FREE ESSAY ON HIRSHIMA BOMBING!

HIRSHIMA BOMBING!

HIROSHIMA AND NAGASAKI BOMBING
Fifty four years ago, the detonation of the first atomic bomb on the Japanese city of
Hiroshima (and later on Nagasaki) ushered to the Nuclear Age. It was a moment full of
horror, in which the eyes of the whole world were opened to the unimaginable possibility
of nuclear holocaust. The experience on what happened to those cities and what is still
happening to many of the survivors there, leads to explore what happened to America as a
consequence of Hiroshima; both the bomb's existence in the world, and the United States
having used it. The dropping of the bomb was born out a complex abundance of military,
domestic and diplomatic pressures and concerns. The popular tradition view that dominated
the 1950s and 60s, put by President Harry Truman and Secretary of War Henry Stimson, was
that the use of the bombs was a solely military action that avoided the loss of as many
as a million lives in the upcoming invasion of the Island of Kyushu. But while the
attacks brought peace, they were also two of the worst-caused disasters. United States
was willing to use nuclear weapons at whatever expense to enemy forces, civilians,
infrastructure, or, indeed, the global environment. Many issues have been unresolved and
have created a debate on the proliferation and use of the nuclear arms as a result of
this. Hiroshima marks a powerful psychological turning point in our attitude toward our
own science and technology, because it not only exceeded all previous limits in
destruction but had, in effect, declared that there were no limits to destruction. 
On December 7, 1941 the Japanese attacked the American fleet at Pearl Harbor. Taking the
Americans by surprise 19 ships were sunk and about 2,400 American soldiers and sailors
were killed. Four years later, on August 6 and August 9, 1945 the Americans would take
the Japanese by surprise by destroying the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki with two
atomic bombs. The attack on Pearl Harbor four years earlier was one of the justifications
President Truman gave for his decision. Over 240,000 Japanese civilians died--the attack
on Pearl Harbor was returned 100 times over. At 2:45 A.M. local time, August 6, 1945, a
B-29 bomber named Enola Gay left the Pacific island of Tinian on a bombing mission. The
target: Hiroshima. At 8:15 A.M. Japan time, the first atomic bomb dropped in history The
Little Boy (made of uranium) exploded a minute later after being released, at
approximately 580 meters above the center of Hiroshima. The temperature of the air at the
point of explosion reached several million degrees Celsius. At the moment of explosion,
intense heat rays and radiation were released in all directions, and a blast erupted with
incredible pressure on the surrounding air. As the unimaginable blast subsided after the
blowing from the hypocenter toward the outlying areas, a vacuum of air and pressure was
generated in the center. The wind reversed direction and began blowing towards the center
from the outlying areas with the intensity of another blast. The shock wave traveling
directly from the center of the explosion and the shock waves reflected from the ground
and buildings affected each other, creating a variety of significant damage on the
ground. After ten seconds, the shock wave had traveled approximately 3.7 km from the
hypocenter. The cloud generated by the disturbed air resulting from the explosion was
lifted upward by strong currents. As the pillar of radiation-laden smoke reached the
bottom of the stratosphere, it spread out horizontally to a diameter of several
kilometers, forming the shape of a mushroom cap. The top of the atomic cloud reached an
altitude of 17,000 meters. After developing into its final stage, the mushroom cloud was
dispersed by the wind and dissipated into the surrounding air. In an instant, the
explosion reduced the city to a scorched plain, wiping out countless precious lives and
inflicting devastation on all city functions. Anyone within a mile of the explosion from
the atom bomb became a bundle of smoking black charcoal within seconds. The intense heat
that came together with the explosion caused houses and all combustible material in the
downtown area to spontaneously combust. As the downtown area erupted in huge fires after
the explosion, intense firestorms and whirlwinds developed. After 20-30 minutes,
radioactive debris was deposited by Black Rain (which was oily and sticky) that fell
heavily for over an hour over a wide area. Large amounts of fallout, referred to as Ashes
of Death were contained in the rain in the form of radioactive soot and dust and caused
contamination even in areas remote from the hypocenter. All the ruins of the fires were
melted together like lava and distorted due to intense heat. Furthermore, the large
amount of radiation that instantly descended upon the Earth penetrated deeply into
people's bodies, destroying cells. At that time, there were fluctuations in Hiroshima's
population due to the presence of military personnel and evacuations, but it is believed
that approximately 280,000-300,000 civilians lived in the city and approximately 40,000
military personnel were stationed there. Three days later, at 11:02 A.M. on August 9, an
even more powerful atomic bomb Fat Boy (made of plutonium) was unleashed on the city of
Nagasaki. Though the amount of energy generated by the bomb dropped in Nagasaki was
significantly larger than that of the Little Boy, the damage given to the city was
slighter than that given to Hiroshima due to the geographic structure of the city. 
Radiation resulting from the atomic bomb explosion is roughly classified into two
categories: initial radiation which was released within the first minute following the
explosion, and residual which was released afterwards for a certain period. This large
amount of radiation had an extreme effect on the human body. Those exposed in the open to
the direct heat rays were burned through the skin and into the tissues below. Babies with
burns covering their entire bodies and men whose skin had melted from their heads were
just some of the horrors suffered by the people of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Intense
thermal heat emitted by the fireball caused severe burns and loss of eyesight. Four kinds
of radiation are included in initial radiation: alpha rays, beta rays, gamma rays and
neutron rays. Those which had an effect on the ground were gamma rays and neutron rays.
Alpha and beta rays have a low penetration power and are believed to have been absorbed
in the air before reaching the ground. High levels of residual radiation were present on
the ground for a certain period of time starting one minute after the explosion. It is
quite likely that anyone entering the area within 100 hours after the explosion to search
for people or help with relief efforts was affected by radiation coming from the soil and
other such places due to the induced radioactivity. In addition, soot and dust saturated
with induced radiation from nuclear fission products and unfissioned uranium scattered at
the time of the bombing were carried high into the atmosphere and later fell to the
ground as radioactive fallout, giving rise to further possibilities for contamination. 
The potential effects of radiation continue to threaten the lives of the survivors even
today and have caused considerable psychological damage. Long after the acute effects of
radiation had subsided, radiation damage continued to produce a wide range of physical
problems. Aftereffects, including leukemia, cancer, and many others, appeared two, three,
even ten years later. Exposure to radiation in 1945 continues to this day to threaten the
health and well-being of the survivors. The issue of genetic effects of the bombs on
human health after several generations has become a major problem when a person seriously
thinks of marriage. Some (survivors or their descendants) are afraid that their children
can have genetic problems and be born with malformations. This issue has caused
discrimination against future generations. 
Beyond the immediate damage to human beings and property, the atomic bomb destroyed an
entire community. In a single instant, the city lost its businesses, factories, stores,
schools, hospitals, fire stations, city government, nearly all normal societal functions.
The unprecedented destruction of an entire city produced a profound pain utterly beyond
verbal expression. Because the destruction was instantaneous, far-reaching, and painful,
the social consequences have never been fully clarified. The damage caused by the A-bomb
failed to heal with the passage of time. Over the years and decades, the horrors of
radiation grew ever more perceptible. Nonetheless, the fact that the now aging survivors
still suffer from aftereffects can never be forgotten. This implies that talking about
the A-Bomb is today a very sensitive and sometimes even political issue.
The atomic bombs ended the deadliest war in history. More than 14 million men under arms,
including more than 300,000 Americans, had died. Another 25 million civilians had
perished. Much of Asia and Europe had suffered terrible damage. The war had a profound
impact on American life. Mobilization altered the structure of the economy; accelerated
trends toward advancement in business, agriculture, and labor; and drastically enlarged
the role of the military in many aspects of American life. The revolutionary advances in
wartime science and technology raised both hopes for a healthier and better world and
fears of and end to human life on earth. Hence, the United States was a more powerful
nation yet more insecure that ever before. 
The dropping of the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki pushed our world into the
nuclear age. Today, many people question the wisdom of having used the atomic weapons
against Japan. At that time, Americans felt both deep satisfaction and deep anxiety, and
these responses have coexisted ever since. But by developing nuclear weapons, we are
coming to realize the pain and devastation that these can cause. The world must
understand about the consequences of using nuclear arms of total destructive power that
destroy nature, should have never been used but most importantly, the world should not
rely on them to maintain peace. We need to face to diversity of the races in a country
and have a balance between economic development and social development. Difference in
economic developments among different countries triggers a war between them. We must
learn from our past to be able to control the nuclear threat and strive towards
maintaining peace in the world or we might destroy ourselves with the new technology. 
Bibliography
works cited bartlett, John Bartlett's Familiar Quotations, Boston: LIttle,Brown and
Company, 1980. Bradley, Omar. Address on Armistic Day. Bartlett 825:2. Dawson,
Christopher. The Judgement of the Nations. Bartlett 812:11. Hershey, John. Hiroshima. New
York: Random House, INc., 1985.