#atomic bomb
Fireworks explode on the 10th anniversary of the Hiroshima A-Bomb dropping at the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park on August 6, 1955
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The Dead Sea Sound - The Sky Has Always Been Falling (Official Video)
Radioactive Fallout in Hiroshima and Nagasaki
Immediately after the detonation of the Hiroshima (left) and Nagasaki (right) atomic bombs, two types of radioactive fallout were present, initial and residual.
Initial radiation comes from the detonation of the bomb, and immediately effects those in the local vicinity of the blast. The large amount of immediate deaths in the bombings were due to other factors such as flash or flame burns, falling debris, suffocation, etc… and not that of initial radiation. However, in the coming days and weeks following the blasts, about 30-50% of survivors succumb to the extreme amounts of initial radiation their bodies had absorbed.
Residual radiation has a longer lasting effect, and is what sticks (or is formed inside of) physical matter such as soil, buildings, and bodies. Deaths from residual radiation were relatively low due to the lack of a substantial amount of nuclear fallout as seen in other nuclear incidents. The bombs were detonated ~500 meters above street level, maximizing the large scale devastation to buildings, but limiting the amount of radioactive soil thrown into the atmosphere (that would eventually rain back down onto the ground). Most of the residual radiation had been pushed upwards into the mushroom cloud.
The threat of nuclear contamination was relatively low, and didn’t seem to pose a long threat of radiation poisoning as seen in the Chernobyl disaster. Because of this, reconstruction of the cities began only months after the bombings.
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¡Agáchense y cúbranse!
Vídeo de 1951 en que enseñan a los niños estadounidenses cómo protegerse de una explosión atómica: ¡agachándose y cubriéndose! Con demostración y canción de la tortuga Bert incluidas.
Cita para la eternidad: “¿Sabes cuánto duele una quemadura por tomar el sol? Pues una explosión atómica puede quemarte aún más.”
The Dead Sea Sound - The Sky Has Always Been Falling (Official Video)
This is one of the really interesting methods used by scientists to discover the information shared in Skunk Bear’s new video:
The level of carbon-14 in the atmosphere will soon be indistinguishable from pre-1940s levels, so this method won’t work for much longer.
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An Important History Lesson.
We took a day trip to Hiroshima today to visit the Atomic Bomb Dome, Peace Park and museum.
There are very few words that can convey accurately just how one feels when walking about the place. I don’t think I’ve ever felt more moved in my life. I made particular point of reading all of the plaques featured next to artefacts in the museum, telling the stories of their (more often than not) child owners.
I highly recommend a visit, if only in the hope that more people walk away from the experience with the realisation that nuclear weapons are horrific things that no one should ever be allowed to possess.
Humans can be truly horrible creatures.
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My thoughts on scientific responsibility.
Read my new post: “The Responsibility of the Scientist: A Cloud of Uncertainty” - http://pbly.co/FMDblog22
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Private train carriage of Yuli Khariton, who was the main constructor of the Soviet atomic bomb project. Because he was indispendable to the country, he was not allowed to travel by plane or public train. He always travelled in this special carriage, along with the caretaker lady Klavdiya (who cooked, cleaned and served) and armed guards.
This is the real carriage he used since 1961.
The carriage consists of firewood-heated kitchen, Klavdiya’s compartment, guest room, guards room, Khariton’s room with a private bathroom, and conference room. Khariton’s room was both his bedroom and study. The bathroom has a whole bath tub in it! In the room is the 1902 carpet that Khariton refused to change for a newer one. :) There are also radio phones, you could phone from the guest room to Khariton’s room, for example.
Yuli Khariton travelled a lot. The carriage would be hitched up to any train going in the needed direction, passenger or cargo. None of the train’s passengers knew that there was an additional car travelling with them.
This is a great piece of history that I truly enjoyed. Secret lives of trains and scientists! :) — Sovietpostcards
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