Power Of 500 Atomic Bombs example essay topic

Atomic Power Keeps the World on the Brink It was 1945 and World War II was in full swing. Bombs were falling all over Europe, destruction was everywhere, and Nazi death camps were running at full speed attempting to exterminate the Jewish population and others deemed undesirable. Japan's bombing of Pearl Harbor, four years earlier, had forced the United States to end its isolationist practices and join the battle. In the secret labs of Los Alamos there lurked a new weapon. At this lab scientists were working feverishly to complete what would become the most destructive and potent weapon the Earth had ever seen, the atomic bomb. Not only would this bomb end the final stage of World War II but it also set the world on a dangerous path to see who could create and amass the most powerful arsenal of weapons.

The effects of this would be far reaching and would create an uneasy aura of anxiety that permeated through the conscience of humanity. It was a race against time. Whoever was first to unlock the mysteries of the atom would inevitably win the war. Fortunately for the preservation of humanity, God and luck was on the side of the Allied powers, and the United States was able to complete the puzzle first. Ironically a German scientist who defected during the war helped fill in some of the missing links to the equation.

This magnificent device was able to unleash the power of the atom creating an explosion equal to roughly 15 kilotons of TNT. After Japan's rejection of multiple warnings to surrender and give up the war they set their own fate in the history books to be the first to experience the horror of this new weaponry. On August 5th, 1945, an American B-29 Super fortress dropped the first atomic bomb on the Japanese city of Hiroshima. As the plane, which was later named Enola Gaye, departed the drop site and began its return home, a large mushroom shaped cloud of smoke rose up from the city. This city of nearly 300,000 people experienced enormous devastation. Somewhere between 40,000 and 72,000 human lives vanished in minutes from this incredible force of atomic power.

Buildings, trees, and other animals, also vanished in the intense wave of nuclear heat the shot outward from the drop point. An estimated 70,000 out of 76,000 buildings in the city were destroyed. The United States again asked for Japan's surrender, and again Japan's leadership refused. Despite the unimaginable destruction and loss of life that had occurred at Hiroshima the Japanese chose to insanely fight onward. On August 9th, 1945, another atomic bomb was dropped, this time on the city of Nagasaki. As with the first blast, this city was also completely devastated.

The death toll here stood between 30,000 and 40,000, with 44 percent of the city destroyed. Finally, now believing that there country really would face utter annihilation, the Japanese announced their unconditional surrender and the final stage of World War II had come to an abrupt end. This feeling of relief would not last long. With the war over and before the new era of peace could comfortably set in, the race to develop even more powerful weaponry was on. The two main competitors were the United States and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (U.S.S.R. ).

These two former allies, who had radically different governmental and political ideologies, emerged from the war as the two lone superpowers of the world. They were neck and neck in a major arms race that would put the world on the edge of it's seat and send it into a period of great anxiety and worry. As these two superpowers continued their arms race, increasingly powerful bombs were developed. The creation of nuclear bombs that had the power of 500 atomic bombs, the size of the ones dropped on Nagasaki and Hiroshima, worried the international community of the fate these weapons could inevitably bring. Weapons of this power could wipe out an entire nation in minutes and could lead to the complete destruction of the world. Since the 1980's, with the demise of the Soviet Union and treaties designed at reducing the massive nuclear weapons arsenals, the period that became known as the Cold War gradually simmered and dissipated.

However, there are new dangers that lurk on the horizon for the countries of the world. Third world countries, terrorist groups, and other rogue states, with unstable and sometimes quite irrational leadership are continuing their quest to obtain nuclear secrets. The intentions of many these groups are to inflict pain and suffering on the peaceful countries of the world. The odds are that sometime soon they will acquire this knowledge, ushering in another period of great uncertainty and unyielding anxiety.

Bibliography

Kreis, Steven, Hitler and Word War II, web steve / europe /lecture 11. html, 2000.
Matthews, Roy and Platt, F. Dewitt, The Western Humanities, Volume II: The Renaissance to the Present. Mountain View, CA: Mayfield Publishing Company, 2001.
The History Place, World War II in the Pacific, web / 2001.