Fission Chain
of times as much energy as a typical Reaction
chemical reaction (ex.combustion).

Nuclear Power

Figure 1 shows that neutrons from a single fission can cause multiple fissions.
Because each step in the chain lasts microseconds, the chain reaction will quickly
progress out of control. In a nuclear reactor, most neutrons are lost – either
absorbed by other materials or by leaking out of the reactor. The amount of
absorptive material present in the reactor is manipulated so that, on average, for
each fission that occurs, a single neutron will survive to cause an additional fission.

In this condition, the reactor is considered critical. A critical reactor is one in which
the number of fissions each second remains at a constant, controlled rate, thus
stabilizing the amount of heat produced per second. To shut down a reactor,
absorptive materials are added to the fuel. Each fission on average causes less than
a single fission to occur, (a safe state known as being subcritical) causing the rate
of fission to reduce over time and drop almost to zero.

What is the point of building a nuclear reactor? Current technology only allows us to
use reactors for research and for the production of radioactive elements including
Plutonium, an alternate nuclear fuel not found in nature. It is theorized that reactors
can be used to boil water to turn steam turbines, generating electricity much like
current fossil-fueled power plants. Shown below is Chicago Pile 1, the first nuclear
reactor ever constructed.
 Figure 2: Chicago Pile 1 (1942)

Nuclear Weapon Theory

In a conventional bomb, an amount of explosive material is ignited and combusts,

or burns, very quickly, creating a large amount of heat in a short period of time. The
result is an explosion, and as the amount of energy released increases, so does the
strength and size of the explosion. It is theorized that an uncontrolled chain reaction
could propagate, multiplying until so much heat is being produced that the nuclear
material causes an explosion (Figure 1).

When neutrons from each fission on average cause more than a single fission, the
nuclear device is said to be supercritical. The amount of energy that can be
extracted from even a few kilograms of Uranium fuel is nearly limitless, and the
explosive power of nuclear material stretches far beyond even the largest
conventional bombs.

The problem with nuclear weapons is that the progression of a nuclear chain
reaction is dependent on the properties of the fuel; a reaction cannot simply be
ignited or triggered like conventional explosives. Furthermore, neutron behavior is
very sensitive to changes in properties such as density. Heat produced from fission
will cause the fuel to expand, reducing its density. This effect would cause the fuel
to heat and expand until it is no longer dense enough to stay supercritical, or the
fuel could even tear itself apart before creating enough energy to cause an
explosion (known as a “fizzle”).If a bomb fizzles, there will be little or no explosion,
resulting in priceless nuclear material dispersed into the air.

Nuclear Weapon Designs

A nuclear bomb must take two or more

pieces of safe, subcritical Uranium and
assemble them on command, creating a
supercritical mass. In addition, the bomb
must hold together the fuel until it can
release appreciable energy.

This project concerns itself with two

potential designs, illustrated in Figure 3. A
gun-type weapon will use conventional
explosives to force together two
hemispheres of Uranium, creating a
critical mass. This design is relatively
simple and straightforward, but impurities
in the fuel material can increase the
likelihood that the bomb will fizzle.[1]

The implosion-type design uses a hollow

shell of shaped explosives to compress a
sphere of Plutonium. The success of this
weapon hinges on the precise machining
and simultaneous detonation of the explosive charges. Despite its complexity, this
weapon design can support a much larger
explosive yield. The focused blast, coupled Figure 3: Nuclear Bomb Design Conceptual
Illustrations
with the inward momentum of the plutonium, will hold the bomb’s core together
longer, allowing more of the plutonium to fission. The result is more energy released
before the bomb explodes. Calculations for a test explosion in the New Mexico
desert predict that the bomb should explode with the force of up to 18 thousand
tons of TNT, a number beyond imagination. A full-size model of the bomb is shown
below, in Figure 4.[1]
 Figure 4: Full-Scale Model of Implosion-Type Weapon

Conclusion

Houses can be burned, bunkers busted, factories destroyed, and whole city blocks
leveled, but there is a limit to conventional weapons. Bombs can only be made so
large and aircraft can only drop a limited amount. This project endeavors to build a
single bomb that can make an entire city disappear in the blink of an eye. This show
of force and the fear associated with such a weapon will bring the Japanese swiftly
to their knees and end the war without further loss of American lives.

It is known that the Japanese are conducting nuclear weapons research.

Furthermore, the Japanese possess the technology to drop warheads on America
without warning, as illustrated by their balloon bomb attacks on the west coast. This
nuclear arms race will decide the outcome of the war and can shape the power
structure of the entire world. The cost of this project is great, but can we afford not
to be the victors?
Disclaimer

Please note that this is a work of fiction, intended to add flavorful background and a
sense of exigency to a relatively dry topic. The names of Carter Glass and J. Robert
Oppenheimer are used only because of the positions they held at the time. Any
similarity to correspondence made between them, or between any two parties for
that matter, is entirely coincidental.

Website citations in a document from 1945 would obviously break flow, so they are
referenced below. General theory and information is not referenced because I
consider myself a knowledgeable source of information. Specific information on
bomb designs and predicted yield is also referenced below.

References

[1] Trinity (Nuclear Test), Wikipedia, URL:

<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trinity_%28nuclear_test%29#cite_note-Her93-
19>

Figure 1: Power Production: Nuclear Power, Physics World, URL:

<http://www.hk-phy.org/energy/power/print/nuclear_phy_print_e.html>

Figure 2: The Manhattan Project: An Interactive History, U.S. Department of Energy,

URL:
<http://www.cfo.doe.gov/Me70/manhattan/1942-1944_plutonium.htm>

Figure 3, Figure 4: Trinity (Nuclear Test), Wikipedia, URL:

<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trinity_%28nuclear_test%29>