Technological Inventions: The Atomic Bomb and its Effect on America

 

 

“When we deny the evil within ourselves, we dehumanize ourselves, and we deprive ourselves not only of our own destiny but of any possibility of dealing with the evil of others” – J. Robert Oppenheimer

 

            The invention of the Atomic Bomb is one of the most important and controversial inventions in world history.  Although Robert Oppenheimer is widely regarded as the “father of the atomic bomb”, the nuclear chain reaction was originally conceived a Hungarian-American named Leo Szilard in 1933 (Rhodes, 13)[1].  Little did Szilard know that just 9 years later, his idea would bring an end to WWII during the deadliest event in human history.  The invention of the Atomic bomb was a major turning point in WWII and helped transform the United States into a world superpower and dictate America’s future role in global affairs.  The nuclear bomb itself was a game changer but the fission technology and threat behind it was equally as important. 

 

            Nuclear fission was first discovered in 1939 by German scientists Otto Hahn and Fritz Strassmann.  German scientists were close to creating the atomic bomb in late 1939 but many of the scientists working on the clandestine project fled Germany in fear of persecution because most of them were Jewish (Sheinkin, 33)[2].  This proved to be very costly for Germany because in that same year, news of Germany’s efforts to weaponize enriched uranium reached U.S President Franklin D. Roosevelt (King, 102)[3].  Shortly thereafter, the United States began its own top-secret nuclear program called the “Manhattan Project”.  The Manhattan Project was led by Robert Oppenheimer and was tasked with the development and production of the nuclear bomb.  Some of the scientists were working on the Germany’s nuclear project before fleeing to the United States for asylum.  After 3 years of development, the first atomic bomb was ready for testing in summer of 1945.  The first test in New Mexico was a huge success but the true destructive power of the bomb was not yet known (Rhodes 232-4)[4].  Although Nazi Germany had already been defeated, the United States was entrenched in brutal war with Japan and needed a resolution.  Invading Japan was deemed to be too risky so U.S President Harry Truman decided to use the atomic bomb on Japan.   Just one month after the successful test in New Mexico, two atomic bombs were dropped on Japan (Hiroshima and Nagasaki) and ultimately ended WWII.   The devastation that the bombs created was unfathomable and to this day remains the two deadliest events ever.  The end of the war marked the beginning of the Nuclear Age and with it, a new world order. 

 

            Further development of nuclear fission technology led to a more acceptable application, nuclear power.  Following WWII the United States began research on the possibility of using nuclear fission to produce power (Ehrlich, 69)[5].  The United States believed that nuclear reactors could replace diesel generators to better provide power and heat to remote locations.  Nuclear energy was generated in a reactor for the first time in the United States in 1951 and proved to be an extremely efficient and relatively inexpensive energy solution.  Furthermore, unlike other types of power production methods, nuclear power is a completely a self-contained power source and does not require oxygen to operate.  This made it an ideal power system for submarines, which were previously hindered by diesel engines that required oxygen to run.  Nuclear propulsion allowed subs to travel infinite distances without needing to surface for air or fuel.   In fact, the range of a nuclear submarine is so far, it is only limited by the amount of food on board.  In 1955, America launched the first nuclear powered submarine, the USS Nautilus. This advantage in submarine technology became key to the U.S during the cold war with Russia.    

 

            After victory in WWII, the United States had been transformed into a military and economic superpower.  America’s military superiority and technological capability was demonstrated to the world when successfully built and used nuclear weapons.  This newfound power was due in large part to the intriguing aspect of nuclear warfare, the threat.  WWII was the first and only time nuclear weapons have been used in combat.  This is very telling of just how serious nuclear war really is.  Simply the threat of nuclear war is a much more effective deterrent than the actual weapon itself.  Since WWII, the countries that pose a true nuclear threat also have the most influence in world affairs (Marquardt, 1.1)[6].  Some other countries have the potential to develop a nuclear program but are restricted either by the immense cost or nonproliferation enforcement by other countries.  The United States and its allies prevent other many of these countries from building or acquiring their own nuclear weapons with the threat of our nuclear cache (Marquardt, 1.5)[7].  Forced intervention is a debatable practice when it dictates how other countries are allowed to operate.  Nuclear weapons are such a strong deterrent that even the United States, which has the second largest nuclear arsenal behind Russia, invaded Iraq “believing” they were hiding WMD (weapons of mass destruction) from U.N inspectors.  “Just as access to wealth in the form of money determines an individual’s opportunities and place in a social hierarchy, access to power in the form of nuclear weapons determines a state’s opportunities and place the international order.’  That’s why most industrial nations have considered acquiring nuclear weapons at one time or another since 1945 even as none has dared to use them.” (Rhodes, 1-2)[8]

 

             It has been 60 years since the atomic bomb was first used.   60 years later the conversation is still broiled in controversy and debate.  One thing that cannot be debated is the significance the atomic bomb had on the United States and its ascent to the elite world power.  The atomic bomb will go down in history as the most significant, influential and devastating human creation in history.   Even today the implications of the atomic bomb and fission technology have not been fully realized or understood.   

 

“I do not believe that civilization will be wiped out in a war fought with the atomic bomb.  Perhaps two-thirds of the people of the earth will be killed.”  – Albert Einstein

 

 

 

 

Works Cited:

 

 [1] Rhodes, Richard. The Making of the Atomic Bomb. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1986. Print.

[2] King, Benjamin, and Timothy J. Kutta. Impact: The History of Germany’s V-weapons in World War II. Rockville Centre, NY: Sarpedon, 1998. Print.

[3] Sheinkin, Steve. Bomb: The Race to Build and Steal the World’s Most Dangerous Weapon. New York: Roaring Brook, 2012. Print.

[4] Rhodes, Richard. The Making of the Atomic Bomb. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1986. Print.

[5] Ehrlich, Paul R. The Cold and the Dark: The World after Nuclear War. London: Sidgwick & Jackson, 1984. Print.

[6] Marquardt, Erich. “Asia Times – Why States Want Nuclear Weapons.” Asia Times – Why States Want Nuclear Weapons. N.p., 09 Aug. 2013. Web. 19 Apr. 2014.

[7] Marquardt, Erich. “Asia Times – Why States Want Nuclear Weapons.” Asia Times – Why States Want Nuclear Weapons. N.p., 09 Aug. 2013. Web. 19 Apr. 2014.

[8] Rhodes, Richard. The Making of the Atomic Bomb. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1986. Print.

American Inventions of WWII: Rise to Supremacy

 

The invention of the Atomic bomb was a major turning point in WWII and helped transform the United States into a world superpower and dictate America’s future role in global affairs.  Nuclear fission was discovered by two German scientists Otto Hahn and Fritz Strassmann in 1939.  German scientists were very close to creating the atomic bomb in late 1939 but, many of the scientists working on the project fled Germany in fear of persecution (Sheinkin, 33).  News of Germany’s efforts to weaponize enriched uranium reached U.S President Roosevelt and shortly after the United States began the nuclear program code named the “Manhattan Project” (King, 102).  One month after the successful test in New Mexico, two atomic bombs were dropped on Japan (Hiroshima and Nagasaki) ultimately ending WWII (Rhodes 232-4).   The devastation that the bombs created was unimaginable and to this day remains the deadliest event ever.  The end of the war marked the beginning of the Nuclear Age and with it, an American superpower.  After victory in WWII, the United States had been transformed to a military and economic giant.  America’s military superiority and technological ability was displayed to the world when it was successful in building and using nuclear arms.

 

 

Works Cited:

 

– King, Benjamin, and Timothy J. Kutta. Impact: The History of Germany’s V-weapons in World War II. Rockville Centre, NY: Sarpedon, 1998. Print.

 

– Rhodes, Richard. The Making of the Atomic Bomb. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1986. Print.

 

– Sheinkin, Steve. Bomb: The Race to Build and Steal the World’s Most Dangerous Weapon. New York: Roaring Brook, 2012. Print.

19th Century Inventions that Shape Today

 

 

If today’s advancements in technology are a preview of the future, we must first take a trip into the past to where it all began.  In my opinion the 19th century was the most important 100 years in the advancement of mankind.   The period between 1801 to 1900, referred to as the 19th century, brought the world closer together than it ever had been before.  The invention of the battery, the steam powered locomotive, the typewriter, the sowing machine, the first light bulb and the list goes on (Van Dulken, 8-16).  It would take years to analyze and examine all the inventions from the 19th century but we should not focus on the inventions themselves, rather on the effect that they had when they were created and how they have created the world we live in today.  

 

Compared to century’s previous, the 19th was the most advanced at the time.  This may sound like an obvious statement but if we really take a look back at time we see no prior 100 year period to bring as much innovation and advancement, minus the 20th century.  As we know the 20th century made way to many more advancements than any other in history but what we see here is a developing pattern of innovation that was catapulted by the 1800’s (Weightman).   In no other consecutive time periods in history (1801-1900, 1901-2000) has technology grown so quickly.  It was many of the inventions created in the 19th century that allowed such rapid growth.  The steam powered locomotive is a prime example.  Trains allowed people, ideas and products to spread long distances like never before (Rosen).  Where would we be without the invention of something as simple as the light bulb or the typewriter?  If we really think about it, these “basic” inventions (as we would refer to them today) have not really been replaced but rather improved.  The computer is the improved typewriter as the internet could be viewed as the improved steam powered locomotive (in the more philosophical sense of moving new ideas and experiences almost anywhere).   The 19th century marked the begging of the new age of  world advancement.

 

 

 

 

 

 

– Rosen, William. The Most Powerful Idea in the World: a Story of Steam, Industry, and Invention. New York: Random House, 2010. Print. 

 

– Dulken, Stephen Van. Inventing the 19th Century: 100 Inventions That Shaped the Victorian Age from Aspirin to the Zeppelin. New York: New York UP, 2001. Print.

 

– Weightman, Gavin. The Industrial Revolutionaries: The Making of the Modern World, 1776-1914. New York: Grove Press, 2007. Print.

 

Inventions that lead to the English Industrial Revolution

 

By the end of the 19th Century, England was the largest and most powerful empire in the world.  It’s control spanning across nearly 25% of the worlds land; it controlled everything from trade to religion.  There were many factors that allowed England to become a world superpower but the most important of these were the development of technology and that aided in the success of the industrial revolution.  England’s industrial revolution started in 1760 and ended around 1850.  Interestingly enough some of the inventions that helped England kick start its industry boom were inventions that were actually created in the years leading up to the industrial revolution.  Which three innovations and inventions were key to England’s rapid expansion?  How do these inventions work and how did these creations affect the development of England?  The invention of the steam engine, the flying shuttle and the iron making process called “puddling and rolling” were the three most important advancements that allowed England to expand into and through the industrial revolution and become the world’s superpower at the time.  

 

Arguably the most important of the three inventions I will be discussing in this essay is the steam engine.  The steam engine affected many different facets of life after its invention in 1679.  Everything from quicker transportation to more efficient textile production was due in large part to the invention of the steam engine.  The steam engine was originally invented to pump water out of coal mines.  Up to the late 17th century, wood was the primary heating source used.  In an effort to find a new, more abundant source for heating coal mines became the rage starting in the late 17-hundreds.  While digging coal mines, water from surrounding aquifers would seep into the mine tunnel and prevent miners from digging any deeper.  Privy to this problem, Thomas Newcomen invented the steam engine to counteract this problem and pump the water out instead of miners carrying buckets of water out manually.  The steam engine that Newcomen invented was very simple and worked by utilizing steam from boiling water.  The steam moved a piston up and down which operated a pump and allowed water to be pumped out of the mine ( Weightman 27- 34 ). Despite the success of the steam engine to clear water out of mines, the idea never really caught on in other industries for some time due to it’s large inefficiency.  It was level of inefficiency was actually so high that it was not used for any other purpose for over 60 years (30-32).  It wasn’t until the mid 1700’s that an instrument builder, James Watt modified Newcomen’s design to be used for other purposes ( Bellis 1-2 ).  His modifications included a rotary movement, making it much more efficient.  The steam engine was key in the development of transportation but also had a large and lasting effect on the textiles industry in England during the time.  Prior to the steam engine, textiles were primarily made in small cottages.  After the invention, the textile industry out grew small cottages and required factories for production ( Rosen 214 ). The steam engine was used in textile factories for heating and operating power looms.  When Watt invented the rotary steam engine there were two textile factories in England, just twenty years later there were over fifty ( Ashton 59 ).  This influx in textile factories, due in large part to the steam engine allowed large factories to be built.  These factories required a large skilled labor force which helped develop rural England into small towns and cities.  This created jobs and allowed infrastructure to be built across England.  Although the steam engine helped develop the textiles industry, the most important textile innovation was actually a simple weaving machine called the flying shuttle.

 

The flying shuttle was a very simple weaving machine designed by James Kay in 1733.  The flying shuttle was improvement on the traditional hand loom, which was used to produce textiles during its time.  A worker would pull a small piece of wood with cotton attached across a wooden board and through threading to weave a piece of cloth.  This invention allowed non-skilled workers to produce more than a highly-skilled worker could complete by hand.  This invention was the beginning of a transition from skilled workers producing goods to non-skilled workers being able to produce those same goods at a more efficient level ( Weightman 54-55 ).  This was extremely important to the industrial revolution because it allowed normal, non-skilled people to acquire jobs that were previously only available to a highly-skilled and trained person.  Furthermore it allowed cotton cloth to be mass-produced at a cheap price.  Kay’s invention was just the beginning of textile advancements.  Many improvements on his design over the following century lead to the cotton boom.  At the beginning of the 1800’s, cotton byproducts represented the majority of all English exports ( Stearns 29-30 ). The development of the textiles industry, the steam engine and the industrial revolution as a whole however would not be possible without major advancements in iron production.

 

Although the steam engine is arguably the most important invention of the industrial revolution, it would not have been very effective without advancements in iron production.  Iron production in Europe remained relatively unchanged in the centuries leading up to the industrial revolution in England.  Iron processes were inconsistent and yielded low quality iron.  This low quality iron was used to make farming tools, bolts, rivets, horseshoes and other utility items used during the time.  Due to the impurities in the iron being produced, it was not feasible to be used in big construction projects.  During the time, iron producers started to try new ways of making iron, attempting to eliminate impurities.  Everything changed in 1785 when iron master Henry Cort created and patented the “puddling and rolling” iron making process.  This new process of iron making eliminated the impurities that plagued iron previously.  Furthermore, the process was cheaper and produced stronger iron than was available before.  This cheaper and stronger iron lead to an industry boom in the construction of buildings, ships, railroads, steam engines and textile advancements ( Weightman 54 – 56 ).  Without iron production advancements, England would not have been able to transition into the Industrial Revolution and solidify itself as a true super power.

 

England’s transformation into a world super power would not have been possible without the industrial revolution.  The success of England’s industrial revolution was due in large part to inventions that made expansion possible.  The invention of the steam engine, the flying shuttle and iron making process “puddling and rolling” made the industrial revolution possible.  What would England look like today without these inventions?  Would England be the super power it is today without the industrial revolution?  These are questions we can only contemplate.  One thing we do know is that the inventions made during the 1700’s shaped the world as we know it today.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Bibliography

 

Ashton, T.S. The Industrial Revolution: 1760-1830. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1997. Print. 

 

Bellis, Mary. “Steam Engine History.” About.com Inventors. About.com, 20 Dec. 2013. Web. 04 Mar. 2014. <http://inventors.about.com/library/inventors/blsteamengine.htm&gt;.

 

Rosen, William. The Most Powerful Idea in the World: a Story of Steam, Industry, and Invention. New York: Random House, 2010. Print. 

 

Stearns, Peter N. The Industrial Revolution in World History. 3rd ed. Boulder: Westview Press, 2007. Print. 

 

Weightman, Gavin. The Industrial Revolutionaries: The Making of the Modern World, 1776-1914. New York: Grove Press, 2007. Print. 

History of the Telescope

TELESCOPE:

One of the most important technological advancements in human history was the invention of the telescope.  The telescope, which was invented by Italian physicist Galileo Galilei in 1606 allowed for many advancements in science and study of the solar system. (Brodrick)  It was also gave way to a large military advantage to armies that had them.  Galileo was tasked with creating the telescope for military purposes but the most notable uses were for solar system research.  The telescope allowed people to study the stars in a way never before available and lead Galileo to prove the Copernican system, proving that the planets in the solar system orbit the sun.  (Rice.edu)

The invention of the telescope was thought to bring a major advantage to the army that was equipped with them.  They allowed troops to see the enemy formations from a far on the battlefield and plan accordingly to attack. (King)  Although this was the main purpose for the telescope originally, it had many uses which outweighed its main military plan.

-Brodrick, James. Galileo; the Man, His Work, His Misfortunes. New York: Harper & Row, 1965. Print.

-Edu, Rice .. “The Galileo Project | Biography | Telescope.” The Galileo Project | Biography | Telescope. Rice, 01 Jan. 2000. Web. 05 Feb. 2014. <http://galileo.rice.edu/bio/narrative_6.html&gt;.

-King, Henry C. The History of the Telescope. Cambridge, MA: Sky, 1955. Print.