Did Einstein help toward creating the Atom Bomb?

I have done alot of research into this and Einstein helped make the bomb but was not instramental.

His formulas were used to develop it but that was not the intention of his formulas.

The manhatten project was so secret that they had different people working on different parts. Einstein was working on part of it for the government, but being the smart guy that he is figured out that they were making a bomb and refused to help any longer.

And to the question about how many nukes were in WW2. We had 2 they were called something like fat boy and little boy; because of the different groups working on the project 2 very different bombs were created. There were also a couple other countries that were close to having if not having an atomic bomb, and Im pretty sure that Russia was one of the countries.

One was dropped on Hiroshima and another one on Nagasaki, and another one test in New Mexico.

Did the U.S. have a nuke at disposal when they threatened Japan to nuke Tokyo if they did not surrender?

Originally posted by surfup
One was dropped on Hiroshima and another one on Nagasaki, and another one test in New Mexico.

Did the U.S. have a nuke at disposal when they threatened Japan to nuke Tokyo if they did not surrender?

Not sure of another nuke, but the Soviets were advancing on the Japanese as well and they had their backs up against the wall. They had to surrender.

Not sure of another nuke, but the Soviets were advancing on the Japanese as well and they had their backs up against the wall. They had to surrender.

I remember seeing a Japenese video showing that the common people were getting ready to fight off the Japs with forks and knives, doubt they would have surrendered.

Back to the question: So U.S. gambled on Japan surrendering and won?

Back to the question: So U.S. gambled on Japan surrendering and won?

I don't think they were gambling. They could have sit back and made more nukes. The pupose of the Bomb was to disspirit the Japanese because, you are right, the closer the Amer. got to the main islands the fiercer the Jap. fought. The intent worked, how do you fight something like that?

Originally posted by surfup

Not sure of another nuke, but the Soviets were advancing on the Japanese as well and they had their backs up against the wall. They had to surrender.

I remember seeing a Japenese video showing that the common people were getting ready to fight off the Japs with forks and knives, doubt they would have surrendered.

Back to the question: So U.S. gambled on Japan surrendering and won?

The US conundrum was, if we invade the Japanese mainland, we will probably lose at around 100,000 troops, or we can use our new bombs and end it quickly. The US also had added incentive to beat the Soviets to Japan. The Soviets were actively fighting the Japanese after the Germans had been defeated.(that is not usually taught in school for some reason)

So, yes, the US gambled and it payed off. They had to. the Japanese fanatacism was unmatched in the 20th century. The allies were pulling Japanese soldiers out of the island jungles until almost 30 years after the war who still thought the war was still on.

And please don't use the term "Japs" anymore. It is offensive. Americans of Japanese decent will be the first to tell you that.

Sorry about my wrong misuse of the term, I saw in couple of history books and thought it was just a word.

Japanese were more willing to fight the war than any of the allies. The official estimate for the invasion was 1 million, although some official later acknowledged it was 500,000 (my memory is fussy).

Many historians argue that the number was very very less, maybe even just a 1000, at which level Truman decided to drop the bomb.

Back to the question: Lucky Americans.

[Edited on 4/2/2004 by surfup]

Towards the end of World War two the communist Soviet Union had eyes on invading Japan with American aid. The Soviets were dedicated to invading main Japan on an August 8th date We had defeated the main threat in Europe and now had to deal with a people who would never surrender as long as there was a threat to their emperor who they believed to be divine or divinely chosen. America with two nuclear bombs and President Harry Truman did not want the Soviet Union to have anything to do with reconstructing Japan, or anything else as is evident by the Truman Doctrine and the Marshall plans. Well needless to say Truman authorized the dropping of the bombs without thoroughly trying other avenues of delegation so that he would not have to excercise joint power with the Soviets. Although the history books say UNCONDITIONAL SURRENDER OF THE JAPANESE TO AMERICA, this is not entirely true because America had to ensure the safety of the emperor. The history books also say that Truman dropped the bombs to save ONE MILLION american lives which would have been lost in a land war with japan. For America to build another bomb would have taken a significant amount of time. And the name of the game at this point was beating the Soviets to the Japanese mainland.
The bomb that was exploded in New Mexico was remotely exploded and not like the bombs dropped on Japan. Those bombs were as said different from each other so that if one type of nuclear bomb did not explode the other hopefully would. Truman took a shot and won....

edit: quite sorry i did not notice when i started writing this post that it had been said already. When i started my response the others had not been posted. sorry again.

[Edited on 2-4-2004 by Aero]

[Edited on 2-4-2004 by Aero]

Originally posted by Aero
Towards the end of World War two the communist Soviet Union had eyes on invading Japan with American aid. The Soviets were dedicated to invading main Japan on an August 8th date We had defeated the main threat in Europe and now had to deal with a people who would never surrender as long as there was a threat to their emperor who they believed to be divine or divinely chosen. America with two nuclear bombs and President Harry Truman did not want the Soviet Union to have anything to do with reconstructing Japan, or anything else as is evident by the Truman Doctrine And the name of the game at this point was beating the Soviets to the Japanese mainland.

Very good post.

The Japanese were the very last major power in the world to have a "Divine Right" power structure. I feel that some of the people who have a problem with the US dropping the bombs do not truly understand "divine right" fanatacism which consists of you worshiping your leader as an actual god-like being. They should watch the documentary on the last Japanese soldier pulled out of the Jungle in 1973!!! He thought the war was still on and kept fighting the local islanders all those years. Imagine several THOUSANDS more like him defending against allied forces on the Japanese main islands in 1945? It would be the stuff of legend.

Truman as you clearly pointed out, definitely wanted to beat the Soviets to the punch. The US, UK and the rest of the allies were already suspicious of Communism and just wanted to get in there and secure Japan before communism could get a foot-hold there. Stalin in 1945 Japan? I can't even begin to imagine what might have come out of that.....

[Edited on 2-4-2004 by Facefirst]

Originally posted by surfup
I was wondering if anyone knew to what extent did Albert Einstein participate in the Manhattan Project or if he even participated in the project.

I remember him sending a letter to FDR that the Nazis have successfully completed atmoic fission of uranium, which is the first part toward creating the atom bomb, but did he help in the Manhattan project?

Hardly Einstein was out of the way even in Germany and never involved in US Atomic
Bomb development.
I see the FDR letter this way in a recent post.

Szilárd saw German A bomb plans and got Einstein to sign his letter to FDR
to urge the US production of an Atomic Bomb before Germany completed its plans.
Some people think the plans were stolen and came to America with Einstein so it
took that long. A bomb scientists hardly consulted Einstein who had many quantum
theory formulas. Tesla wrote in English in America to US government about his
force rays and power plants to no avail.

Further ideas run like this:
President Truman didn't even know we had a Manhattan Project or the Atomic Bomb
or where he got the ones he used. Who even knew of this project.
Truman said lets use the A bomb but had no idea where the bombs were coming
from which could have been German captures.

ED: Did Einstein talk and write in English being in Germany all his life.
Tesla wrote over 50 years in the US with many government proposals.
The A bomb question may have been handled all along by intel agents.

Without E=MC2, the atom bomb wouldn't have been possible. So yes, I'd say Einstein had at least an influence in its development.

He also wrote a letter to the President urging that USA complete a bomb.

Not sure if he had any actual hand in the development though, he doesn't appear to have done.