Topic+17+(Los+Alamos)

Los Alamos
Los Alamos, Mexico was the most well-known site of the Manhattan project, and the location of almost all the scientific research. After Groves took command, both he and Oppenheimer realized the need for all the greatest scientific minds to collaborate openly and quickly. Groves thus found a location at Los Alamos where all the scientists were relocated.



Los Alamos was not a randomly chosen location. It was isolated, with only one road in, but relatively close to a major city, so that the shipment of supplies was not a problem. It was far enough inland so that no aerial attack could reach it, and warm enough for work to carry on all year. (Sullivan 29) Initially, Oppenheimer had thought there would be at most 30 people living at Los Alamos. By the end, there were 6500 at “the Hill”. (Walker 27) Los Alamos had the tightest security of all the locations, since all the research was carried out here. Its name was classified, so most residents referred to it as “the Hill”. Scientists, who worked in the Tech lab, were not allowed to discuss their work with anybody, including their spouses. Everyone was watched, all the time. However, in the end, a certain Klaus Fuch, a scientist at Los Alamos, turned out to be a Soviet spy, and had been secretly leaking documents to the Soviets the whole time. In the end, the Soviets were able to get enough knowledge to build the bomb by 1949. (Sullivan 72)