Argumentative Essay On Little Boy
On August 6, 1945, a US Boeing B-29 Superfortress bomber, named the Enola Gay, piloted by Colonel Paul Tibbets, dropped a nuclear weapon nicknamed Little Boy over the Japanese city of Hiroshima. The Enola Gay opened its bay doors and dropped Little Boy at approximately 8:15 a.m. local time. Upon reaching 1900 feet above the city, Little Boy detonated. The initial blast killed over 45,000 people instantly (Lallanilla, 2014). Some people believe that this was inhumane; however, the bombing made the process of ending World War II quick and effective, it saved millions of lives on both sides, and it could also be seen as direct retaliation for Pearl Harbor.
The bombing of Hiroshima saved millions of lives, not just US, but also Japanese. Not many …show more content…
Using firebomb raids, the US could wear down on the Japanese through lack of food and repeatedly annihilating Japanese towns. The United States launched a similar attack on Tokyo in March of 1945. The attacked resulted in one hundred thousand fatalities. The best strategy would have been to firebomb the rice harvest of 1946 in May; however, this would cause the war to drag on for over half year longer. This would lead to more casualties for the Chinese, which the Japanese were attacking, the Japanese, and the US. Adding up the casualties from all of these, the death count would be approximately 10 million. (Jenkins, …show more content…
Little Boy, the name of the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima, was an incredible advancement in technology at its time. As the President of the United States, Harry S. Truman, put it, "It is an atomic bomb. It is a harnessing of the basic power of the universe. The force from which the sun draws its power has been loosed against those who brought war to the Far East" (Truman, 1945). This is mostly true. The process in which the atomic bomb and the sun use are very similar. The sun uses nuclear fusion, meaning it releases energy from the forming of bonds in atoms. The atomic bomb uses nuclear fission, meaning it releases energy from the breaking of bonds in atoms. In the case of Little Boy, the atom undergoing fission is uranium-235. Little Boy is considered a gun-type atomic bomb, meaning a projectile, made of uranium, is fired at a target, also composed of uranium. The uranium achieves critical mass, causing the uranium-235 to start a chain reaction (Little Boy, 2014). This chain reaction is what devastated Hiroshima and helped end World War
The bombing of Hiroshima saved millions of lives, not just US, but also Japanese. Not many …show more content…
Using firebomb raids, the US could wear down on the Japanese through lack of food and repeatedly annihilating Japanese towns. The United States launched a similar attack on Tokyo in March of 1945. The attacked resulted in one hundred thousand fatalities. The best strategy would have been to firebomb the rice harvest of 1946 in May; however, this would cause the war to drag on for over half year longer. This would lead to more casualties for the Chinese, which the Japanese were attacking, the Japanese, and the US. Adding up the casualties from all of these, the death count would be approximately 10 million. (Jenkins, …show more content…
Little Boy, the name of the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima, was an incredible advancement in technology at its time. As the President of the United States, Harry S. Truman, put it, "It is an atomic bomb. It is a harnessing of the basic power of the universe. The force from which the sun draws its power has been loosed against those who brought war to the Far East" (Truman, 1945). This is mostly true. The process in which the atomic bomb and the sun use are very similar. The sun uses nuclear fusion, meaning it releases energy from the forming of bonds in atoms. The atomic bomb uses nuclear fission, meaning it releases energy from the breaking of bonds in atoms. In the case of Little Boy, the atom undergoing fission is uranium-235. Little Boy is considered a gun-type atomic bomb, meaning a projectile, made of uranium, is fired at a target, also composed of uranium. The uranium achieves critical mass, causing the uranium-235 to start a chain reaction (Little Boy, 2014). This chain reaction is what devastated Hiroshima and helped end World War