On the 60^th Anniversary of Hiroshima A-Bombing

Attached here is a 3-second recording of the blast produced by the detonation of the first atom bomb 300 meters above Hiroshima. Attached also is the radio broadcast of US President Truman explaining the reasons for dropping the bomb: that Hiroshima was a military base, which it was not; that this was supposed to shorten the war, when in fact, Japan had practically been defeated and was not in a position to fight on for long.

A month before the bomb was dropped 69 scientists at the Chicago Metallurgical Laboratory wrote a petition to the US president (appended), the main point of which is in the following paragraphs:

"The war has to be brought speedily to a successful conclusion and attacks by atomic bombs may very well be an effective method of warfare. We feel, however, that such attacks on Japan could not be justified, at least not unless the terms which will be imposed after the war on Japan were made public in detail and Japan were given an opportunity to surrender.

"If such public announcement gave assurance to the Japanese they could look forward to a life devoted to peaceful pursuits in their homeland and if Japan still refused to surrender our nation might then, in certain circumstances, find itself forced to resort to the use of atomic bombs. Such a step, however, ought not to be made at any time without seriously considering the moral responsibilities which are involved."

The US president did not listen to the scientists who worked on the bomb and proceeded to bomb Hiroshima, the result of which are as follows:

1. The amount of energy generated by the bomb was equivalent to the amount of energy generated by a 15-kiloton TNT explosion.

2. On the ground, beneath the explosion center (hypocenter), the temperature rose to approximately 7,000 degree F. (Boiling water is 212 degree F), recreating hell on earth.

3. On the stairway of the entrance to a bank, 1/8 mile from the explosion center, a man was sitting waiting for its opening. The surface of the stone stairway was changed by the immense heat. The part where the man was sitting remained unchanged because his body absorbed the heat.

4. Roof (ceramic) tiles on houses within 1/3 mile radius from the explosion center melted, and gray stones which contained silicon particles became white. The clothes which people wore were burnt by the heat within 1 1/4 mile radius from the explosion center.

5. An ultra high pressure was generated by the explosion. The wind velocity on the ground beneath the explosion center was 980 miles/hr, which is five times stronger than the wind generated by strong hurricanes.

6. The pressure was 3.5 kg per square centi-meter. Imagine a weight of 3.5 kilos concentrated on a sq cm of space.

7. At a point that was 1/3 mile from the explosion center, the wind velocity was 620 miles/hr; the pressure was 4,600 pound per square feet. Most of concrete buildings inside this range were completely destroyed.

8. Even a mile from the explosion center, where the wind velocity was 190 miles/hr and the pressure was 1,180 pound per square feet, all brick buildings were completely destroyed.

9. The explosion generated Alpha, Beta, Gamma and neutron rays. Alpha and Beta rays were absorbed by the air and did not reach to the ground. Gamma and neutron rays were strong enough to reach the ground; thus it was these rays that affected people.

10. Within 1/16 mile radius from the explosion center, most people died within a few hours (even in the case where they were not directly exposed to the heat or wind). Within a half mile radius, most people died within 30 days after the explosion.

11. The people who entered the area within a half mile radius from the explosion center in the first 100 hours after the explosion were also affected by the remaining radiation on the ground.

12. By the end of 1945 the estimated number of people who died as a direct result of the bomb was 140,000.

13. The number of people who died as a direct result of the bomb was approximately 200,000.

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Petition to the President of the United States by
Scientists at the Chicago Metallurgical Laboratory

July 17, 1945

A PETITION TO THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES

Discoveries of which the people of the United States are not aware may affect the welfare of this nation in the near future. The liberation of atomic power which has been achieved places atomic bombs in the hands of the Army. It places in your hands, as Commander-in-Chief, the fateful decision whether or not to sanction the use of such bombs in the present phase of the war against Japan.

We, the undersigned scientists, have been working in the field of atomic power. Until recently we have had to fear that the United States might be attacked by atomic bombs during this war and that her only defense might lie in a counterattack by the same means. Today, with the defeat of Germany, this danger is averted and we feel impelled to say what follows:

The war has to be brought speedily to a successful conclusion and attacks by atomic bombs may very well be an effective method of warfare. We feel, however, that such attacks on Japan could not be justified, at least not unless the terms which will be imposed after the war on Japan were made public in detail and Japan were given an opportunity to surrender.

If such public announcement gave assurance to the Japanese that they could look forward to a life devoted to peaceful pursuits in their homeland and if Japan still refused to surrender our nation might then, in certain circumstances, find itself forced to resort to the use of atomic bombs. Such a step, however, ought not to be made at any time without seriously considering the moral responsibilities which are involved.

The development of atomic power will provide the nations with new means of destruction. The atomic bombs at our disposal represent only the first step in this direction, and there is almost no limit to the destructive power which will become available in the course of their future development. Thus a nation which sets the precedent of using these newly liberated forces of nature for purposes of destruction may have to bear the responsibility of opening the door to an era of devastation on an unimaginable scale.

If after this war a situation is allowed to develop in the world which permits rival powers to be in uncontrolled possession of these new means of destruction, the cities of the United States as well as the cities of other nations will be in continuous danger of sudden annihilation. All the resources of the United States, moral and material, may have to be mobilized to prevent the advent of such a world situation. Its prevention is at present the solemn responsibility of the United States--singled out by virtue of her lead in the field of atomic power.

The added material strength which this lead gives to the United States brings with it the obligation of restraint and if we were to violate this obligation our moral position would be weakened in the eyes of the world and in our own eyes. It would then be more difficult for us to live up to our responsibility of bringing the unloosened forces of destruction under control.

In view of the foregoing, we, the undersigned, respectfully petition, first, that you exercise your power as Commander-in-Chief, to rule that the United States shall not resort to the use of atomic bombs in this war unless the terms which will be imposed upon Japan have been made public in detail and Japan knowing these terms has refused to surrender; second, that in such an event the question whether or not to use atomic bombs be decided by you in the light of the considerations presented in this petition as well as all the other moral responsibilities which are involved.

[Signed by 69 scientists at the Chicago Metallurgical Laboratory]

Source: Dennis Merrill, ed., Documentary history of the Truman Presidency, vol. 1: The decision to drop the atomic bomb on Japan (University Publications of America:1995), 219.

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