Nuclear Technology publishes special issue on the Manhattan Project

The science: The issue doesn’t focus on the military aspects of the experiment but focuses instead on the scientific value of the experiment to the nuclear community. About the scope of the project, Chadwick states, “The goal of the articles is to clarify the nature of the breakthroughs made, correct previous misunderstandings in the open literature, illuminate fascinating aspects of the underlying research, and illustrate how science from 75 years ago has proven foundational for the peaceful use of nuclear energy and today’s nuclear technology.”

The atom for peace: In his introduction to the issue, Chadwick quotes Secretary of War Henry Stimson speaking at a meeting in 1945—eight years before Eisenhower’s Atoms for Peace speech. His words at the time captured the hope of those involved in the Manhattan Project that their work could be used for the benefit of humanity instead of war. “This project should not be considered simply in terms of military weapons, but as a new relationship of man to the universe,” Stimson said. “While the advances in the field to date had been fostered by the needs of war, it was important to realize that the implications of the project went far beyond the needs of the present war. It must be controlled, if possible, to make it an assurance of future peace rather than a menace to civilization.”

This issue of Nuclear Technology demonstrates the peaceful outcomes from the Trinity tests and provides a historical context to the work involved in the Manhattan Project.