And the atomic bomb itself was perhaps the ultimate competition, as many felt that a German atomic bomb would be an existential threat to the US [1].
I suspect much of our current technological age has its roots in the aftermath of the Manhattan project. Bombs led to use, led to other countries developing bombs, drove surveillance, drove space travel, drove the miniaturization of electronics in cycles that eventually gave us Hacker News on a smartphone [2].
Granted all of those things... but the nuclear energy aspect raised the stakes to city and national survival, boosting the budget of anything used to deliver (* missiles, jet ) or monitor ( electronics) nuclear energy.
I suspect much of our current technological age has its roots in the aftermath of the Manhattan project. Bombs led to use, led to other countries developing bombs, drove surveillance, drove space travel, drove the miniaturization of electronics in cycles that eventually gave us Hacker News on a smartphone [2].
[1] Richard Rhodes, 'The Making of the Atomic Bomb' [2] Steve Blank, 'The Secret History of Silicon Valley', https://steveblank.com/secret-history/