Atomic Bomb
Test at Trinity
Five thirty AM, July 16, 1945; the sound New Mexico desert was disturbed by the first atomic bomb the world had seen. This test was with a plutonium bomb, that rested atop a 100 foot steel tower. At the time of the explosion, there was a blinding flash, and a fireball that expanded to six-hundred meters in a total of two seconds. The explosion was equivalent to about eighteen and a half kilotons of TNT. The dust, debris, and explosion caused a mushroom cloud with a height of more than twelve kilometers. No longer than forty seconds had passed when the blast and roar of the bomb had reached the observation bunkers. This was used as a test for the bomb "Fat Man," which would end up being dropped over Nagasaki Japan.
Hiroshima
On August 6, 1945 9:15 AM, Tokyo time, the first atomic bomb was dropped as a weapon in warfare. The uranium bomb was dropped by a B-29 plane, the "Enola Gay," which was piloted by Paul W. Tibbets. The bomb, "Little Boy", was dropped over Hiroshima Japan, the seventh largest city in Japan at the time. The reason Hiroshima was chosen was because of its relations with military and its position. Upon impact from the bomb, thousands were killed, and the city was left in ruin. Replicas of the city's appearance before and after the bomb dropping from the Hiroshima Peace Museum in Hiroshima, Japan.
Not only was the impact devastating, but what came after was even worse. Fires that engulfed what was left of the city, the casualties were in the hundred thousands, and radiation poisoning. With all of this, Hiroshima was left in ruin, and people around the world, whether with Japan or against, were shocked by the devastation caused by these new nuclear weapons.
Nagasaki
Nagaski, Japan, was the other city to fall victim to the destructive power of a nuclear weapon. On August 9, 1945, at 11:02 AM, Tokyo time, the bomb known as "Fat Man" was dropped over Nagasaki. Originally, this bomb was supposed to be dropped over Kokura, Japan but the sky above the city was thick with smoke causing the pilot, Sweeney, unable to drop the bomb. He changed course and headed for Nagasaki.
The bomb's explosion was equivalent to that of twenty-thousand tons of TNT. However, what killed most was burns from the flash, and heat. Temperatures of tens of millions of degrees were produced, along with extremely bright flash. The worst of those, however, was the radiation emmition. If it did not kill you within days, you might have died in a fewweeks, or maybe even months. The longterm effects would be excruciating and painful, nothing good could come from it. As for the shortterm, the radiation would reach your blood, thus poisoning your organs, and eventually your whole body would just give in and death would come.
The bomb's explosion was equivalent to that of twenty-thousand tons of TNT. However, what killed most was burns from the flash, and heat. Temperatures of tens of millions of degrees were produced, along with extremely bright flash. The worst of those, however, was the radiation emmition. If it did not kill you within days, you might have died in a fewweeks, or maybe even months. The longterm effects would be excruciating and painful, nothing good could come from it. As for the shortterm, the radiation would reach your blood, thus poisoning your organs, and eventually your whole body would just give in and death would come.
