Trinity by the Numbers: The Computing Effort that Made Trinity Possible

TL;DR

This paper provides a comprehensive analysis of the computing efforts at Los Alamos during WWII, highlighting previously underrepresented personnel and the impact on post-war computing development.

Contribution

It offers a more complete account of wartime Los Alamos computing, emphasizing human computers and their influence on subsequent technological advancements.

Findings

Reveals underrepresented human computers at Los Alamos

Highlights the impact of wartime computing on post-war developments

Provides a bias-aware, detailed history of Los Alamos's computing efforts

Abstract

This article addresses shortcomings in the existing secondary literature describing the nature and involvement of computing at the World War II Los Alamos Lab. Utilizing rarely used source materials, and identifying points of bias among more commonly used sources, this article provides a more complete representation of wartime Los Alamos' computing operations and personnel, including the Lab's typically under-represented human computers, and how they contributed to the success of the Trinity test. This article also identifies how the Lab's unusual wartime computing demands served as a formative experience among many Los Alamos personnel and consultants, who contributed significantly to the development and use of mechanized computing at and beyond Los Alamos after the war.