Atomic bombings of hiroshima and nagasaki

The atomic bomb and nuclear bombs are powerful weapons that use nuclear reactions as their source of explosive energy. Scientists first developed nuclear weapons technology during World War II. Atomic bombs have been used only twice in war—both times by the United States against Japan at the end of World War II, in Hiroshima and Nagasaki. A period of nuclear proliferation followed that war, and during the Cold War, the United States and the Soviet Union vied for supremacy in a global nuclear arms race. Nuclear Bombs and Hydrogen Bombs A discovery by nuclear physicists in a laboratory in Berlin, Germany, in 1938 made the first atomic bomb possible, after Otto Hahn, Lise Meitner and Fritz Strassman discovered nuclear fission. In nuclear fission, the nucleus of an atom of radioactive material splits into two or more smaller nuclei, which causes a sudden, powerful release of energy. The discovery of nuclear fission opened up the possibility of nuclear technologies, including weapons. Atomic bombs get their energy from fission reactions. Thermonuclear weapons, or hydrogen bombs, rely on a combination of nuclear fission and nuclear fusion. Nuclear fusion is another type of reaction in which two lighter atoms combine to release energy. Manhattan Project On December 28, 1942, President The Manhattan Project was the code name for the American-led effort to develop a functional atomic bomb during Who Invented the Atomic Bomb? Much of the work in the Manhattan Project was performed i...

atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, During Enola Gay took off from Tinian and dropped a uranium gun-assembly bomb on Hiroshima. Some 70,000 people were killed instantly, and tens of thousands more would succumb to radiation poisoning within a year. On Aug. 9, 1945, the B-29 Bockscar lingered over its primary target of Kokura for some time, but the bombardier was unable to sight his aimpoint through heavy cloud cover. Bockscar then proceeded to Nagasaki, where it dropped a plutonium implosion bomb, instantly killing an estimated 40,000 people. As in Hiroshima, many thousands more would die later from the effects of radiation. On Aug. 10, 1945, one day after the bombing of Nagasaki, the Japanese government issued a statement agreeing to surrender under the terms of the Potsdam Declaration. Related Article Summaries

atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, During Enola Gay took off from Tinian and dropped a uranium gun-assembly bomb on Hiroshima. Some 70,000 people were killed instantly, and tens of thousands more would succumb to radiation poisoning within a year. On Aug. 9, 1945, the B-29 Bockscar lingered over its primary target of Kokura for some time, but the bombardier was unable to sight his aimpoint through heavy cloud cover. Bockscar then proceeded to Nagasaki, where it dropped a plutonium implosion bomb, instantly killing an estimated 40,000 people. As in Hiroshima, many thousands more would die later from the effects of radiation. On Aug. 10, 1945, one day after the bombing of Nagasaki, the Japanese government issued a statement agreeing to surrender under the terms of the Potsdam Declaration. Related Article Summaries

The atomic bomb and nuclear bombs are powerful weapons that use nuclear reactions as their source of explosive energy. Scientists first developed nuclear weapons technology during World War II. Atomic bombs have been used only twice in war—both times by the United States against Japan at the end of World War II, in Hiroshima and Nagasaki. A period of nuclear proliferation followed that war, and during the Cold War, the United States and the Soviet Union vied for supremacy in a global nuclear arms race. Nuclear Bombs and Hydrogen Bombs A discovery by nuclear physicists in a laboratory in Berlin, Germany, in 1938 made the first atomic bomb possible, after Otto Hahn, Lise Meitner and Fritz Strassman discovered nuclear fission. In nuclear fission, the nucleus of an atom of radioactive material splits into two or more smaller nuclei, which causes a sudden, powerful release of energy. The discovery of nuclear fission opened up the possibility of nuclear technologies, including weapons. Atomic bombs get their energy from fission reactions. Thermonuclear weapons, or hydrogen bombs, rely on a combination of nuclear fission and nuclear fusion. Nuclear fusion is another type of reaction in which two lighter atoms combine to release energy. Manhattan Project On December 28, 1942, President The Manhattan Project was the code name for the American-led effort to develop a functional atomic bomb during Who Invented the Atomic Bomb? Much of the work in the Manhattan Project was performed i...