Big Bombs And Big Egos

The beginnings of the Nuclear Age started when Albert Einstein wrote to President Franklin Roosevelt warning him of a dangerous weapon the Nazis had begun researching, known as the atomic bomb. (1) Though, when President Roosevelt first read this letter, he was too preoccupied with events in Europe to be bothered with such ideas. He at the time did not take the creation of such weapon to seriously, nor did he believe America had the resources for such a task. (2) Finally, on October 19, 1939 President Roosevelt wrote back to Einstein stating that the United States had begun to research the power of uranium. (2) With the help of the British, whom reluctantly gave the United States leadership on this project, in June of 1942 the Manhattan Project had begun, though most of the world had no idea that this was even happening, not even Vice President Truman. (2)

When President Truman authorized the use of two nuclear weapons in 1945 against the Japanese in the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki to end World War II, the nature of international security was changed irreversibly. At that time, the United States had what was said to have a monopoly of atomic bombs. Soon thereafter, the Soviet Union began working on atomic weaponry. In 1949, it had already detonated it first atomic bomb and tensions began to heat up between the two countries. With the information that the Soviets had tested their first bomb, the United States began work on more powerful weapons1, and a fight for nuclear superiority had begun.

Firstly, the atomic incidents of Three Mile Island in Pennsylvania and Chernobyl in Russia are often mentioned as examples for nuclear plants being unsafe. In both cases failures of workers led to a meltdown in the reactors and increased radiation in the surrounding area (Henderson 12-17). And as the recent disaster in Japan shows, a nuclear crisis cannot only be caused by human mishaps, but also by unpredictable and untamable natural hazards. Consequently, nuclear crises cannot be predicted or prevented completely. Nuclear plants are, furthermore, considered uneconomical because in the eighties the construction costs of nuclear plants were underestimated and exceeded the estimation by $100 billion (Henderson 103). Therefore, the nuclear power opponents are arguing that nuclear power is burdening the American economy unnecessarily. According to the nuclear physicist Jeff Eerkens, antinuclear groups are also claiming that nuclear power is not necessary for the future since renewable energy sources, such as solar, wind, hydro, and geothermal power will be providing sufficient energy for the United States, and are at the same time much cheaper than the costly nuclear power plants (Eerkens 20). Over all, opponents consider nuclear power to risky and inefficient to “deserve further support from U.S. taxpayers” (Henderson 104).

“ The atom bomb was no ‘great decision.’ It was merely another powerful weapon in the arsenal of righteousness.” This quote was said by Harry S. Truman the first President who used an atomic bomb. The program that was able to create this monstrous power was known as the Manhattan Project. Creating this weapon was their main priority. The United States was in the midst of World War 2. The atomic bomb is considered to be the main factor that ended that war. It was a race against the multiple enemies of the United States, to be the first to acquire this power and use it when necessary. The Manhattan Project was kept strictly confidential and, created the foundation of the future and more powerful nuclear weapons to come.

of the atomic to president Franklin Roosevelt in 1945 during the beginning of World War II as a

Debates about the use of nuclear power plants in New York City have received much attention in the last few years. Many scientists believe that the use of Nuclear Power would be beneficial for New York City, since an abundant amount of electricity is necessary to fuel the Big Apple; however, one primary argument espoused by opponents is that the use of nuclear power will bring about negative effects like radiation exposure, debt and may allow the power plant to become a potential target for terrorist attacks. This paper describes selected constitutional issues related to the use of nuclear power plants with a focus on the risks it poses and concludes with implications for alternative sources of energy.

President Eisenhower wrote a speech in 1953, titled, “Atoms for Peace”, which used pathos to explain the proliferation of nuclear weapons, including statements that called for protection. He also explained how these weapons are much more powerful than before, and that we should consider the global consequences before destroying an entire city or country. President Eisenhower is speaking against the concept of nuclear

In 1946, scientists created the first computer that filled an entire room(text). Its purpose was to calculate the trajectories of missiles and provided computation for military actions. Nuclear energy plants developed in 1958(text). Increased attention in education of engineering and sciences were implemented by President Eisenhower to place the United States on the same level of technological advancements as the Soviet Union(Document A). To better aid the construction of the atomic bomb, the United States created a base in Los Alamos, New Mexico for the production and testing of this complicated device. The base was considered a paradise for scientists(The Race). Though the location was very secretive, the USSR still developed its own atomic bomb and even beat the United States in launching the first satellite “Sputnik”(Atomic Café). As a result, many Americans felt that their country was lagging in the Arms Race. The satellite launch precipitated the National Defense Education Act(text) which increased allocation to one million dollars in spending for scientific education. These increased efforts and resources were dedicated to science and technology in order to place the United States in the forefront of the Arm’s Race and ensure the containment of The Red

In 1941, US President Franklin Roosevelt approved the funding for the American-led effort to develop an atomic weapon. This project was codenamed “The Manhattan Project.” The original motivation to create an atomic bomb was out of fear that Nazi Germany was pursuing their own atomic project. When the United States successfully tested their nuclear weapon in July 1945, Germany had already surrendered, and the focus of the Allied powers was on the defeat of Imperial Japan. Ultimately, two atomic bombs were dropped on Japanese cities in early August 1945, leading to the end of the Second World War. The dropping of the bombs led to over 150,000 civilian and military deaths. Despite the massive loss of innocent life, I believe that the United

The Atomic Energy Act of 1946 was the spark of the nation’s most radical law relating to production, patents and control of information in response to this glooming energy crisis. Public safety becomes the main written priority in the development of the Atomic Energy Act. However, flaws began to emerge within the plan: inconsistencies disturb the private patent investors. This puts the nation’s economic stability at risk. There were possible emergences of monopolistic power struggles for “unique” nuclear reactor models and resources. Foiled by their original public interest objective, their secrecy led to possible questions about the Act2. Due to massive rise of concerns about the future of the United States, the government began to become

One of the greatest proponents of the Atomic Age is the aspect of clean, reusable energy. This method of obtaining energy was long sought after, and lead to many failures. Prior to this era, cities and other societies relied strictly on coal, hydroelectric, and natural gases and oils. These all had their faults, or were negative in many ways. For example, the amount of coal that was being burnt was leading our supply to last for about another hundred years. As the years progressed and atomic science was being diversified, the world’s reliance on coal was lessening. One of the first major breakthroughs with nuclear chemistry was the triggering of Uranium-235 to split its nucleus, releasing energy beyond

Nuclear power was the world’s fastest growing form of energy in the 1990’s. However, presently it is the second slowest growing worldwide. Considering that nuclear power accounts for eleven percent of the world’s energy supply, one must ask what happened [Nuclear Power]. Why is it that the growth of nuclear power has almost completely stalled? The simple answer is that after meltdowns such as Three Mile Island and Chernobyl, many people are afraid of nuclear power plants, which causes great opposition to the expansion of the industry. Unfortunately, most people are not well informed about nuclear energy; many do not take the time to view its positives and negatives.

The public effects of the Chernobyl disaster were far reaching. First of all, it negatively influenced a number of counties’ domestic opinions regarding nuclear programs. Although nuclear protests were common in the 1970s, by 1986 it had dropped from public scrutiny to the point

Many critics argue that due to the Three Mile Island nuclear incident that occurred March 28, 1979, in Pennsylvania resulted in a reactor meltdown, with no casualties due to a combination of equipment failure and a lack of operators understanding what to do to a faulty reactor. This incident has put the majority public to have safety concerns over not only the operators working in the plants but also the civilians in the surrounding area. Yet since the accident, the United States formed the National Academy for Nuclear Training to improve training the Institute of Nuclear Power Operations which reviews and accredits nuclear utilities’ training programs for all key positions at each plant. In addition, nuclear energy plants have proven the ability to produce clean electricity without greenhouse gas emissions and the reliability due to its increased efficiency and increased power output.

Nuclear energy has been around longer than people think. In 1934 Physicist Enrico Fermi experiments in Rome showing that Neutrons can split many kind s of atoms. In 1946 the Atomic Energy Commission was created to explore peaceful uses of energy and nuclear energy development. In 1951 an experimental Breeder reactor produced the first electric power from nuclear energy in