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  • The Nuclear Age Begins   also see Nuclear Age Timeline section
    These early documents chronicle the beginnings of the atomic age.
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  • The Manhattan Project  [*pdf docs indicated with file size]
    The United States in late 1941 established a secret program, which came to be known as the Manhattan Project, to develop an atomic bomb, a powerful explosive nuclear weapon. The aim of the project, directed by physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer, was to build an atom bomb before Germany did.
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  • The Trinity Test
    On July 16, 1945, in the New Mexico desert, the first atomic device was tested.
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  • The Bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki
    On August 6, 1945, the first atomic bomb attack occurred over Hiroshima, Japan. Three days later, Nagasaki, Japan was bombed. On August 15, 1945, World War II ended with the surrender of the Japanese.
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  • Developing the Hydrogen Bomb  [*pdf docs indicated with file size]
    Work on the Hydrogen Bomb began during the Manhattan Project, but not until the Soviet's exploded their first atomic bomb did efforts toward building the "Super" begin to take shape.
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AudioAudio & Video
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 Audio History of Nuclear
   Chemistry-13 movies
 Audio Pearl Harbor-1941
 Audio Day of Infamy-1941
 • Atom Bomb-1946
 • Atoms for Peace-1953
 • Smash Ahead
 • About Fallout-1955
 • Operation Q-1955
 • Liberation
 • New Deal-NRA Promo
 • Operation Crossroads
 • Atomic Mushroom
 • Fission Demo
 • Nevada Test Site Movies
 Audio Famous Speeches



Broadband Recommended
  • The Oppenheimer Affair
    Decision and Opinions of the United States Atomic Energy Commission in the Matter of Dr. J. Robert Oppenheimer
    At the height of McCarthyism, Oppenheimer's politics during the 1930s came under scrutiny and ultimately led to his undoing at the hands of the Atomic Energy Commission in 1953. He asked for a security hearing to review the charges, which went on for four weeks and heard testimony from 40 witnesses including Oppenheimer.
    Work on the Hydrogen Bomb began during the Manhattan Project, but not until the Soviet's exploded their first atomic bomb did efforts toward building the "Super" begin to take shape.
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  • Top of PageThe Cuban Missile Crisis
    On October 15, 1962, the Soviet Union was discovered attempting to install nuclear missiles in Cuba. These missiles would have been capable of quickly reaching the United States. President Kennedy responded with a naval blockade. After several days of increasing tensions, the Soviet Union finally agreed to remove the missiles.
    In the spring of 1963 the U.S. quietly removed the missiles from Turkey, that equally threatened the Soviet Union. This crisis is regarded as the closest the world has come to a nuclear exchange.
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  • Arms Control, Deterrence and Nuclear Proliferation
    Even before the first atomic explosion occurred, there were efforts to control the spread and development of nuclear weapons.
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  • Missile Defense
    A defense from ballistic missiles has long been a goal of both the United States and Russia.
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Quotes
Manhattan Project"Nothing could have been more obvious to the people of the early twentieth century than the rapidity with which war was becoming impossible. And as certainly they did not see it. They did not see it until the atomic bombs burst in their fumbling hands."
  -H.G. Wells, The World Set Free, 1914

"Lord, we are especially thankful for nuclear power, the cleanest, safest energy source there is. Except for solar, which is just a pipe dream."
  -Homer SimpsonNuclear Chemistry Crossword Puzzle
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