aught on fire(International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War, 1982). By combiningthedamage from both the flash and flame burns one can begin to see the effects that anatomic bomb’s thermal radiation had. Approximately sixty thousand in Hiroshima, andapproximately forty-one thousand people were either killed or injured from the thermalradiation (The Committee for the Compliation of Materials on Damage Caused bytheAtomic Bombs in Hiroshima and Nagasaki, 1981). The final effect that an atomic bombcaused is the nuclear radiation produced from the fission process. The cuclear radiationcomes in the form of either Gamma rays or Beta particles. Gamma rays areelectromagnetic radiation originating in the atomic nuclei, physically identical to x-rays.They can enter into living tissue extremely easily. Beta particles are negatively chargedparticles, identical to an electron moving at a high velocity (International Physicians forthe Prevention of Nuclear War, 1982). These formsof nuclear radiation are measured inrads (radiation-absorbed-dose), which is defined as teh absorption of five ten millionthsjoule per gram of abosorbing material (International Physicians for the Prevention ofNuclear War, 1982). During the initial nuclear radiation mostly Gamma rays are emittedfrom the fireball. This period of initial nuclear radiation lasts for approximately oneminute. During the residual nuclear period (fallout) the Betaparticles and more of theGamma rays are emitted. The residual radiation has two stages: early fallout and delayedfallout. In early fallout, the heavyand highly radioactive particles fall back to the earth,usually within the first twenty-four hours. In delayedfallout, the tiny and often invisibleparticles fall back to the earth, and usually last from a couple od days to several years(Physicians and Scientists on Nuclear War, 1981 and World Book, 1990). The nuclearradiation from the atomic bomb’s explosion was notthe ma...
