Manhattan Project Quiz!

[Lucky]

I´d like to test your knowledge of some more recent events, about a Wonder of the World.
The (in)famous Manhattan Project, the building of the atomic bomb.
I think that several questions should be quite easy, especially for you Americans. But others could prove more difficult.
Here goes:

1. Why was it called the Manhattan Project? What was the official acronym?

2. When did Albert Einstein wrote his famous letter to President Roosevelt and what was written in it?
Partly answered by Ohwell. And when?
3. After receiving this letter what was the first presidential action (which organisation was founded )?

4. Who was appointed head of the National Defense Research Comittee of which the former organisation was now part? He later became head of the new Office of Scientific Research and Development and was the civilian Manhattan project leader.

5. On November 9, 1941, the 3rd National Acadamy of Sciences agreed with the British MAUD report from July 2, 1941. What was their conclusion?

6. When did President Roosevelt finally approve the production of the atomic bomb?

7. The US army began to take part in the Manhattan Project in March 1942. Who was appointed head of the project on September 17, 1942?
Answered by Daryl17.
8. Name the three major construction sites! (2 for production, 1 testing facility) Where were they?
Partly answered by Ohwell and Daryl17. 1 site left!
9. Who was the leading scientist for the Manhattan Project, later appointed director of the testing facility? Did he win a Nobel Prize?
Answered by Ohwell.
10. Which famous italian Nobel Prize winning scientist achieved the first self-sustaining nuclear chain reaction? And where? When?
Answered by Daryl17, PinkyGen and Ohwell.
11. How high was the government investment for the project? How many people were employed at its peak?
Partly answered by PinkyGen. How many employees?
12. When did the work begin at the main site (testing facility)?

13. Did President Truman change anything after he was briefed about the Manhattan project?

14. When and where was the first atomic bomb tested?
Answered by Daryl17 and PinkyGen.
15. What was the codename for the site? What kind of fissionable material was used?
Answered by Ohwell.
16. How far away were the closest observation bunkers for the test?
Answered by Daryl17.
17. Which two bombs were used in the war (nickname)? What material? How heavy?
Answered by Ohwell and Daryl17.
18. Name the 2 B-29 bombers and their pilots? Where did they lift off? What were the target cities? And when did they bombard?
Answered by Daryl17 and PinkyGen.
19. How much TNT would you need as an aquivalent of those 2 bombs?
Answered by cephyn.
20. How high was the death toll in both cities?
Answered by Ohwell and Daryl17.

This is my first quiz here, so don´t hit me!

EDIT: First and best correct answers.

 

[Ohwell]

2- The inportance of sudies on nuclear fission and the danger of Hitler's research.

4- Robert Oppenheimer???

7- Oppenheimer???

10- Enrico Fermi at Los Alamos Laboratory in New Mexico

15- Trinity- Uranium

16- 15 miles

17- Little boy- Uranium Fat Man- Plutonium

19- 1000 Megatons of TNT

20- Hiroshima- 20,000? Nagasaki- 15,000?

 

[Lucky]

Originally posted by Ohwell
2- The inportance of sudies on nuclear fission and the danger of Hitler's research.

Almost correct and when did he write it?

4- Robert Oppenheimer???

Wrong!

7- Oppenheimer???

Wrong!

10- Enrico Fermi at Los Alamos Laboratory in New Mexico

Fermi is right, but NOT in Los Alamos. And when?

15- Trinity- Uranium

The Trinity site is correct! But the Trinity device was a Plutonium bomb!

16- 15 miles

Wrong!

17- Little boy- Uranium Fat Man- Plutonium

Correct! And how heavy?

19- 1000 Megatons of TNT

Wrong! Much more!

20- Hiroshima- 20,000? Nagasaki- 15,000?

Wrong! Many more!


Oppenheimer is the answer to another question!

 

[Ohwell]

Doh!

I don't know any dates

8. I don't know exact names but I know the state of one of them- Washington, on some river. The testing site, uh, Los Alamos??

9- Here is Oppenheimer! He did win a nobel prize, I think.

19- Wild guess- 100,000 MT

20- Another wild guess- 200,000 Hiroshima, 150,000 Nagasaki

(I just multiplied by ten )

 

[Lucky]

Originally posted by Ohwell
Doh!

I don't know any dates

8. I don't know exact names but I know the state of one of them- Washington, on some river. The testing site, uh, Los Alamos??

State Washington and Los Alamos is correct!

9- Here is Oppenheimer! He did win a nobel prize, I think.

Correct this time! But he did´nt win a Nobel Prize! Instead he even headed a laboratory full of other scientists WITH a Nobel Prize!

19- Wild guess- 100,000 MT

Wrong again! But sorry, :crazyeyes I didn´t see the MegaTons in your first guess! It is just tons but another number!

20- Another wild guess- 200,000 Hiroshima, 150,000 Nagasaki

(I just multiplied by ten )

That´s pretty good.
Hiroshima: 70,000 immediatly, after 5 years 200,000
Nagasaki: 40,000 immediatly, later 140,000

Anybody else? Come on!
Not bad, Ohwell, now let others have a guess!

 

[cephyn]

19 - they were approxomately 15 Kiloton bombs -- far less than 1000 Megatons. I don't think anyone has ever made a 1000 megaton bomb.

 

[Lucky]

Originally posted by cephyn
19 - they were approxomately 15 Kiloton bombs -- far less than 1000 Megatons. I don't think anyone has ever made a 1000 megaton bomb.

That is much better.
Little Boy was ~20 kT TNT!
And Fat Man was 21 kT TNT!
And yes, nobody has made a 1000 MT bomb!


EDIT:
Ok, maybe I´m able to be back tomorrow evening, but most likely just on Tuesday!
We still have: 1, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 11, 12, 13, 14, 16, 18
partly: 2, 8, 10, 17
So keep the answers coming!
Good Night!

 

[Daryl17]

I´d like to test your knowledge of some more recent events, about a Wonder of the World.
The (in)famous Manhattan Project, the building of the atomic bomb.
I think that several questions should be quite easy, especially for you Americans. But others could prove more difficult.
Here goes:



7. General Leslie R. Groves

8. I only know the name of two: Oak Ridge for production, Los Alamos for research.

9. Robert Oppenheimer

10. Enrico Fermi. In December 1942 in a squash court in some university, don't remember where.

14. On July 16, 1945 at 5:29:45 am in southwest New Mexico

15. Trinity; Plutonium (sidenote: the yield was 18.6 kt)

16. 10,000 yards.

17. Fat Man (Plutonium, 9,700 pounds) and Little Boy (uranium, 8,900 pounds)

18. Enola Gay (Hiroshima) and Bocks Car (Nagasaki). Don't remember pilots names, Hiroshima at 8:15 am, not sure about Nagasaki)

19. Little Boy was between 12.5 and 15 Kt and Fat Man between 19 and 22.

20. About 70,000 in Hiroshima and 40,000 in Nagasaki. (If i must go off on a soapbox, far more horrible deaths then most of want to think). God knows how many people died from starvation, loss of blood, disease, suicide, or jsut plain emotional shock..... But at least 100,000 in each city.

 

[PinkyGen]

Originally posted by Lucky



10. Which famous italian Nobel Prize winning scientist achieved the first self-sustaining nuclear chain reaction? And where? When?

Fermi, under the football field of U. Chicago. Guess date of 1942.

Originally posted by Lucky



11. How high was the government investment for the project? How many people were employed at its peak?

I know that around 2 billion of 1940's dollars was spent on it.

Originally posted by Lucky

14. When and where was the first atomic bomb tested?

Almorgodo New Mexico, also the seen of a Harry Potter book burning. July 16th, at 5:30 AM

Originally posted by Lucky

18. Name the 2 B-29 bombers and their pilots? Where did they lift off? What were the target cities? And when did they bombard?

Enola Gay. piloted by then Colonel Paul W. Tibbets. Lifted off from the Tinian, at 6:45 AM, August 6th. Dropped at 8:16. Hiroshima

Bock's Car, Major Charles W. Sweeny. Had poor weather on the way. Original target was Kokura, but this was under cloud cover. Then went to Nagasaki. They supposedly aimed at the break in the clouds (but really didn't want to carry the bomb back). Because of this, the 2nd bomb was a mile off target.

Originally posted by Lucky

19. How much TNT would you need as an aquivalent of those 2 bombs?

Hiroshima's little boy: 12,5000 tons.
Nagasaki's Fat Man; 22,000

 

[Lucky]

Originally posted by Daryl17
7. General Leslie R. Groves

Correct! Actually he was Colonol when appointed and promoted to Brigadier General six days later!

8. I only know the name of two: Oak Ridge for production, Los Alamos for research.

Correct! The Clinton Engineer Works in Oak Ridge, Tennessee for producing fissionable material.
And Los Alamos, New Mexico, was the main complex.
What was the third complex in the state Washington?

9. Robert Oppenheimer

Correct!

10. Enrico Fermi. In December 1942 in a squash court in some university, don't remember where.

Correct! It was at Stagg Field Chicago on December 2nd, 1942!

14. On July 16, 1945 at 5:29:45 am in southwest New Mexico

Correct! Very good!

15. Trinity; Plutonium (sidenote: the yield was 18.6 kt)

Absolutely correct!

16. 10,000 yards.

Correct again!

17. Fat Man (Plutonium, 9,700 pounds) and Little Boy (uranium, 8,900 pounds)

Almost correct!
Little Boy: uranium, 9,700 pounds
Fat Man: plutonium, 10,000 pounds

18. Enola Gay (Hiroshima) and Bocks Car (Nagasaki). Don't remember pilots names, Hiroshima at 8:15 am, not sure about Nagasaki)

Correct!

19. Little Boy was between 12.5 and 15 Kt and Fat Man between 19 and 22.

Almost correct! See above!

20. About 70,000 in Hiroshima and 40,000 in Nagasaki. (If i must go off on a soapbox, far more horrible deaths then most of want to think). God knows how many people died from starvation, loss of blood, disease, suicide, or jsut plain emotional shock..... But at least 100,000 in each city.

Very good! (Or maybe not ) See above also!

 

[Lucky]

Originally posted by PinkyGen

10. Fermi, under the football field of U. Chicago. Guess date of 1942.

Absolutely right!

11. I know that around 2 billion of 1940's dollars was spent on it.

Correct!
It ultimately became an investment in excess of 2 billion US$ !

14. Almorgodo New Mexico, also the seen of a Harry Potter book burning. July 16th, at 5:30 AM

Correct!
Alamogordo Bombing Range also known as Jornada del Muerto, or Journey of Death, 210 miles south of Los Alamos.

15. Enola Gay. piloted by then Colonel Paul W. Tibbets. Lifted off from the Tinian, at 6:45 AM, August 6th. Dropped at 8:16. Hiroshima

Bock's Car, Major Charles W. Sweeny. Had poor weather on the way. Original target was Kokura, but this was under cloud cover. Then went to Nagasaki. They supposedly aimed at the break in the clouds (but really didn't want to carry the bomb back). Because of this, the 2nd bomb was a mile off target.

100% Correct! Very, very good!

16. Hiroshima's little boy: 12,5000 tons.
Nagasaki's Fat Man; 22,000

Not quite! See above!

 

[Lucky]

That´s it for today!

We still have:
Completely: 1, 3, 4, 5, 6, 12, 13
Partly:
2. When did Einstein write his famous letter?
8. Name of the site in Washington!
11. How many max. employees?

Bye!

 

[Lucky]

Nobody else?
Are the remaining questions too hard or uninteresting?
I´d like to get some feedback whether this quiz was o.k.!

I will be posting all answers on Sunday!

So if anybody wants to have a try, go ahead!

 

[tetley]

Hi Lucky, I think the questions are interesting and good, but I know they're too hard for me. I'm sure a little research could easily turn up the answers, though, which I guess no one's doing. No fault of your own.

 

[Lucky]

Ok, it´s Sunday! As it seems nobody knows the remaining answers I´ll just end this quiz summarizing everything.

1. Why was it called the Manhattan Project? What was the official acronym?

It was called Manhattan Project because when the US-Army became part of it, the first military commander, Colonel James C. Marshall, moved from a laboratory in Syracuse to New York City, where he established the Manhattan Engineer District.
The acronym for the overall project was simply S-1.

2. When did Albert Einstein wrote his famous letter to President Roosevelt and what was written in it?
Partly answered by Ohwell. And when?

Albert Einstein wrote his famous letter on August 2, 1939, alerting him of the importance of research on nuclear chain reaction and the possibility that this research might lead to the development of powerful bombs.

3. After receiving this letter what was the first presidential action (which organisation was founded )?

None. Over 2 months later President Roosevelt finally took action and sets up the Advisory Committee on Uranium.

4. Who was appointed head of the National Defense Research Comittee of which the former organisation was now part? He later became head of the new Office of Scientific Research and Development and was the civilian Manhattan project leader.

In June 1940 Vannevar Bush is appointed to this position. He is the driving force behind the project and the one to brief the President on the developments.

5. On November 9, 1941, the 3rd National Acadamy of Sciences agreed with the British MAUD report from July 2, 1941. What was their conclusion?

They conclude and agree that an atomic bomb is possible.

6. When did President Roosevelt finally approve the production of the atomic bomb?

On January 19, 1942, the President approves the production of the bomb.

7. The US army began to take part in the Manhattan Project in March 1942. Who was appointed head of the project on September 17, 1942?
Answered by Daryl17.

The Army appointed Colonel Leslie R. Groves to head the project. He is promoted to Brigadier General 6 days later!

8. Name the three major construction sites! (2 for production, 1 testing facility) Where were they?
Partly answered by Ohwell and Daryl17. 1 site left!

The first production plant is constructed in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, the Clinton Engineer Works.
Then the main laboratory at Los Alamos, New Mexico, is constructed.
The Hanford Engineer Works in Hanford, Washington, is the second production facility.

9. Who was the leading scientist for the Manhattan Project, later appointed director of the testing facility? Did he win a Nobel Prize?
Answered by Ohwell.

J. Robert Oppenheimer, and he didn´t win a Nobel Prize, but he lead a project full of several Nobel Prize winners!

10. Which famous italian Nobel Prize winning scientist achieved the first self-sustaining nuclear chain reaction? And where? When?
Answered by Daryl17, PinkyGen and Ohwell.

Enrico Fermi and his group achieved the first self-sustaining nuclear chain reaction at 3:20pm on December 2, 1942, at Stagg Field, Chicago.

11. How high was the government investment for the project? How many people were employed at its peak?
Partly answered by PinkyGen. How many employees?

It ultimately became in investment in excess of $2 billion, the most expensive government project until then, only to be topped by the Apollo program.
Approximately 130,000 people were employed at its peak, comparable to the labor force size of the American automobile industry.

12. When did the work begin at the main site (testing facility)?

The first scientist arrive at Los Alamos in March 1943, research on the bomb design begins in April.

13. Did President Truman change anything after he was briefed about the Manhattan project?

No.

14. When and where was the first atomic bomb tested?
Answered by Daryl17 and PinkyGen.

The atomic age began at 5:30am on Monday, July 16, 1945, when the Trinity device exploded at the Alamogordo Bombing Range known as Jornada del Muerto, Journey of Death, 210 miles south of Los Alamos, 28 miles south-east of San Antonio, NM.

15. What was the codename for the site? What kind of fissionable material was used?
Answered by Ohwell.

Same as the device it was named Trinity Test Site, it was a plutonium bomb, releasing approx. 18,6 kT of power.

16. How far away were the closest observation bunkers for the test?
Answered by Daryl17.

Three observation bunkers to the north, west and south were only 10,000 yards away!:mutant:

17. Which two bombs were used in the war (nickname)? What material? How heavy?
Answered by Ohwell and Daryl17.

A uranium bomb, nicknamed Little Boy, weighing 9,700 pounds.
And a plutonium bomb, nicknamed Fat Man, weighing 10,000 pounds.

18. Name the 2 B-29 bombers and their pilots? Where did they lift off? What were the target cities? And when did they bombard?
Answered by Daryl17 and PinkyGen.

The first one, Enola Gay, carrying Little Boy, was piloted by Colonel Paul Tibbets. It took off from Tinian Island, headed to Hiroshima and dropped its load at an altitude of 31,000 feet at approx. 8:15am Hiroshima time on August 6, 1945.
The second plane, Bocks Car, carrying Fat Man, was piloted by Charles Sweeney. It also took off from Tinian Island and headed for its primary target, Kokura Arsenal, but after unwelcome weather and flak Sweeney switched to his secondary target, Nagasaki, where he dropped his load in the first run at 11:01am on August 9, 1945.

19. How much TNT would you need as an aquivalent of those 2 bombs?
Answered by cephyn.

Little Boy had more power than 20,000 tons of TNT.
Fat Man equaled 21,000 tons of TNT.

20. How high was the death toll in both cities?
Answered by Ohwell and Daryl17.

In Hiroshima 70,000 people were dead immediatly with another 70,000 injured. By the end of 1945 the death toll rose to 140,000 people and 5 years later it reached 200,000 people.
In Nagasaki there were 40,000 people dead and 60,000 injured, by January 1946 70,000 people had died, which eventually lead to a total of 140,000.
These numbers do NOT include the high amount cancer patients and other radiation diseases, who died due to the long-term effects of atomic bombs even several decades later.

The Manhattan project was one of the human masterpieces of our history, as much a triumph of engineering as of science.
But it was also one of the deadliest, preceding moments of absolute inhumanity, revealing the true destructive human nature.


So much for this quiz. I hope you found it interesting and maybe someone even learned something new.
I think I´ll make some more quizes about modern (scientific) human history soon, but I have 3 exams upcoming, so not too soon.

Any comments are still welcome and more detail on this project are available, too!