1. By August 9th, American aircraft were showering leaflets all over Japan informing its people that "We are in possession of the most destructive explosive ever devised by man.  A single one of our newly developed atomic bombs is actually the equivalent in explosive power to what 2,000 of our giant B-29s can carry on a single mission. 
Nuclear Debate
Is it ok to drop nuclear weapons on other countries. Why, and who makes that decision?

2. Enola Gay

3. Nuclear Bomb

4. Nukes
Nuclear fission - You can split the nucleus of an atom into two smaller fragments with a neutron. This method usually involves isotopes of uranium (uranium-235, uranium-233) or plutonium-239.
Nuclear fusion -You can bring two smaller atoms, usually hydrogen or hydrogen isotopes (deuterium, tritium), together to form a larger one (helium or helium isotopes); this is how the sun produces energy
In either process, fission or fusion, large amounts of heat energy and radiation are given off.
To build an atomic bomb, you need:
A source of fissionable or fusionable fuel
A triggering device
A way to allow the majority of fuel to fission or fuse before the explosion occurs (otherwise the bomb will fizzle out)

5. Why did they drop it?
Q Do you feel that President Truman and those immediately below him gave full and conscientious study to all the alternatives to use of the atomic bomb?
A I do not think they did. They thought only in terms of our having to end the war by military means.
I don't think Japan would have surrendered unconditionally without the use of force. But there was no need to demand the unconditional surrender of Japan. If we had offered Japan the kind of peace treaty which we actually gave her, we could have had a negotiated peace.
Nagasaki
Cause of Death
Percent of Total
Burns
95%
Falling debris 9
Flying glass 7
Other
Hiroshima
Cause of Death
Percent of Total
Burns
60%
Falling debris 30
Other 10

6. Little Boy and Fat Man

7. Where?

8. Hiroshima
The bomber, piloted by the commander of the 509th Composite Group, Colonel Paul Tibbets, flew at low altitude on automatic pilot before climbing to 31,000 feet as it neared the target area.  At approximately 8:15 a.m. Hiroshima time the Enola Gay released "Little Boy," its 9,700-pound uranium bomb, over the city.  Tibbets immediately dove away to avoid the anticipated shock wave.  Forty-three seconds later, a huge explosion lit the morning sky as Little Boy detonated 1,900 feet above the city, directly over a parade field where soldiers of the Japanese Second Army were doing calisthenics.  Though already eleven and a half miles away, the Enola Gay was rocked by the blast.  At first, Tibbets thought he was taking flak.  After a second shock wave (reflected from the ground) hit the plane, the crew looked back at Hiroshima.  "The city was hidden by that awful cloud boiling up, mushrooming, terrible and incredibly tall," Tibbets recalled.  The yield of the explosion was later estimated at 15 kilotons (the equivalent of 15,000 tons of TNT).

9. Nagasaki
THE ATOMIC BOMBING OF NAGASAKI Nagasaki (August 9, 1945) Events: Dawn of the Atomic Era, 1945
The next break in the weather over Japan was due to appear just three days after the attack on Hiroshima, to be followed by at least five more days of prohibitive weather.  The plutonium bomb, nicknamed "Fat Man," was rushed into readiness to take advantage of this window.  No further orders were required for the attack.  Truman's order of July 25th had authorized the dropping of additional bombs as soon as they were ready.  At 3:47 a.m. on August 9, 1945, a B-29 named Bock's Car lifted off from Tinian and headed toward the primary target: Kokura Arsenal, a massive collection of war industries adjacent to the city of Kokura.  

10. Lasting Effects
Several days after the blast, however, medical staff began to recognize the first symptoms of radiation sickness among the survivors.  Soon the death rate actually began to climb again as patients who had appeared to be recovering began suffering from this strange new illness.  Deaths from radiation sickness did not peak until three to four weeks after the attacks and did not taper off until seven to eight weeks after the attack.  Long-range health dangers associated with radiation exposure, such as an increased danger of cancer, would linger for the rest of the victims' lives, as would the psychological effects of the attack.

12. Death Toll
No one will ever know for certain how many died as a result of the attack on Hiroshima.  Some 70,000 people probably died as a result of initial blast, heat, and radiation effects.  This included about twenty American airmen being held as prisoners in the city.  By the end of 1945, because of the lingering effects of radioactive fallout and other after effects, the Hiroshima death toll was probably over 100,000.  The five-year death total may have reached or even exceeded 200,000, as cancer and other long-term effects took hold.

13. Waiting for Surrender
Following the bombing of Hiroshima on August 6, 1945 (right), the Japanese government met to consider what to do next.  The emperor had been urging since June that Japan find some way to end the war, but the Japanese Minister of War and the heads of both the Army and the Navy held to their position that Japan should wait and see if arbitration via the Soviet Union might still produce something less than a surrender.  Military leaders also hoped that if they could hold out until the ground invasion of Japan began, they would be able to inflict so many casualties on the Allies that Japan still might win some sort of negotiated settlement.

14. Surrender
Next came the virtually simultaneous arrival of news of the Soviet declaration of war on Japan of August 8, 1945, and the atomic bombing of Nagasaki of the following day.  Another Imperial Council was held the night of August 9-10, and this time the vote on surrender was a tie, 3-to-3.  For the first time in a generation, the emperor (right) stepped forward from his normally ceremonial-only role and personally broke the tie, ordering Japan to surrender.

15. The Making of Destruction

16. Debate Was dropping the bomb justified? For dropping it
Discuss the events that would have happened if they didn’t
Discuss the relative lack of knowledge about the affects
Against dropping it
Discuss politics and the ability to negotiate
Discuss the value of human life. Is it ok for one nation to attack another like this even if they think it will be better in the long run?

17. Wikiwork Group 1: Nagasaki Group 2: Hiroshima Group 3: Atom Bomb
Group 4: Casualties and Aftermath

18. Scientist’s Opinion Q Was that the end of the illusion?
A Yes, this was the end of the illusion. But, you see, there was still a difference between using incendiary bombs and using the new force of nature for purposes of destruction. There was still a further step taken here - atomic energy was something new.
I thought it would be very bad to set a precedent for using atomic energy for purposes of destruction. And I think that having done so we have greatly affected the postwar history.