Manhattan Project History

     Scientists had concluded that enriched samples of uranium 235 were necessary for further research and that the isotope might serve as a more efficient fuel source for an explosive device; thus, finding the most effective method of isotope separation was a high priority.

     Uranium 235 occurred in a ratio of 1:139 in natural uranium 238.  Since they were chemically identical, they could not be separated by chemical means.  And with their masses differing by less than 1 percent, separation by physical means would be extremely difficult and expensive.

     Nevertheless, scientists pressed forward on several complicated techniques of physical separation, all based on the small difference in atomic weight between the uranium isotopes.

     The methods under consideration at the time were:

• Electromagnetic
• Gaseous Diffusion
• Centrifuge
• Liquid Thermal Diffusion

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