Atomic Bomb Essay Research Paper During wartime

Atomic Bomb Essay, Research Paper

During wartime, horrible atrocities against

all of humanity must be dealt with. Crimes against humanity,

as never witnessed before, and hopefully to never be seen again, occurred

during the course of World War II. America has always, and

most likely will always place a high value on American lives.

In order to protect these lives and to insure that the world is safe for

democracy, American leaders had to make a very tough decision, whether

or not to drop the atomic bomb on Japan. This act would essentially

trade Japanese lives for American lives. The Japanese were

responsible for hundreds of thousands of American casualties in the Pacific,

including the unprovoked attack on Pearl Harbor. With Japanese

forces showing no signs of surrender, American leaders made a decision.

This decision essentially changed the history of warfare forever.

An atomic bomb is any weapon that gets

its destructive power from an atom. This power comes when the matter

inside of the atoms is transformed into energy. The process by which

this is done is known as fission. The only two atoms suitable for

fission are the uranium isotope U-235 and the plutonium isotope Pu-239.

Fission occurs when a neutron, a subatomic particle with no electrical

charge, strikes the nucleus of one of these isotopes and causes it to split

apart. When the nucleus is split, a large amount of energy is produced,

and more free neutrons are also released. These neutrons strike other

atoms, which causes more energy to be released. If this process is

repeated, a self-sustaining chain reaction will occur, and it is this chain

reaction that causes the atomic bomb to have its destructive power.

The first type of atomic bomb ever used

was a gun-type. In this type two subcritical pieces of U-235 are

placed in a device similar to the barrel of an artillery shell. One

piece is placed at one end of the barrel and will remain there at rest.

The other subcritical mass is placed at the other end of the barrel.

A conventional explosive is packed behind the second subcritical mass.

When the fuse is triggered, a conventional explosion causes the second

subcritical mass to be propelled at a high velocity into the first subcritical

mass. The resulting combination causes the two subcritical masses

to become a supercritical mass. When this supercritical mass is obtained,

a rapid self-sustained chain reaction is caused. This type of atomic

bomb was used on Hiroshima, and given the nickname .Little Boy. after Franklin

D. Roosevelt.

The second type of atomic bomb is an implosion

bomb. In this type a subcritical mass, which is in the shape of a

ball, is placed in the center of the weapon. This subcritical mass

is surrounded in a spherical arrangement of conventional explosives.

When the fuse is triggered all of the conventional explosives explode at

the same time. This causes the subcritical mass to be compressed

into a smaller volume, thus creating a supercritical mass to be formed.

After this supercritical mass is obtained, a self-sustained chain reaction

takes place and causes the atomic explosion. This type of atomic

bomb was used on Nagasaki, and given the nickname .Fat Man. after Winston

Churchill.

The blast from an atomic bomb.s explosion

will last for only one-half to one second, but in this amount of time a

great deal of damage is done. A fireball is created by the blast,

which consists mainly of dust and gasses. The dust produced in this

fireball has no substantial effect on humans or their environment.

However, as the gasses expand a blast wave is produced. As this blast

wave moves, it creates static overpressure. This static overpressure

then in turn creates dynamic pressure. The static overpressure has

the power to crush buildings. The dynamic pressure creates winds,

which have the power to blow down trees. The blast pressure and fireball

together only last for approximately eleven seconds, but because it contains

fifty percent of the atomic bomb.s latent energy a great deal of destruction

occurs.

In Hiroshima, the blast from the atomic

bomb was measured to be about four and a half to six and seven tenths tons

of pressure per square meter, while in Nagasaki the blast was measured

to be about six to eight tons of pressure per square meter. Because

of this dramatic change in the pressure most of the cities were destroyed.

The static overpressure in Hiroshima destroyed between sixty-two and ninety

thousand buildings, while in Nagasaki all of the buildings within three

thousand feet of the center of the blast were completely destroyed.

The static overpressure created a dynamic pressure that had winds up to

four hundred miles per hour. These winds caused minor scratches,

lacerations, or compound fractures, which ca

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