Hiroshima

Hiroshima =What lead up to the atomic bomb being made and detonated?= Albert Einstein a nuclear physicist, was the one how had created theories that others like Enrico Fermi and Leo Szilard so that it was clear that it was a possibility that splitting an atom can release vast amounts of energy – and destruction (McCollum). But now that they had the theories the just need to make it. And so, with about 100,000 (some of which did not know what they were making); $2 billion and three years to make the vision of a nuclear bomb a reality. Dubbed ‘Little Boy’, they set out to the deserts of New Mexico and on July 16, 1945 and set a off a different bomb code name ‘Trinity’, it detonated and the project of making a nuclear weapon was deemed a success.

It was at the close of WWII (World War II) and all the foes of the Allied forces had surrendered… except Japan. Fearing the deaths of many Americans, and so they decided to use the atomic bomb ‘Little Boy’ and drop it over Hiroshima to force a surrender.

=What happened when ‘Little Boy’ detonated?= In the early morning on August 6, 1945, a B-29 bomber Enola Gay with its cargo ‘Little Boy’ and after arriving released ‘Little Boy’ and watched as “the city was hidden by that awful cloud… boiling up, mushrooming, terrible and incredibly tall” (McCollum). And from the ground, “a blinding flash of light –like lighting… scorching heat… a tornado-like blast of wind… pillar of black smoke with scarlet thread in the middle… Hiroshima had disappeared” (McCollum).

This is just what happen based on the eyewitness account of people in the air and ground, the following is a technical explanation: “The atomic bomb that exploded 580 meters above Hiroshima was powered by the splitting of 855 grams of uranium. The energy released was equivalent to 15,000 tons of TNT.

The splitting of uranium nuclei generated both initial radiation (gamma rays and neutrons) and residual radiation. The neutron radiation lasted a brief instant. The initial gamma rays remained at a dangerous levels for approximately 20 seconds. Residual radiation consisted of gamma and beta rays emitted over an extended period.

The bomb created a high-temperature, high-pressure, fireball which grew to a diameter of approximately 410 meters one second after detonation. The fireball emitted intense thermal rays for up to three seconds and continued to glow for approximately ten seconds. The shock wave at the leading edge of the blast traveled 11 kilometers in 30 seconds”(“Hiroshima Bomb”).

The effect of the initial explosion was devastating enough, but humans were also affected by the large amounts of radiation as well. The after affects on humans are usually referred to as “ A-Bomb Disease” which is divided into two different categories: “Acute Damage”- appears after about four months of exposure to the radiation, with symptoms of “burns and other external injuries, hair loss, bleeding, and low levels of white blood cells”

“After affects: colloids (after bombing) & produces cataracts, leukemia and other cancers… birth defects” (“Hiroshima Bomb”). =What happen after that?= It was not long after that that Hiroshima was hit by another tragedy, on September 17, 1945 Hiroshima was hit by” Typhoon Maturazaki… with more than 3,000 deaths and injuries” (“Hiroshima”). But progress to rebuild Hiroshima was not stopped, and 10 years later the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum was opened in Peace park in 1955. A few years later, Japans parlament makes Hiroshima a City of Peace and “a desirable place for holding international comferences on peace and social issues” (“Hiroshima”).

=Works Cited=


 * “Hiroshima.” Wikipedia. Wikipedia Foundation, Inc. 1 Feb. 2012. Web. 1 Feb. 2012 
 * McCollum, Sean. “Destroyer of worlds.” Scholastic Update 21 Mar. 1997: 18+. Gale Power Search. Web. 26 Jan. 2012.
 * “The Hiroshima Bomb.” Hiroshima-spirit. Peace Memorial Museum. Web. 1 Feb 2012