The atomic bomb was a major tunring point in the war. The entire world was changed when that single bomb was dropped. It took years to finally devolp the needed technology to create this attrocity, it was very difficult. The most complicated issue in making an atomic bomb was the production of enough of "enriched" uranium to sustain a chain reaction. At the time, uranium-235 was very hard to extract. The ratio of conversion from uranium ore to uranium metal is 500:1. Also the one part of uranium that is finally refined from the ore is over 99% uranium-238, which is practically useless for an atomic bomb. To make the task even harder, the useful U-235 and nearly useless U-238 are isotopes, nearly identical in their chemical makeup, the difference being only the number of nuetrons in the nucleus. No ordinary chemical reaction could separate them; only mechanical methods could work. Through strenous and dedicated labor the atomic bomb was produced and "The Gadget", the code name used for the atomic bomb, had to be tested. They did these in the mountians of New Mexico, and when it was first seen here there was a mixture of awe and terror. The creators saw it for it was, a mean to destroy worlds, and many felt it could not be used during the war. But their protests fell on deaf ears.
The destruction of the Atomic Bomb was substantial, and still visible today. The effects of the atomic bomb are seperated into two different catagoires; the immiediate, and the aftermath. Even more so the two diffferent bombs had two differnt effects due to topograghy. Hiroshima had the smaller of the twp dropped on it, 'Little Boy' had the destructive force of 15 kilotons. Hiroshima was on a low flat delta interlaced by seven tributary rivers and when the bomb detonated above the city everything in a one mile radius was destroyed. The bomb detonated in Nagasaki was the 'Fat Man' and had the larger force of 20 kilotons. In Nagasaki, the bomb was detonated in an industrial valley flanked by a mountain spur so that the total destruction took place within a half a mile that shielded the major business and residential districts. Though the 'Fat Man' was larger due to the topography 'Little Boy' did far more damage. The immiedate damage done was the cause of the extreme heats and radiation, with conditions similar to that of the sun. Even those not within the "instant death" mile radius would still suffer from extreme burns. The aftermath victims included those suffereing from cancer due to the remaining radiation. Children of the victims still have signs of the mutations and malformations in their DNA. However, and perhaps the most profound example of aftermath, is the terror it sturck not only into Japan, but the entire world.
This topic is an interesting aspect of World War II that was a major contributor to the end of the Pacific Theatre. I found the scientific mechanics to it all very interesting, learning about how hard it was to isolate the U-235.
Quiz:
1. U-238 is the usful form of Uranium used in the atimic bomb
a. T
b. F
2. What was the bomb detonated over Hiroshima
a. Little Boy
b. Big Boy
c. Skinny Boy
d. Fat Boy
3. How did the victims suffer
a. Aftermath victims suffer from cancer
b. Aftermath victims suffer from genetic malformations
c. Immediate victims suffered from severe burns
d. All of the Above
4. Where was the atomic bomb tested
a. Arizona
b. Louisiana
c. New Mexico
d. Texas
5. What was the code name for the atomic bomb
a. The Bomb
b. The Killer
c. The Hot Mama
d. The Gadget
The destruction of the Atomic Bomb was substantial, and still visible today. The effects of the atomic bomb are seperated into two different catagoires; the immiediate, and the aftermath. Even more so the two diffferent bombs had two differnt effects due to topograghy. Hiroshima had the smaller of the twp dropped on it, 'Little Boy' had the destructive force of 15 kilotons. Hiroshima was on a low flat delta interlaced by seven tributary rivers and when the bomb detonated above the city everything in a one mile radius was destroyed. The bomb detonated in Nagasaki was the 'Fat Man' and had the larger force of 20 kilotons. In Nagasaki, the bomb was detonated in an industrial valley flanked by a mountain spur so that the total destruction took place within a half a mile that shielded the major business and residential districts. Though the 'Fat Man' was larger due to the topography 'Little Boy' did far more damage. The immiedate damage done was the cause of the extreme heats and radiation, with conditions similar to that of the sun. Even those not within the "instant death" mile radius would still suffer from extreme burns. The aftermath victims included those suffereing from cancer due to the remaining radiation. Children of the victims still have signs of the mutations and malformations in their DNA. However, and perhaps the most profound example of aftermath, is the terror it sturck not only into Japan, but the entire world.
This topic is an interesting aspect of World War II that was a major contributor to the end of the Pacific Theatre. I found the scientific mechanics to it all very interesting, learning about how hard it was to isolate the U-235.
Quiz:
1. U-238 is the usful form of Uranium used in the atimic bomb
a. T
b. F
2. What was the bomb detonated over Hiroshima
a. Little Boy
b. Big Boy
c. Skinny Boy
d. Fat Boy
3. How did the victims suffer
a. Aftermath victims suffer from cancer
b. Aftermath victims suffer from genetic malformations
c. Immediate victims suffered from severe burns
d. All of the Above
4. Where was the atomic bomb tested
a. Arizona
b. Louisiana
c. New Mexico
d. Texas
5. What was the code name for the atomic bomb
a. The Bomb
b. The Killer
c. The Hot Mama
d. The Gadget