

The Mathematics of the Manhattan Project  - jojomnky
http://math-blog.com/2013/07/08/the-mathematics-of-the-manhattan-project/

======
tonylemesmer
Could it be that the bombs, as their purpose was to be very destructive,
required little in the way of safety evaluation other than accidental
triggering (not insignificant :) and that they were purportedly very simple
devices?

FMEA and safety related strands are a major component of modern day similarly
sized projects. Even to the point of preventing them from ever being
completed.

An apt metaphor might be the automobile. If it were invented, afresh, today
would it be even remotely similar? And what is the ratio of the cost of
developing the first viable automobiles compared to the cost of today's
relatively minor iterations, per functional unit delivered? Miniscule I
imagine.

