Little Boy and Fat Man

            On August 6th, 1945, the United States dropped the first ever atomic bomb on the Japanese city of Hiroshima. The power was incredible. Over one-fourth of the cities 400,000 residents died in the blast or from the radiation related illnesses, such as leukemia, radiation poisoning and other cancers within six months. Then without any response from the Japanese concerning surrender, the United States dropped a second atomic bomb three days later. This one a more powerful bomb, made from plutonium, nicknamed "Fat Man." .
             The uranium bomb, nicknamed "Little Boy" was unleashed in 1945, but the process of creating the atomic bomb was a slow one. In the early years of the twentieth century the understanding of the atom became greater, and scientist learned of the energy that they contain if split apart. Although it was not until the second world war was underway that it was seen as remotely possible to create a "super bomb" by the fission of atoms. .
             With the threat of Germany and the Soviets trying to harness this incredible power, United States President Franklin D. Roosevelt, received a letter form Albert Einstein on August 2, 1939, stating that his field of physics had opened up a new possibility for extremely powerful bombs, and that the Germans were currently in the process of trying to build one. Concerns about Germany developing the atomic bomb before the United States prompted the United States to start building test and production facilities across the country, code named the Manhattan Project, installations were erected in Tennessee, New York, Washington, New Mexico, and Illinois. .
             In order to create an atomic bomb the scientist working first had to confirm that a chain reaction could happen with fast neutrons. Earlier experiments concluded that a chain reaction could occur, but those experiments were done with slow moving neutrons. Scientist also had to collect enough uranium 235, design the weapons and plan their delivery.