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> It strikes me as pure evil that the very first use of nuclear energy was to drop a massive bomb over a bunch of fellow humans. Atomic weapons are a natural e

by lutusp 12y ago

> It strikes me as pure evil that the very first use of nuclear energy was to drop a massive bomb over a bunch of fellow humans. Atomic weapons are a natural evolutionary step up from conventional explosives, which are a natural evolutionary step up from clubs and rocks. All this talk about atomic weapons being qualitatively different (as opposed to quantitatively different) is mostly hyperbole, with one exception -- only wealthy industrial powers can create them ... so far. > Surely the force of nuclear weapons could have been demonstrated without actually dropping it on a concentration of living, healthy people. The people in charge decided that a demonstration wouldn't stop the war or the need to use the new weapons, and later events proved them right. Contrary to what many Americans believe, the Japanese didn't surrender because of the atomic bombings, but because Russia invaded Manchuria, a development the Japanese saw as much more dangerous than atomic bombs.

dolleyellama 12y ago
>The people in charge decided that a demonstration wouldn't stop the war or the need to use the new weapons, and later events proved them right. Contrary to what many Americans believe, the Japanese didn't surrender because of the atomic bombings, but because Russia invaded Manchuria, a development the Japanese saw as much more dangerous than atomic bombs. If that is the case, then that proves they were dead wrong about their justification for the necessity of dropping those bombs in the first place. Why tell everyone "we need to bomb" in order for Japan to surrender when you knew it wouldn't stop the war?
- lutusp 12y ago
  > Why tell everyone "we need to bomb" in order for Japan to surrender when you knew it wouldn't stop the war? For various political reasons (I'm not justifying this, only explaining it). The Manhattan Project began in response to the perceived threat that Germany might create an atomic weapon. In 1945, with Germany out of the picture, and with no alternative, people began to talk about using it against Japan. It was realized that, if we didn't force Japan to surrender to us, they would surrender to the Russians, with unimaginable postwar consequences. Again, I'm only explaining the thinking of the time, not justifying it. After the war, it was discovered that Germany was nowhere near creating an atomic bomb, but it came out that Japan was actively pursuing this class of weapon and was technically farther ahead, lacking only the raw materials. In the closing days of the war, a German submarine was intercepted trying to deliver uranium to Japan for use in a nuclear weapon they planned to build and use against the U.S. : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/German_submarine_U-234 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/German_submarine_U-234

by lutusp 12y ago

dolleyellama 12y ago

>The people in charge decided that a demonstration wouldn't stop the war or the need to use the new weapons, and later events proved them right. Contrary to what many Americans believe, the Japanese didn't surrender because of the atomic bombings, but because Russia invaded Manchuria, a development the Japanese saw as much more dangerous than atomic bombs. If that is the case, then that proves they were dead wrong about their justification for the necessity of dropping those bombs in the first place. Why tell everyone "we need to bomb" in order for Japan to surrender when you knew it wouldn't stop the war?

lutusp 12y ago
> Why tell everyone "we need to bomb" in order for Japan to surrender when you knew it wouldn't stop the war? For various political reasons (I'm not justifying this, only explaining it). The Manhattan Project began in response to the perceived threat that Germany might create an atomic weapon. In 1945, with Germany out of the picture, and with no alternative, people began to talk about using it against Japan. It was realized that, if we didn't force Japan to surrender to us, they would surrender to the Russians, with unimaginable postwar consequences. Again, I'm only explaining the thinking of the time, not justifying it. After the war, it was discovered that Germany was nowhere near creating an atomic bomb, but it came out that Japan was actively pursuing this class of weapon and was technically farther ahead, lacking only the raw materials. In the closing days of the war, a German submarine was intercepted trying to deliver uranium to Japan for use in a nuclear weapon they planned to build and use against the U.S. : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/German_submarine_U-234 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/German_submarine_U-234