Corrected entry: A neutron-emitting "initiator" is needed to set off a nuclear bomb, but there is use (or even mention) of such in the movie.
Joshua Skains
11th Aug 2004
The Manhattan Project (1986)
6th Nov 2003
The Manhattan Project (1986)
Corrected entry: Very early in the film, the percent purity of the processed Plutonium is shown being ranked on a graph by mass in atomic mass units. Much later that same measurement is shown being graphed in terms of alpha emission energy.
Correction: That doesn't mean they weren't simply looking at different meassures at the next point in the movie.
6th Nov 2003
The Manhattan Project (1986)
Corrected entry: Paul Stevens finds an anomalously large number of mutant five leaf clovers on the lawn outside the secret weapons laboratory, which is presented as evidence of the large quantity of highly radioactive plutonium within. If the radiation were leaking out in large enough amounts to cause that many mutations in the plant life, then surely everyone both inside and immediately outside would be as good as dead.
Correction: The concept is supposed to be that small plant life, especially one as simple as a four-leaf clover, is far more sensitive to changes in the environment and dangerous toxins than more complex life like humans. It is this very reason that coal miners took small birds with them into the mine shafts. If they hit some dangerous gasses, the bird would die first. It is unknown if any of these people have or would eventually show signs of radiation poisoning as it is never covered in the film.
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Correction: This was a different type of bomb that used compression through the explosives that were placed around the core like a soccer-ball.
Joshua Skains