According to Merriam-Webster, nuclear fission is defined as “the splitting of an atomic nucleus resulting in the release of large quantities of energy” (Nuclear Fission). In the book Remembering the Manhattan Project: Perspectives on the Making of the Atomic Bomb and Its Legacy, Richard Rhodes, an American journalist and historian, argues that fission was discovered essentially by accident. On December 21, 1938, German physicists Otto Hahn and Fritz Strassman carried out an experiment in which they bombarded uranium atoms with neutrons (Rhodes 17). They found that this procedure created mutated atoms with strange characteristics. Hahn and Strassman discovered that neutrons split uranium nuclei in two, producing radioactive barium and krypton (Rhodes 18). Rhodes explains that physicists observed that the reaction was extremely exothermic, producing about ten times the energy needed for fission. After publishing their findings, physicists around the world recreated the experiment. After conducting his own fission experiment, Enrico Fermi, an Italian physicist at the University of Colombia, said, “One little bomb like that and everything would disappear” (qtd. Rhodes 19). Many physicists around the world have come to the same conclusion; this reaction could be used to develop an atomic weapon. According to Rhodes, this discovery made the development of atomic weapons seem essential to many countries because the only way to defend themselves against atomic weapons was to possess their own similar weapons. In 1940, two physicists, Otto Frisch and Rudolf Peirels, sent a warning to the British government stating: "Germany is, or will be, in possession of this weapon, it must be realized that no shelter is available." ..... middle of paper ...... film Critique 27.3 (2003): 40-52. Premier Academic Research. Internet. November 1, 2013. Rhodes, Richard. “The Manhattan Project – A Millennial Transformation.” Remembering the Manhattan Project: Perspectives on the Making of the Atomic Bomb and Its Legacy. New Jersey: World Scientific, 2004. 15-38. Print.Roland, Alex. “Was the nuclear arms race deterministic? Technology and Culture 51.2 (2010): 444-461. MUSE project. Internet. November 1, 2013. Stimson, Henry L. “The Decision to Use the Atomic Bomb.” Decision to use the atomic bomb (2009): 1. Academic Search Premier. Internet. November 13, 2013. Thompson, Nick. "Cuban Missile Crisis II? Not Exactly, Weapons Experts Say." CNN. Cable News Network, July 17, 2013. Web. November 20, 2013. Vidich, Arthur J. “Atomic Bombs and American Democracy.” International Journal of Politics, Culture and Society 8.3 (1995): 499. Academic Search Premier. Internet. November 1. 2013.