Hiroshima & Nagasaki
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During World War II, the United States had spent plenty of time investing their funds and research into the development of nuclear weapons. When it came time to put them to use in a preemptive strike, the Japanese cities Hiroshima and Kokura were selected as targets because they had remained fairly untouched by the pressures of war. The goal was to exhibit the true value of damage a nuclear weapon was capable of and to intimidate the Japanese into surrendering. It was suspected that chemical weapons were being produced in Kokura, and this was another reason for targeting the city. When the pilot, Charles Sweeny, flew over Kokura he was unable to get a clear visual of his target. Radar assisting technology was not completely reliable, and a direct, clear visual was mandatory in carrying out his mission. After three attempts to engage Kokura, Sweeny decided to move on to Nagasaki which was the alternative drop site. Nagasaki was also obscured by clouds and smoke, but Sweeny had a short window of opportunity as there was a brief clearing. He had missed the intended target area by a significant margin. http://blog.nuclearsecrecy.com/2014/08/22/luck-kokura/
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The damage caused by the nuclear bombs resulted from a combination of three things: the fireball, shock-wave, and radiation. Of those who were within 500 meters (546 yards) of the center of the blast in either city, 90% of the that population died immediately. Of those within a range of 1.5 kilometers (0.932 miles) nearly one third died immediately and the other two thirds were seriously injured. For the rest who were roughly 2 kilometers (1.24 miles) or further from the center, only about half would have suffered injury and 10% would have died immediately. http://atomicbombmuseum.org/3_health.shtml
Directly after the explosion in the following days, weeks, and months, those who survived were documenting the level of injuries that most had sustained. Due to high levels of radiation many survivors of the initial attack died from radiation poisoning. Within the first two weeks it was clear that most victims were suffering from severe burns caused from the intense flash of heat during the explosion as well as contact with flames left behind in its wake. Of these victims, many also suffered blunt force trauma as an effect of the shock wave that sent compression waves collapsing building infrastructures and sent bodies and debris flying in all directions. Of all the damage done, radiation was the most difficult to track as it sometimes acted very quickly claiming its victims immediately, or slowly taking weeks, months, even years to kill a person. In observing the survivors who made it to two months after the explosion, radiation poisoning became more apparent. These victims began experiencing "hair loss, anemia, loss of white blood cells, bleeding, and diarrhea" (Atomic Bomb Museum). Later, as some survivors began to recover from their injuries, their bodies would be forever marked with severely disfigured scars. http://www.cnduk.org/campaigns/global-abolition/hiroshima-a-nagasaki
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The impact dealt to each city individually varied because of their difference in geographical locations. Hiroshima is located on a flat river delta, and many of its building had been made of wood. With little surrounding protection in terms of hills, 92% of the city's buildings were destroyed either by the force of the shock wave or burned down by the firestorm. Nagasaki was a bit more fortunate as hills in the area provided some protection to those beyond the center of the bomb . Though the bomb dropped on Nagasaki proved to be devastating, most of the deaths and casualties resulted from Hiroshima. http://www.cnduk.org/campaigns/global-abolition/hiroshima-a-nagasaki
The lasting impacts this would have on the rest of Japan would be devastating economically, politically, and socially. From the time of the blast to many years later, Japan would spend much of their time and resources in trying to provide aid for the victims of the blast and also rebuilding the destroyed cities and infrastructure. This catastrophe put the Japanese in a position that made them unable to fight back with the United States and brought their resistance to a halt. Japan retracted its political voice from the global controversy to focus on its new critical internal affairs. Japan was also socially divided. Many had lost relatives in the bombings and many others were left maimed. Families were separated, desperate, and in need of food, shelter, and medical attention, those who survived struggled to find a reason to live. The economic crisis that they beheld was one that would take decades to pay off. Japan's economy stopped just as abruptly as everything else. With thousands of people dead and unable to work, there were few people to produce the resources that so many were in need of. This imbalance in the economy overturned the nation and would be a obstacle that they would have to face. But that was not the longest lasting impact they would face. Atomic bombs leave behind in their wake notorious amounts of residual radiation. This left over radiation would cause inexplicable birth defects, food poisoning, and various environmental health risks, some that can still be traced to today. The atomic bomb is responsible for a lifetime's worth of harmful damage to a nation. It all begins with the initial explosion, and we still have yet to see the end of its lasting impacts.
The lasting impacts this would have on the rest of Japan would be devastating economically, politically, and socially. From the time of the blast to many years later, Japan would spend much of their time and resources in trying to provide aid for the victims of the blast and also rebuilding the destroyed cities and infrastructure. This catastrophe put the Japanese in a position that made them unable to fight back with the United States and brought their resistance to a halt. Japan retracted its political voice from the global controversy to focus on its new critical internal affairs. Japan was also socially divided. Many had lost relatives in the bombings and many others were left maimed. Families were separated, desperate, and in need of food, shelter, and medical attention, those who survived struggled to find a reason to live. The economic crisis that they beheld was one that would take decades to pay off. Japan's economy stopped just as abruptly as everything else. With thousands of people dead and unable to work, there were few people to produce the resources that so many were in need of. This imbalance in the economy overturned the nation and would be a obstacle that they would have to face. But that was not the longest lasting impact they would face. Atomic bombs leave behind in their wake notorious amounts of residual radiation. This left over radiation would cause inexplicable birth defects, food poisoning, and various environmental health risks, some that can still be traced to today. The atomic bomb is responsible for a lifetime's worth of harmful damage to a nation. It all begins with the initial explosion, and we still have yet to see the end of its lasting impacts.
Nuclear Weapon Testing History
A nuclear weapon test is an experiment designed to measure the capability and effectiveness of a nuclear weapon. The efforts made during the Manhattan Project resulted in the first effective nuclear bomb. The first nuclear weapon test took place in the United States in New Mexico on July 16, 1945. This achievement of the United States released a major political and social statement to the rest of the world: that the United States had indeed made vast advances in both the fields of science and the military, domineering a new level of superiority. This was the start of an increasingly dangerous era that incited the nuclear arms race and cold war between the Soviet Union and the United States. (http://www.ctbto.org/specials/who-we-are/)
From 1945 to the signing of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT) in 1996, it is estimated that over 2,000 nuclear tests have been conducted throughout the globe.
- The United States conducted 1,032 tests between 1945 and 1992.
- The Soviet Union conducted 715 tests between 1949 and 1990.
- The United Kingdom conducted 45 tests between 1952 and 1991.
- France conducted 210 tests between 1960 and 1996.
- China conducted 45 tests between 1964 and 1996.
There have been several nuclear weapon tests after the CTBT was opened in 1996.
- India conducted two tests in 1998 for peaceful reasons.
- Pakistan conducted two tests in 1998.
- North Korea supposedly conducted a test in 2006.