How we cite our quotes: Chapter name.(Chapter Number).Paragraph
Quote #7
His scientists were wrestling with the challenge of building a plutonium bomb. Since firing two pieces of plutonium together inside a gun was too slow, the only solution, they reluctantly decided, was to blast the pieces of plutonium together with explosives—a process known as "implosion." Basically, the idea was to take several pieces of plutonium, about the size of a grapefruit all together. Explosives would be arranged around the plutonium, like a very thick skin around a fruit. The explosives would blast the plutonium together at tremendous speed, creating a critical mass and setting off a chain reaction—and an atomic explosion. It was a nice theory—but scientists doubted it would actually work. For an implosion bomb to succeed, the inward blast had to be perfectly symmetrical. That is, the force driving the pieces of plutonium together had to be exactly the same from every angle. One scientist suggested a comparison: Imagine surrounding an unopened beer can with explosives and trying to blow the can in on itself without spilling a drop of liquid. That was the challenge of implosion. If the shock waves moving in on the plutonium were not perfectly even, some plutonium would squirt out, instead of being driven in. A critical mass would not be achieved, and the bomb would fizzle. (Implosion.(27).18)
Please, please, for the love of Pete, do not try this experiment at home. These scientists were brilliant technicians—if they think it's hard to explode a beer can without spilling a drop, then it is. Trust them. Sheesh.
Quote #8
The fireball continued rolling and rising, twisting itself into an enormous mushroom shape, glowing dark purple thousands of feet above the desert. In the bomb's eerie light, General Farrell watched Oppenheimer's reaction. "His face," said Ferrell," relaxed into an expression of tremendous relief."
Frank Oppenheimer thought he heard his brother whisper, "It worked." (Test Shot.(31).60-61)
After all of their hard work, it's amazing that Oppie still had doubts that the bomb would be successful. Seeing that gigantic mushroom cloud must have been an enormous reprieve from all of the intense pressure he'd been under to produce the weapon.
Quote #9
"We have discovered the most terrible bomb in the history of the world," Truman wrote in his diary.
A few days later, Groves sent a more complete report to Potsdam. Truman sat in stunned silence as Harry Stimson read aloud. The bomb had exploded with the almost unbelievable force of eighteen thousand tons of TNT, an explosive used in regular bombs. The heat of the blast completely vaporized the steel tower holding the bomb. For hundreds of feet in all directions, sand was melted into a greenish glass. Instruments a mile from the blast measured temperatures of 750 degrees Fahrenheit. Not a plant or animal in this radius was left alive. (Little Boy.(32).10)
Can you imagine being the ones who discovered this? Imagine what it feels like when you're baking cookies and you open the oven while your face is too close. Now double that amount of heat, and that's what was measured a mile away from the blast. That is incredible. Those scientists must have felt such a sense of responsibility and triumph at once.