A.J.+Week+10

The idea of a super bomb was brought about because bigger is always better. Leaders began to understand that whoever had the latest technology would have the upper hand in the war effort. So, governments began enlisting leagues of scientists to discover new ideas that would make it easier to kill the other side, or to save the lives of the men on their side. This is what led to the creation of an atomic bomb. The ultimate weapon would be one that could wipe out a maximum amount of the enemy with minimal to no casualties on the home side. The idea of splitting an atom became revolutionary. The fact that by splitting one of the smallest things known by man would end up creating the kind of destruction an atomic bomb was unimaginable. Frisch and Peierls explained exactly how an atomic bomb works and its destructive capabilities. “In addition to the destructive effect of the explosion itself, the whole material of the bomb would be transformed into a highly radioactive stage. The energy radiated by these active substances will amount to about 20% of the energy liberated in the explosion, and the radiations would be fatal to living beings even a long time after the explosion. The fission of uranium results in the formation of a great number of active bodies with periods between, roughly speaking, a second and a year. The resulting radiation is found to decay in such a way that the intensity is about inversely proportional to the time. Even one day after the explosion the radiation will correspond to a power expenditure of the order 1,000 kW, or to the radiation of a hundred tons of radium.”(Frisch and Peirerls) I do not understand how someone could order the use of one if they could see the after affects of one of these bombs. Not only the initial strike of the bomb creates destruction, but the radiation afterwards kills people as well. It could be years before it is safe for a person to walk within the zone where the radiation affected. This bomb would not only affect military personnel, but also the civilian population in the surrounding areas. Of course, it would be the enemy side that would feel the effects on the civilians, but still they aren’t the ones that should be targeted. Both sides of the war effort were discovering the technology of the atomic bomb. Each knew that if the other used it first then the war would be won by that side. Einstein warned Roosevelt of this and tried to help him along to keep the U.S. on the winning side. In his letter to Roosevelt he explained to him where the best sources of uranium were located. This would help advance along the research and make the bombs more potent. I do not totally agree with the idea of the atomic bomb, but I’m glad that the U.S. wasn’t the one to have one used against them. So, if it comes down to kill or be killed I would have to agree with what decided. I don’t agree with the ethics behind the bomb, but I agree with the strategy surrounding the use of one.