Would an earlier peace delay atomic weapons?

If the war ends much earlier, how would that affect the development of atomic weapons?

Nuclear weapons may still emerge, but the Manhattan Project's particular collaboration and timing become much less certain.

A different Norwegian outcome removes the familiar heavy-water episode, and a shorter conflict may not produce the same Anglo-American combined project. Separate British, American, and Soviet efforts could still pursue nuclear weapons, but on a different timetable and with different industrial arrangements. The United States still offers the advantage of building a vast research and production system beyond German bombing range. Altered incentives do not mean scientific development stops, but the timetable remains uncertain.