Nuclear Weapons: The first atom bomb was set off on July 16, 1945, in the Jemez Mountains of northern New Mexico. The Manhattan Project -- code name for the U.S. government's secret project that culminated in the nuclear bomb -- started in late 1939 after Albert Einstein warned Franklin Roosevelt that the Germans were developing nukes. The research and weapon-design scientists at Los Alamos, New Mexico, collaborated with the Harold Urey guided uranium enrichment team at Oak Ridge, Tennessee, to build the bomb.
Polaroid Camera: This was invented by Edwin Land and had the ability to have what was known as a one-step process for developing and printing photographs. In 1937, he formed the Polaroid Corporation to manufacture his cameras from his application of polorized light. He used his talents to help the military with developing infrared filters and special goggles that adaped in darkness. He released his first polaroid camera to the public in 1948 and the rest they say is history. Different versions of his full story is in a variety of places
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The 1940s saw technological advancement grow by leaps and bounds in response to the challenges of World War II. University, government and private industry scientists worked together to turn ideas into inventions. A huge influx of government money into research and development led to an explosion of technological innovations -- and numerous commercial products.