Atomic Bombs

At the end of World War II, few questioned Truman's decision to drop the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Most Americans accepted the obvious reasoning: the atomic bombings brought the war to a more timely end. They did not have a problem with over one hundred thousand of the enemy being killed. After all, the Japanese attacked America, and not the other way around. In later years, however, many have begun to question the conventional wisdom of "Truman was saving lives," putting forth theories of their own. However, when one examines the issue with great attention to the results of the atomic bombings and compares these results with possible alternatives to using said bombs, the line between truth and fiction begins to clear. Truman's decision to use the atomic bomb on Japan was for the purpose of saving lives and ending the war quickly in order to prevent a disastrous land invasion.

The two atomic bombs dropped on Japan in World War 2 "Fat Man" and "Little Boy."

The USA hoped to end the war with Japan sooner, rather than the wearying business of capturing more and more islands at great cost to the manpower of the American armed forces. And indeed that's what happened, Japan surrendered a few days after the second A-bomb was dropped on Nagasaki.

Charles sweeney

Yes. Little Boy, the first of two atomic bombs used in World War 2, was dropped on Hiroshima.

You r idiot. Perl Harbor 3000 victims, Hiroshoma & Nagosaki 250.000/ Of course, It's so revelant.

No. The hydrogen bomb is the most powerful bomb in the world.

The first atomic bombs split atoms of Uranium and/or Plutonium.

Later development in theory and technology have made the Hydrogen bomb possible.

This is in fact a 'normal' atomic bomb with a core of hydrogen. When the Atomic bomb goes off, this create an immense pressure on the hydrogen. This pressure (and heat) causes a fusion reaction of Hydrogen atoms.

A 'relatively' small atomic bomb can trigger a quite large payload of hydrogen fusion material.

Further developments of this massive destructive weapon has been to implement yet another core with radioactive material filled with more hydrogen. This inner core get super compressed by the first explosions, something of which drastically adds to the speed of material being consumed. Explosion being amplified tenfold.

All such powerful devices are named 'nuclear' devices or nuclear bombs.

Some are mostly a fission bomb, and others are mostly a fusion bomb.

The fusion bombs are more powerful than fission bombs alone when comparing size and weight of 'stuff that go boom'

Both fission and fusion bombs are considered atomic bombs, and their kind is among the most powerful devices known to man today.

In theory, it should be possible to make an Antimatter payload. Something like a few grams could rival the energy released by the most powerful bombs today.

The city of Hiroshima is located on the broad, flat delta of the Ota River, which has 7 channel outlets dividing the city into six islands which project into Hiroshima Bay. The city is almost entirely flat and only slightly above sea level; to the northwest and northeast of the city some hills rise to 700 feet. A single hill in the eastern part of the city proper about 1/2 mile long and 221 feet in height interrupted to some extent the spreading of the blast damage; otherwise the city was fully exposed to the bomb. Of a city area of over 26 square miles, only 7 square miles were completely built-up. There was no marked separation of commercial, industrial, and residential zones. 75% of the population was concentrated in the densely built-up area in the center of the city.

Hiroshima was a city of considerable military importance. It contained the 2nd Army Headquarters, which commanded the defense of all of southern Japan. The city was a communications center, a storage point, and an assembly area for troops. To quote a Japanese report, "Probably more than a thousand times since the beginning of the war did the Hiroshima citizens see off with cries of 'Banzai' the troops leaving from the harbor."

- The Manhattan Engineer District, June 29, 1946-

The United States:

Since 1942, more than 100,000 scientists of the Manhattan Project had been working on the bomb's development. At the time, it was the largest collective scientific effort ever undertaken. It involved 37 installations across the US, 13 university laboratories and a host of prestigious participants such as the Nobel prizewinning physicists Arthur Holly Compton and Harold Urey. Directed by the Army's chief engineer, Brigadier General Leslie R. Groves, the Manhattan Project was also the most secret wartime project in history. At first, scientists worked in isolation in different parts of the US, unaware of the magnitude of the project in which they were involved. Later, the project was centralized and moved to an isolated laboratory headed by physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer in Los Alamos, New Mexico. On 16 July 1945, scientists carried out the first trial of the bomb in the New Mexico desert. President Truman received news of the successful test whilst negotiating the post-war settlement in Europe at the Potsdam Conference.

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Although voices within the US Military expressed caution regarding the use of the new weapon against Japan, Truman was convinced that the bomb was the correct and only option. Six months of intense strategic fire-bombing of 37 Japanese cities had done little to break the Hirohito regime's resolve, and Japan continued to resolutely ignore the demand for unconditional surrender made at Potsdam. In such circumstances, the use of the atom bomb was seen as the best means of forcing Japan to surrender, and ending the war. The alternative, of an Allied invasion of the Japanese home islands, was expected to cost hundreds of thousands of casualties.

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The effects of the attack were devastating. The predicted Japanese surrender, which came on 15 August - just six days after the detonation over Nagasaki - ended World War II. Yet the shocking human effects soon led many to cast doubts upon the use of this weapon. The first western scientists, servicemen and journalists to arrive on the scene produced vivid and heartrending reports describing a charred landscape populated by hideously burnt people, coughing up and urinating blood and waiting to die.

Harry S. Truman defended his descision dropping the two atomic bombs on the cities on Nagasaki and Hiroshima. He defended his descision by saying it would shorten the war and lessen the casualties.

there was no bombs dropped in pearl harbor, the Japanese crashed planes known as "Kamikazes" into it

Atomic bombs implicate a heavy casualty rate and bast destruction to where it landed. That apart to the political implications.

After the U S dropped atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki the Japanese had no other choice but to surrender. The US totally destroyed all of their resources and killed thousands of innocent people in the process.

Nothing. His only connection to the atomic bomb was to sign a letter written by Leo Szilard (the inventor of the atomic bomb, though Einstein did not know this then) that warned FDRthat Nazi Germany might do it first.

nagasaki and hiroshma

If you mean in Japan, 1 was Nagasaki and 1 was Hiroshima.

"The atom bomb was no "great decision." It was merely another powerful weapon in the arsenal of righteousness" that quote was said by Harry S. Truman, the president at the time the bomb was dropped

It had not been fully developed or tested until after Germany had surrendered. 1st test was July 16, 1945. http://www.eyewitnesstohistory.com/atomictest.htm

He stated the bomb was needed to end the war.

Trueman decided to drop the bomb on Japan because if they did an invasion, the United States would lose more men and Trueman did not want to take that chance.