Events that lead to the atomic bombings in Japan during the world war II - Research Paper Example

For most of the people then and now, the full account of the events, the number of casualties as well as the internal decisions of all people involved in the Second World War were and still are vague. This paper aims to provide some information regarding several figures and concepts related to the atomic bombings in Hiroshima and Nagasaki, as well as to connect the said figures and concepts on these events in chronological order. Niels Bohr and the Development of the Nuclear Bomb While the whole development of the Nuclear Bomb can’t be solely attributed to Niels Bohr, he was an instrument for scientists in America to understand the processes by which nuclear energy from radioactive elements can be harnessed to produce a weapon stronger than the prevailing bomb formulations at that time.

Bohr was working on particle bombardment, and initially he believed that the chances of being able to use nuclear particles in a controlled setting may be far from happening anytime soon (Gosling 2). However, upon learning about the results of Otto Hahn and Fritz Strassmann about the splitting of the uranium atom into two lighter elements as well as the release of a large amount of energy and highly-reactive neutrons, which would trigger the repeat of the same process on other uranium atoms, and so on.

This process became known as nuclear fission, and became the core concept of the process of harnessing nuclear energy (Gosling 3). Bohr presented Hahn and Strassmann’ results in a conference around 1939, as well as having them published in that same year which enlightened many scientists, most especially those belonging to the Manhattan project (Rose 83). Bohr eventually assisted in the testing of the bombs at Los Alamos in 1944, a year before the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombings. He recognized the fact that if the allies were not able to produce an atomic bomb, the Germans might beat them to it, causing even more destruction (Rose 30).

Through these efforts, the first nuclear bomb was finished and was used to bomb Hiroshima in August 6, 1945. The Formation of the Interim Committee Before the bombings in Hiroshima and Nagasaki ensued, President Harry S. Truman formed the Interim Committee, an advisory group in charge of making recommendations on the use of atomic weapons during wartime as well as making a position for the U.S. on postwar atomic policy (Gosling 45). The group was consisted of members from different government groups: Secretary of War, Henry Stimson; George L.

Harrison, Deputy Secretary of War; Vannevar Bush, Director of the Office of Scientific Research and Development; Karl T. Compton, from the Manhattan project; Navy Undersecretary Ralph Bard; Secretary of State Will Clayton; and James Byrnes (Brune 606). The committee also had a scientific advisory team consisting of: Robert Oppenheimer, the Scientific Director of the Manhattan Project; Enrico Fermi, a Nobel Laureate for physics; Arthur Compton of the University of Chicago; and Ernest Lawrence, a well-known physicist, with General George C.

Marshall as their military representative (Gosling 45). During the meeting of the Interim Committee on May 31, 1945 they have concluded that the atomic bomb must be used against Japan in order for them to surrender as early as possible, and by doing so would send them the message that further resistance is futile (Brune 606). This conclusion was sent as a report on June 16 of the same year, as well as the additional advice that Japan must