Harnessing the energy within the atom was thought to be impossible, as Einstein

famously said, "It would mean splitting the nucleus at will." Therefore, many people
believed that nuclear energy was unattainable.

Thinking about splitting the nucleus, we would need to break it apart with something,
and that something could be particles. The smallest particle known at that time, capable
of breaking a nucleus apart, was the proton. Breaking a nucleus with a proton would
require the proton to overcome the electric repulsion from the positive nucleus and
collide with it. This event was unlikely to occur, and a significant amount of energy
would be needed to overcome this repulsion. Hence, people did not believe that nuclear
energy could be harnessed.

Then came the revolutionary discovery of the neutron by Sir James Chadwick in 1932, a
neutral particle not repelled by the atom at all. In 1938, two German physicists, Otto
Hahn and Fritz Strassman, split the uranium-235 atom using a neutron, achieving the
first instance of nuclear fission.

This event horrified the world because it introduced the possibility of obtaining nuclear
energy, which, during wartime, had potential for misuse. The Nazis assigned Heisenberg
to build an atomic bomb, while the USA had Oppenheimer leading their effort.
Interestingly, both Oppenheimer and Heisenberg had studied theoretical physics at the
University of Göttingen under the same professors, pioneers of Quantum Physics Niels
Bohr and Max Born. Oppenheimer expanded Heisenberg's work on Quantum Mechanics
through numerous papers. However, they found themselves in a race to develop the
most destructive weapon in human history.

While nuclear fission became possible, significant challenges remained before the bomb
could be built, particularly in ensuring a sustained chain reaction. The key was finding an
element that could sustain nuclear fission and prevent it from dying out. This required
an element that, on average, would release 2/3 neutrons after each fission, thus
maintaining the reaction. Uranium-238, though abundant, is not fissionable. Enrichment
of Uranium-238 would make Uranium-235 and Plutonium-239. These synthesized
elements released an average of 2.5 neutrons per fission, making them ideal choices.
The USA initiated the enrichment and extraction processes for these elements using
various methods.

The Nazis had a head start in bomb development as they achieved nuclear fission first,
with a project known as Uranverein. According to the Farm Hall recordings, where
German physicists were detained in England, it was concluded that they didn't want
Germany to win the war. Germany lacked the necessary resources, funds, and expertise
to build the bomb. Heisenberg faced challenges in obtaining pure Uranium-235 and was
more interested in creating a nuclear reactor for power than a chaotic bomb, though he
concealed his motives from the Nazis. The USA initiated efforts to hinder the German
project, known as the Alsos Mission. Agents were instructed to eliminate Heisenberg if
he seemed close to creating a bomb. The Germans struggled with uranium-238
enrichment and stable chain reactions. The Leipzig L-IV incident in 1942 further dashed
Germany's bomb-making hopes.

At Los Alamos, Oppenheimer and his team designed the bomb. The two prominent
designs were the Gun-Type, where conventional explosives pushed two blocks of
radioactive material to criticality for fission, and the Implosive, where explosives
compressed a radioactive core to increase density and achieve fission. Both designs
presented significant challenges that required rigorous solutions.

The Gun-Type design suffered from efficiency issues, as only a small portion of the
element would undergo fission. It also faced problems with lubrication, ensuring swift
criticality of the two divisions. Due to its inefficiency, the Gun-Type design was
discarded.

Regarding the Implosive Design, it was more efficient than the Gun-Type. However,
synchronizing core compression to achieve criticality posed a challenge. The spherical
shockwaves from conventional explosive detonations didn't match the plutonium mass's
shape, similar to squeezing water in your hands. Jon Von Neumann addressed this by
adjusting shockwave travel times, using low-velocity explosives for direct paths and
high-velocity explosives for indirect paths. This synchronized the shockwave's arrival at
the core's surface.

In 1942, while the Germans were destroying their own labs, Edward Teller, the Father of
the Hydrogen Bomb, raised concerns about a chain reaction of nitrogen fusion in the
atmosphere causing Earth's destruction. Enrico Fermi joked about it. However, everyone
soon worked intensely to make sure that it was just a joke.

For nuclear fusion to occur, extremely high temperatures are necessary. An atomic
bomb's detonation meets this condition, creating a plasma from the atmospheric gases
around the fireball. Nitrogen atoms in this plasma could potentially fuse due to their
instability. The crucial aspect was determining if energy production exceeded energy
loss in an area, which would sustain the reaction. The main energy form of energy
production after the detonation is the nitrogen fusion and the primary energy loss form
is Bremsstrahlung (braking radiation) from electrons in the plasma. Oppenheimer's team
had estimates for all variables except the probability of nitrogen atom fusion in the air.
They assumed the worst-case scenario of every collision resulting in fusion. Calculations
showed that energy loss through Bremsstrahlung radiation exceeded energy produced
by nitrogen fusion for most temperatures, indicating an unsustainable reaction and
humanity's safety. At higher temperatures, energy production closely matched energy
loss, posing a slight probability of a catastrophic event.

The movie's emphasis on a self-sustaining nitrogen fusion reaction causing global

destruction was an exaggeration, given nitrogen's stability compared to other elements,
and the short confinement time of nitrogen in plasma.