tack on Pearl Harbor four years earlier was one of the justifications President Truman gave for his decision. Over 240,000 Japanese civilians died--the attack on Pearl Harbor was returned 100 times over. At 2:45 A.M. local time, August 6, 1945, a B-29 bomber named Enola Gay left the Pacific island of Tinian on a bombing mission. The target: Hiroshima. At 8:15 A.M. Japan time, the first atomic bomb dropped in history "The Little Boy" (made of uranium) exploded a minute later after being released, at approximately 580 meters above the center of Hiroshima. The temperature of the air at the point of explosion reached several million degrees Celsius. At the moment of explosion, intense heat rays and radiation were released in all directions, and a blast erupted with incredible pressure on the surrounding air. As the unimaginable blast subsided after the blowing from the hypocenter toward the outlying areas, a vacuum of air and pressure was generated in the center. The wind reversed direction and began blowing towards the center from the outlying areas with the intensity of another blast. The shock wave traveling directly from the center of the explosion and the shock waves reflected from the ground and buildings affected each other, creating a variety of significant damage on the ground. After ten seconds, the shock wave had traveled approximately 3.7 km from the hypocenter. The cloud generated by the disturbed air resulting from the explosion was lifted upward by strong currents. As the pillar of radiation-laden smoke reached the bottom of the stratosphere, it spread out horizontally to a diameter of several kilometers, forming the shape of a mushroom cap. The top of the atomic cloud reached an altitude of 17,000 meters. After developing into its final stage, the mushroom cloud was dispersed by the wind and dissipated into the surrounding air. In an instant, the explosion reduced the city to a scorched plain, wiping out cou...
