The Manhattan Project and Atomic City Oakridge - Essay Example

Atomic (Oakridge TN) (I)The Atomic In 1942, the government of the United s purchased the land of 60,000 acres in the east of Tennessee and built a secret industry called the Atomic City or Oakridge TN. The main of aim was to make and test the essential components of the worlds first atomic fission bomb. The city was quickly built to serve the country military needs during the World War II (Young 2). The city created thousands of jobs, and the hosted the Manhattan project that made a bomb that was dropped in 1945 on the empire of Japan putting to an end of the war and saving thousands of lives. Consequently, the cold war forced the federal government to employ tens of thousands in the city but that spending was reduced during the fall of the Berlin wall and the Soviet Union. In1993 the congress mandated the transition of the Oakridge from a government owned property to private investors. As a result, the city was chartered in 1995 as technology center (Young 2). Oakridge was one of the secret cities that were building for the Manhattan project along with Washington, New Mexico, and Hanford. Oakridge is significant in that the first nations atomic museum was established in Oakridge TN. The opening of the museum coincided with the opening of the security gates of the Atomic City itself. The museum was named the American Museum of Atomic Energy (Molella 211). That museum was an important site because it provided information to the public on various uses of the atomic energy. In 1975, the museum was moved to a new facility. In 1978, it was renamed American Museum of Science and Energy to give a broader image of the DOE Mission of the nuclear energy and energy itself (Molella 211). (II)Significance of the Atomic City Oakridge played a crucial role of the construction of the "Little boy". This atomic bomb was dropped in Hiroshima. The primary goal for the construction of the city was to produce Uranium U-235, which is an isotope that is suitable for the achievement of the nuclear fission. After the war in 1945, the city started transforming from the city behind the fence to normality (Weiner 4). As a result, the city was transformed into the leading scientific research of the nation. The city faced difficulties in the course of the transition because it was regarded as a war zone. (III)Manhattan Project The S-50 plant was constructed in Oakridge Tennessee. The project was responsible for the first stage of the Uranium enrichment from 0.72% to 0.85% U-35 and produced about 45,000 pounds of enriched uranium U-35 uranium by the end of 1945 (Reed 3). The project costed the Federal government of the United States about $20 million (Reed 3). The construction of the facility took a very short period and soon after the S-50, plant started enriching uranium that used in the construction of an atomic bomb using thermal diffusion. Currently, the museum occupies a spacious building and displays on the peaceful use of atomic and other forms of energy. The place acts as a significant attraction site in Manhattan. Chief general Leslie Groves and nuclear scientist J. Robert Oppenheimer chaired the project. The two offered knowledge on atomic shell castings. Moreover, the building displays nukes are proudly saying little about them and concerning their capability. Hence, the aim was to prevent the dark sides of the Americas nuclear programs. Additionally, on the display is the Enola Gay B-29 nuclear bomber that took off from the Inian highland and dropped a nuke on Hiroshima. There is also a plaque list on the overall causalities in Nagasaki and Hiroshima (Molella 215). (IV)Size of Oakridge Oak ridge has got a vast uranium enrichment plants about 2 miles long that are U- Shaped on the K-25 building that still dominate the local landscape up to date. The science and the technical process of enrichment are employed on the porous barriers of K-25. Moreover, the gaseous diffusion building separates the U-35 isotope from that of U-38 isotope that employs the electromagnet isotope separation in the big Y-12 calutron (Molella 215). On the building, there are also photos on of the nuclear workers on the site and Oakridge communities and depicts what happened to them. There is also a display of the present day realities on the management of the nuclear waste and radiations from the site now known as environmental management that has been given the highest priority by the DOE. The environmental safety is the primary concern than its original narrative frame. (V)Oakridges Cold War Culture Oakridge is one of the secret cities build during the cold war period. The federal government heavily funded it because it was the project of the national government. People who lived in the city were highly educated but knew little about the Manhattan project. The city was highly guarded with security gates and barbed wires. As a result, it was sealed from the external world. It covered about 59, 000 acres, but it was not located on the maps for many years. Oakridge developed a sense of community and aloofness from the surrounding. To achieve this goal, the government had to give high incentives to those who lived in this city including superior housing, good schools, and high salaries. Moreover, the fence promoted the sense of separateness of Oakridge from the public (Molella 218). Though the planners of the city wanted to dismantle it immediately after the war, the city persists up to date as it attracted more energy investors. When the wall of the city was brought down in 1949, the city seems to emerge from a cocoon with much of its community features remaining intact. (VI) Oakridges skewed economy Due to its isolation, the Oakridge entirely depended on government funding. Since this money went directly to the investors, there seemed to be no diversification of the economy in Oakridge. The residents depended on the single largest uranium enrichment plant. Though Oakridge is not major source of uranium enrichment, it is the largest storage site for storage of the radioactive fuel (Molella 218). (VII) Summary In summary, the Oakridge TN or the Atomic City was one of the secret cities build by the United States government with the aim of making the first atomic bomb. The city was not known to the outside world as the security personnel highly guarded it. The city covered about 60, 000 square acres of land and its population were isolated from the outside world. The Federal government gave good incentives to the residents of the Atomic city like high salaries, good education and housing. The city also boasts as the pioneer of the atomic bomb that brought an end to the World war II. The city has since been converted into a scientific research centre. Though it has little uranium enrichment plants, the city remains the biggest storage facility of enriched uranium in the United States. Works Cited Molella, Arthur. “Exhibiting the Atomic Culture: The View From Oak Ridge.” History and Technology 19.3 (2003): 211-226. Print. Reed, Cameron. “Liquid Thermal Diffusion During the Manhattan ,” (2010). Vol.13.p.1- 29. Physics Journal. .Weiner, Isaac. “Displacement and Replacement: The international Friendship Bell as Translocative Technology of memory”. The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (2009): 2-26. Young, Lawrence. “The Community Reuse. Organization of East Tennessee”. 2002. Economic Development Journal (2002): 2-9. 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