In a memorable scene from the film Oppenheimer, scientists making the first atomic weapon keep a tally of the special materials they will need – enriched uranium and plutonium – by dropping marbles into glass bowls. When the bowls are full they will have enough to build the bomb. Although the film pays it only fleeting reference, the manufacturing effort required to make the metals was colossal, consuming the lion's share of the Manhattan Project's $2 billion – in 1940s dollars – budget. It gave the United States and Britain, America's key ally in the project, a crucial head start in making not only the atomic bomb but also the industrial apparatus needed to make fuel for civil nuclear power plants.

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/world/the-times/west-breaking-free-of-reliance-on-russia-for-nuclear-fuel/news-story/4b6498274df9fc16aee9718d3f664aeb?nk=0a39b575639f8159b7b7b3643c0b7906-1696214778

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