You have asked me to provide you with a summary/ analysis of the government project nicknamed the Manhattan Project. I have reviewed thoroughly all of the pertinent literature and documentation pertaining to the formation and continuing research and development of the Manhattan Project. I have enclosed an overview of all necessary information for which you should be familiar. However, since the project is ongoing and the final product incomplete as of today, the outcome of the most secretive project is as yet unclear.
             The Manhattan Project is the code name of the attempt to produce an atomic bomb. It was named for the Manhattan Engineer District of the US Army Corp of Engineers, because much of the early research was done in New York City. The Manhattan Project is run by Brigadier General Leslie R. Groves, who is responsible to a Military Policy Committee chaired by Dr. Vannevar Bush (Conant, pg. 1).
             I feel it necessary to take you through the developments in atomic research which led to the need for such an immense undertaking of time and money. In December of 1938, scientists in Germany, which has unfortunately proven to be the locus for theoretical physics, discovered nuclear fission in Uranium. Fearing that research into nuclear fission by the Nazis could lead to the construction of an extremely powerful bomb of unheard of destructive power, physicists Leo Szilard and Albert Einstein wrote letters to President Franklin Roosevelt warning of this possible threat and urging the US government to conduct its own nuclear research (Szilard, pg. 10). President Roosevelt agrees and research is begun.
             The problem for scientists turns out to be separating the isotope U235 (which is the substance determined to be best suited for the bomb) from U238. Since no singular path is guaranteed to work, many different theories have to be entertained and experimented with. The Office of Scientific Research and Development (OSRD) ...