Guessing is not a strategy: How to build decision velocity with AI and real-time data
June 10, 2026 | Live Webinar
How the Atomic Bomb Got Built (Part 1 of 4)
Bob Weinstein is a journalist who covers technology, project management, the workplace and career development.
On July 16, 1945, the world’s first nuclear device was tested in the southern New Mexico desert at Los Alamos National Laboratory’s V Site. The spot is marked with a small obelisk and dubbed “Ground Zero,” the same name given to the several blocks that once housed the WorldTradeCenter’s TwinTowers in Manhattan.
The word “bomb” was never used on that historic day in 1945. Instead, it was referred to as the “gadget” or the “thing” throughout the Manhattan Project, the code name for the project. It was so named because its director, Bernard Baruch, lived in Manhattan, as did many of the other principals.
The test explosion was code-named “Trinity,” and is considered by many historians to be the single most important event of the 20th century.
In this four-part story, you’re going to find out how it was among the most complex and intricate projects ever executed. The Manhattan Project ended World War ll, but it also ushered in a new age of destructive nuclear weaponry such as the world had never known.
The project, which took three years and cost more than $2 billion, was led by Maj. Gen. Leslie R. Groves, a skilled project manager who orchestrated, planned and summoned the most brilliant minds of the time to work on the effort, in addition to building …
Please log in or sign up below to read the rest of the article.
ADVERTISEMENTS
|
While hunting in Africa, I shot an elephant in my pajamas. How an elephant got into my pajamas I'll never know. - Groucho Marx |