Brightened Skies and Darkened Souls:
A study of the necessity of the Atomic attacks on Japan that ended World War II
The atom bomb was a weapon of incredible power. The bomb was so potent it could devastate a city singlehandedly. The atom bomb harnesses a natural event known as fission. This event happens on a molecular scale, but releases more energy than it uses to begin. When fission occurs enough in close quarters, it releases enough energy to create a large explosion. The Bomb was created in 1945 by a coalition of physicists secretly funded by the American government. Many scientists such as Leo Szilard had received word that the Nazi government was already developing something similar (Wyden 45). Any bomb as powerful as that would tip the scales of war in favor of whoever possessed the weapon. The decision to drop The Bomb is a controversial topic that is still debated today by both prominent historians, and common people. Some historians believe that there were other reasonable options available to try to end the war, while others hold that this view is ridiculous and unrealistic. World War II had already killed over 3 million Japanese and Americans; any continuation of a war that deadly would ultimately lead to many more deaths. This was a situation that the American military would do much to avoid. The atom bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki saved the lives of people in all involved parties by bringing about a quick and decisive end to the bloody war in the Pacific Ocean.
The bomb was developed by an elite team of the nations top physicists working in secret on a project called The Manhattan Project. This group included the likes of Enrico Fermi and Robert Oppenheimer. The project was supervised by General Groves...