Los Alamos National Laboratory (also known as Site Y) was a classified laboratory where work towards the design of nuclear weapons was done. While research had been happening at universities around the country, the coordinators of the Manhattan project wanted a centralized facility whose sole purpose would be the development of nuclear weapons. Los Alamos originally was the site for a school for boys. It was chosen by Oppenheimer because of its isolation, distance from both coasts, sparse nearby population and roads that were both sufficient and controlled.

It was at this site that both the "Little Boy" (bomb dropped on Hiroshima) and the "Fat Man" (bomb dropped on Nagasaki) were developed and built.

Population

Originally Oppenheimer thought between 30 and 100 scientists at the site would be sufficient. Worried he would be unable to keep them their for the duration of the project he allowed them to bring their families. This meant the construction of a school as well as maternity and pediatric medical care facilities. In January of 1943, when the army began work on the site the population was about 1,500. By the end of 1944 there were 5,675 residents.

After the War

After the war the laboratories at Los Alamos continued to work on nuclear weapons and eventually developed the hydrogen bomb. To this day the primary focus of the work at Los Alamos is in the development of nuclear weapons. Other technologies research there has included the development of a particle accelerator, fusion power research, hydrogen fuel cell development, supercomputing, and applied environmental research.

References

Hawkins, D., Truslow, E. C., & Smith, R. C. (1983). Project Y, the Los Alamos story. History of modern physics, 1800-1950, v. 2. Los Angeles: Tomash.