The Calutron Girls

Today’s post, from Alyssa Moore, in the National Archives History Office, looks at the Calutron Girls in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, during World War II. Calutron was an acronym for “California University cyclotron,” named after the University of California, Berkeley, where the devices were developed. The highly anticipated July 21 release of Christopher Nolan’s film Oppenheimer, … Continue reading The Calutron Girls

Little Boy: The First Atomic Bomb

August 6, 2020, marks the 75th anniversary of the dropping of the first atomic bomb. Today’s post comes from Michael J. Hancock, an archives technician at the National Archives at College Park, MD.  Two American atomic bombs ended World War II in August 1945, and the devastation will be forever remembered. In an instant when … Continue reading Little Boy: The First Atomic Bomb