"I am become death, the destroyer of worlds." -J. Robert Oppenheimer
The nucleus of the atom holds many secrets, not the least of which is the key to the release of energy hundreds of thousands-to-millions of times more efficient than any chemical means known. In order to build and develop the first atomic bomb, a myriad of challenges needed to be overcome, including the ability to sustain a chain reaction among fissile materials.
When a group of Norwegian commandos descended to the bottom of a valley across a half-frozen river and then climbed a 500-foot-high snowy cliff in the middle of the dark winter night, no one really knew what to expect.