How atomic bombs work and why Manhattan Project scientists designed two types of bombs during WWII

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Cillian Murphy in a scene from
Cillian Murphy as J. Robert Oppenheimer in "Oppenheimer."

Universal Pictures

The FBI spent years investigating J. Robert Oppenheimer, who helped make the WWII-ending atomic bomb. During the surveillance, interviewees alleged he was feeding nuclear secrets to the Soviet Union.

Tech Insider : Politics
J. Robert Oppenheimer sitting in front of microphones during a hearing.
J. Robert Oppenheimer testifying at a hearing.

Bettmann / Getty Images Contributor

Haunting photos show the day the US dropped an atomic bomb on Hiroshima

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An aerial photograph of Hiroshima shortly after the
An aerial photograph of Hiroshima shortly after the "Little Boy" atomic bomb was dropped in 1945

Universal History Archive/UIG/Getty

What happened when the Trinity test bomb detonated, from the creation of green glass to fallout that drifted over 1,000 miles

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trinity nuclear bomb test distant yellow mushroom cloud erupting into orange sky
The mushroom cloud of the Trinity nuclear test rises over the New Mexico desert.

National Security Research Center

How a US government program advocated using nuclear explosions for construction, farming radioactive crops, and blasting holes in the moon

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A woman dancing in front of an atomic bomb explosion with the Atomic Energy Commission logo to the left and a snippet of a document stating that the use of explosives is
A composite image showing a nuclear blast, and a logo and promotional writing from the US Atomic Energy Commission.

U.S. Department of Energy; Los Alamos National Laboratory; U.S.

How bricks, a screwdriver, and a 'demon core' of radioactive material killed 2 Manhattan Project scientists

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image of Slotin using a screwdriver to hold open the spheres around the demon core
A recreation of the experiment shows how Louis Slotin used a screwdriver to hold open metallic half-spheres around the "demon core."

Los Alamos National Laboratory

Science advisors for 'Oppenheimer' say Christopher Nolan taught himself quantum physics so well that it made their jobs easy

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Christopher Nolan in a grey suit and dark tie
Christopher Nolan at an Oppenheimer premiere.

Julien De Rosa/AFP/Getty

A secret bomb and ruined film: Why the US government only told Kodak it was going to test nuclear bombs

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A frame on a piece of 35 mm negative film scratched, clouded, and
A damaged roll of 35 millimeter film.

iStock / Getty Images Plus

The remarkable story of the world's first atomic bomb and how Oppenheimer reacted to the historic moment

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gadget bomb
Gadget, the world's first atomic bomb.

US Department of Energy

Who was Lewis Strauss, the villain played by Robert Downey Jr. who tried to frame J. Robert Oppenheimer as a communist?

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Lewis Strauss arriving at the London Airport.
Lewis Strauss arrives at London Airport for a tour of British atomic energy plants, April 21, 1955.

J. Wilds / Stringer

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