I recommend this episode of the History of Japan podcast by historian Isaac Meyer for an airing of the conflicting arguments for and against the use of the bombs.īriefly, “ traditionalist” accounts of the bombings have argued that the bombs were necessary to force Japan’s surrender. It is impossible to properly address the competing perspectives in this article. Why did the US use the bomb?įew historical questions are subject to such enduring controversy as this one. Hibakusha - the Japanese term for explosion-affected people - continue to campaign for Nagasaki to retain its sad distinction. Nagasaki receives less attention in analysis of the bombings, despite being the last place a nuclear weapon was used in warfare. Still, at least 75,000 people died there in total. The total death toll in Nagasaki was lower in comparison, as parts of the city were shielded by mountains. Today, it is preserved at the Peace Memorial Park and the city has been rebuilt around it.
The Genbaku (Atomic Bomb) Dome was the only building left standing near the hypocentre. In addition to the human toll, almost 63% of Hiroshima’s buildings were destroyed and a further 29% damaged by the bomb. Warning: the video below includes graphic imagery Cartoon depicting the horrors of the Hiroshima bombing on the city’s residents. The death toll increased to over 200,000 people in subsequent decades, as people died from cancers and other diseases linked to radiation poisoning. At the hypocentre (centre of the blast), the heat is so intense, it vaporises people and buildings.īetween 60,000-80,000 people were killed instantly when the bomb detonated over Hiroshima and an estimated 140,000 died from acute effects of the bomb before the end of the year. The impact of the bombsĪn atomic bomb causes massive destruction through intense heat, pressure, radiation and radioactive fallout. Through their efforts, scientists found a way to induce a chain reaction within a bomb that would generate an unprecedented amount of energy. In the 1930s, scientists showed that nuclear energy could be released from an atom, either by splitting the nucleus ( fission) or fusing two smaller atoms to form a larger one ( fusion).Īs the second world war erupted, intense research focused on how to artificially induce nuclear fission by firing a free neutron into an atom of radioactive uranium or plutonium. Other atomic particles called electrons surround the nucleus.Įlements are the simplest chemical substances and consist of atoms that all have the same number of protons. The nucleus of an atom is made of smaller particles called protons and neutrons. ShutterstockĪn atom is the basic unit of matter. To answer this question, it is helpful to define some central chemical principles.
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