On August 6th, 1945, the United States dropped the first atomic bomb on Hiroshima, Japan. Three days later, another bomb dropped on Nagasaki. Today, these events are known as the end of World War II, and also the only time that the military used nuclear bombs in war.
The bombs not only impacted world history, but also caused the American public to feel fear and uncertainty towards the implications of nuclear physics and radiation.
In 1937, Ernest Rutherford published The Newer Alchemy, a book written about his work with nuclear physics and radiation. At the time, the public thought of radiation as an all-powerful source of energy that could enpower entire cities. The concept took on an almost magical quality (hence the name of Rutherford’s book) that allowed man to control matter. The concept seemed to have such power that a newspaper described Rutherford’s book as “Science on the road to revolutionize all existence. No limit to man’s power over nature” (Ropeik). However, this fascination with radiation happened eight years before the bombing of Hiroshima, and as quickly as people became captivated by the idea of the all-powerful substance, the public soon learned to fear how the science of the atomic bomb could impact their lives.
Shortly after World War II ended in 1945, the American people became engrossed with the idea that unexpected annihilation could happen any second. In response, the government created propaganda on how to survive an atomic bomb in order to bring peace and calm into the society while also attempting to minimize the intense fear and hopelessness that some people carried (Reeves). This idea sparked the worldwide campaign “Duck and Cover” that taught children to hide under their desks in case catastrophe struck during the school day. The good intentions of the government had very little effect on the public because during the 1950’s, fear of atomic annihilation escalated with the very public fear of communism. There is very little coincidence that this time period marks the beginning of the Cold War with the Soviet Union, and this growing tension between the United States and Russia lead to the space race, which lead to an American man landing on the moon. The Apollo 11 space travel is one scientific accomplishment that stemmed from the fear that the Russians would send missiles to the States from the moon. Furthermore, the uncertainty about whether or not both countries had atomic bombs in their arsenal kept the tension surrounding the Cold War at an all-time high. The potential weapons developments kept the battles at bay because both countries knew that if either opponent sent a bomb, the only viable result would be a mutually destructive nuclear war.
The idea of impending destruction was not the only thing that American’s feared of the bomb, but also the health effects. The discovery that radiation both caused and cured cancer brought up an intense debate about whether using this kind of science on humans was a viable option. Today, fears about nuclear power plant accidents have kept us from using the sustainable source of energy, even though there is plenty of evidence that shows that coal-power is incredibly hazardous to people and the environment. The debate on the effect of nuclear power do not come close to the pandemonium caused after Hiroshima and Nagasaki because of the emerging effects that the radiation caused on the humans and the environment.