Albert Einstein

“I do not believe that civilization will be wiped out in a war fought with the atomic bomb. Perhaps two-thirds of the people of the earth will be killed,” Albert Einstein. Although a slight humor is shown in his words, it is the sad truth.After viewing Trinity and Beyond: The Atomic Bomb Movie, I was horrified. What follows is a summary of the details from the documentary, my thoughtful personal reactions, questions the footage raised in my mind, and, finally, speculation on the most significant effects these tests may have had on humanity, governmental policies, and the environment. First a summary of the horrifying facts showcased in this documentary.

In the fall of 1939, Einstein sent a letter to President Franklin Roosevelt urging him to begin studies in the nuclear field. He feared that the technology would be used by the Germans in World War II, and we would be left with no defenses. Roosevelt agreed with these worries and created an advisory comity to study uranium. Leslie R. Groves, the man responsible for the Pentagon, was place in charged.

In 1945 some of the most significant events in nuclear weaponry happened. On July 16, 1945, Trinity, the first ever nuclear explosive devise, was tested. It had the equivalent power of 100 tons of TNT. Later in the year, the bombing of Japan also took place. Although Germany had already surrendered, the war in the Pacific still continued. Japan advanced an attack on the United States, and, in retaliation, the United States became the first and only country to use nuclear warfare. A bomb built with uranium and nicknamed “Little Boy,” was dropped on Hiroshima on August 6. The bomb was fifteen kilotons. Three days later, the “Fat Man” bomb was dropped on Nagasaki. This bomb was built with plutonium and was much more powerful than the previous at twenty kilotons. “Fat Man” raised the temperature to ten million degrees, vaporizing everything within a half mile. It also cause blindness to viewers up to ten miles away. It turned the sand into green glass and it is still radioactive today. In the two bombings on Japan over 100,000 people were killed. The massive effect caused a new age to begin, leaving the nuclear weapons of 1945 as blueprints for all future weapons.

Eleven months later, Vice Admiral W.H.P. Blandy pledged to start studies with atomic weaponry in a naval setting. Operation Crossroads was then put underway. On July 25, 1946, two bombs were tested far off the coast of Hawaii in Bikini Lagoon, Able and Baker. Animals, plant life, and ships were placed around to study the effects. Able was the first to be tested at twenty-one kilotons. When it was dropped, it missed its intended target by nearly 800 yards, yet the damage was still great, but it was nothing compared to Baker. Baker was the same as Able but set off under the water. It completely ripped off the bottom of ships and, unexpectedly, left the area very radioactive. The destructiveness of this test