The Social Impact of the Atomic Bomb One of the largest social impacts of the atomic bomb is that the atomic bomb instills fear into people for nuclear explosion and war. Before the first atomic bomb was dropped, a typical war meant that the people feared for casualty, physical pain and loss of love ones. With the new age of the atomic bomb, every coming war has a potential to become a nuclear war, and a nuclear war brings a new type of fear. This new fear is the fear of the end of the world and humankind. When there is a weapon that can level an entire city and killing 66,000 people while injuring 69,000 people (atomicarhive.com) with long term health effects, people will obviously be scared. People fear that there won’t be a future for humankind. If a nuclear war were to happen, half a country to an entire country can easily be destroyed to the point where it becomes inhabitable due to radiation. Through a Stanford University psychological study of young survivors of World War II, it has been found that almost half the subjects surveyed believe that a nuclear war will result in the complete annihilation of humankind (Koschin and Kabachenko 4). The study also found that “95 percent [of the subjects] expressed a serious concern about the danger of war and 44 percent lived in fear, waiting for war” (Koschin and Kabachenko 2). Generations after the atomic bomb era will continuously fear that every war can become the world-ending nuclear war. The American government also sees the catastrophic potential of nuclear weapons and began to disarm their nuclear weapon stockpile and ban future nuclear test from being performed. Treaties such as the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty and the Treaty on the Nonproliferation of N... ... middle of paper ... ...! New radiation contamination areas are also found in other countries as the other nuclear-developing countries begin to catch on to atomic bomb technologies. Unfortunately for us, the effects of atomic bomb will not be going away any time soon due to long half-life of the contaminates and nuclear-developing countries. Works Cited .“Rocky Flats Plant (USDOE).” Rocky Flats Plant (USDOE) | Region 8 | US EPA. n.p,. n.d. Web. 3 May 2014. “Energy & Radioactivity.” AtomicBombMuseum.org – Destructive Effects. AtomicBombMuseum.org,. 2006. Web. 3 May 2014. .“The Effects of nuclear weapons.” Friends of Earth: Anti nuclear working group. Friends of Earth. n.p,. n.d. Web. 3 May 2014. http://www.motherearth.org/nuke/begin2.php#3/
"The truth is bad enough--but nowhere near as bad as you probably think. The truth will do away with a lot of silly ideas, a lot of completely wrong notions, which millions of people now believe about the atomic bomb. These ideas could easily cause great panic. And right now the possibility of panic is one of the best weapons any enemy could use against us." (Gerstell, How to Survive an Atomic Bomb 1)
“Hiroshima,” brings to light the psychological impact the detonation of the atomic bomb over Hiroshima had. Following the atomic bomb, over a hundred thousand people were dead and another one hundred thousand people severely injured in a city with a population of 250,000. Dr. Sasaki and Mr. Tanimoto were left wondering why they had survived while so many others had perished, this is known as survivor’s guilt and it can be very heavy and dangerous baggage to carry. On the historic day of the first use of the atomic weapon, Mr. Tanimoto spent most of his time helping people however, one night he was walking in the dark and he tripped over an injured person. He felt a sense of shame for accidentally hurting wounded people, who were in enough pain
Eric Schollser argues in his paper “Today’s Nuclear Dilemma,” that the nuclear weapons in the world, and the issues that they are associated with, should be of major concern to today’s society. Nuclear Weapons were of world wide concern during the time of the Cold War. These weapons, and their ability to cause colossal devastation, brought nightmares into reality as the threat of nuclear war was a serious and imminent issue. The US and Russia both built up their inventories of these pieces of artillery, along with the rest of their arsenals, in an attempt to overpower the other. This past terror has become a renewed concern because many of the countries with these nuclear weapons in their control have started to update their collections. One
In August of 1945, the world changed forever with the dropping of the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The lives of millions were shattered in a few seconds as the bombs demolished their homes and murdered their family members. Never has one incident in history affected such a great number of people for so many years. Today, the Japanese are still feeling the effects of the dropping of the atomic bombs. With the marking of the fifty-year anniversary in 1995, the dreadful scars still remain in the bodies and the hearts of those who were present in 1945. The radiation emitted from the atomic bombs caused numerous growth disorders, many psychological and social effects along with a drastic increase in leukemia and breast cancer that affected many innocent civilians.
The development of the atomic bomb and chemical warfare forever changed the way people saw the world. It was a landmark in time for which there was no turning back. The constant balancing of the nuclear super powers kept the whole of humankind on the brink of atomic Armageddon. Fear of nuclear winter and the uncertainty of radiation created its own form of a cultural epidemic in the United States. During these tense times in human history officials made controversial decisions such as the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Dangerous biological experiments and bombs tests were carried out in the name of the greater good and national defense. Some historians and scientists argue that the decisions and acts carried out by the U.S. during World War II and the Cold War were unethical because of the direct damage they did. The United States' decisions were moral because it can be proven their actions were aimed at achieving a greater good and those that were put in potential danger volunteered and were informed of the risk.
Due to the devastation between 1941 and 1945, approximately half a million American lives were consumed in response to defend the United States. In contrary to the declination of intensity of World War II in the European hemisphere, Japan does not gestures any signs of retreat on the Pacific in the spring of 1945. Japanese confrontation, Iwo Jima and Okinawa alone, accounts for more than 18,000 American deaths and 36,000 wounded. Pressure weighed heavy as President Harry Truman entered office. The rise of information reached Truman on the Manhattan Project in which research was invested in the upcoming manufacturing of the World`s first atomic bomb. The use of nuclear warfare remains questionable. Americans confounded by the bombing of Hiroshima
The atomic bomb created under the Manhattan Project set a new level of psychological panic. It influence media, government, and daily lives of those all around the world. The media was covering stories about protection from a nuclear attack and the government was right next to the reporters helping to further the creation of fear with their messages about preparation.
After the first few days of the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki Americans, without knowledge of the aftermath of these cities, began cheering and celebrating as the bombings marked the end of World War II. Also, this event showed that Americans would be the ones who would lead the world into the nuclear age. In a Gallup Poll taken from August 10-15, 1945, Americans were asked whether or not they approved or disapproved of the use of atomic bombs on Japanese cities, 85 percent approved, ten percent disapproved and five had no opinion.30 then when asked if the development of the atomic bomb was a good or bad thing, 69 percent said it was a good thing, 17 percent said it was bad, and 14 percent had no opinion (Steele).
Atomic bomb was the biggest turning point in modern history. A nuclear weapon is an explosive device that derives its destructive force from nuclear reactions. The use of nuclear weapons to bomb Hiroshima and Nagasaki in Japan wasn’t like any other weapons; it was more than that. Bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki killed in total of 130,000 people in Japan. The aftermath of the atomic bomb, nuclear weapon, was much more serious and danger than anyone thought it was.
The Manhattan Project totaled to a cost of two billion dollars. They were able to create fission bombs that changed the look and destruction of war (Stimson). With Japan’s surrender, World War II was coming to an end. The emperor was looked down by a small groups but was later subdued. With this great power comes a great responsibility. An all out nuclear warfare could destroy humanity. To make sure a nuclear warfare doesn’t happen, treaties were made so no country would fire a nuclear weapon unless they wanted to strike first which would result in the start of a nuclear warfare. Now that most countries possess nuclear weapons, everyone must watch each other before another World War starts.
The nuclear bomb was the most devastating weapon ever created by man. It was developed between 1942 and 1945 during the second World War. The project to build the worlds first atomic weapon was called The Manhattan Project. The nuclear bomb was based on the idea of splitting an atom to create energy, this is called fission. Three bombs were created, “Trinity”, “Little Boy”, and “Fat Man”. “Trinity” was dropped on a test site in New Mexico on July 16, 1945, proving the theories, engineering and mathematics of the bomb to be correct. Shortly after that, not more than 2 months, the U.S. performed the first actual nuclear attack in the history of war. The bomb “Little Boy” was dropped on the town of Hiroshima, instantly killing thousands. “Fat Man” was dropped shortly after on the town of Nagasaki. After the bombing almost all scientist involved with the creation of the bomb regretted its construction and spoke out against the abolishment of nuclear weapons.
From the creation of nuclear weapons at the start of the Cold War to today, the world has experienced struggles fueled by the want of nuclear power. The bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the Cuban Missile Crisis, and Iran’s nuclear weapon program are some of the most important conflicts over nuclear weapons. Thanks to the use of nuclear weapons in 1945 to end World War II, the world has come extremely close to a nuclear war, and more countries have began developing nuclear power. Unmistakably, many conflicts since the start of the Cold War have been caused by nuclear weapons, and there are many more to come.
In 1945, the United States released a nuclear bomb that destroyed the city of Hiroshima. Nagasaki was also bombed. Thousands of people died and a quarter of a million more perished of radiation poisoning (“There Will Come Soft Rains (short story)”). With the development of nuclear weapons in the world the possibility of a nuclear war was a daily fear within people (“There Will Come Soft Rains (short story)”).
The development and usage of the first atomic bombs has caused a change in military, political, and public functionality of the world today. The bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki revolutionized warfare by killing large masses of civilian population with a single strike. The bombs’ effects from the blast, extreme heat, and radiation left an estimated 140,000 people dead. The bombs created a temporary resolution that lead to another conflict. The Cold War was a political standoff between the Soviet Union and the United States that again created a new worldwide nuclear threat. The destructive potential of nuclear weapons had created a global sweep of fear as to what might happen if these terrible forces where unleashed again. The technology involved in building the first atomic bombs has grown into the creation of nuclear weapons that are potentially 40 times more powerful than the original bombs used. However, a military change in strategy has came to promote nuclear disarmament and prevent the usage of nuclear weapons. The technology of building the atomic bomb has spurred some useful innovations that can be applied through the use of nuclear power. The fear of a potential nuclear attack had been heightened by the media and its release of movies impacting on public opinion and fear of nuclear devastation. The lives lost after the detonation of the atomic bombs have become warning signs that changed global thinking and caused preventative actions.
New inventions are created daily; however, it is those that truly change the world that are remembered. The use and discovery of atomic energy negatively impacts the world because of the danger it entails. Many people across the world believe that the use of atomic energy is a mistake based off of past events that have occurred such as the bombings at Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The abuse of atomic energy has been proven to damage society’s morale, population and could potentially destroy entire populations.