The Development of
the Atomic Bomb

This magazine article appeared four weeks after the dramatic finish of the bloodiest war in history, and tells the tale of the research and development that went into the creation of the Atomic Bomb.

“The story behind the atomic bomb is a detective story with no Sherlock Holmes for a hero. The number of scientists who took part in the search was without parallel… The dramatic story begins with Dr. Lise Meitner (1878 – 1968), a woman scientist and director of the Kaiser Wilhelm Institute in Berlin. In 1938 Dr. Meitner is bombarding uranium atoms with neutrons and then submitting the uranium to chemical analysis. To her amazement…”