24 Hours After Hiroshima

Overview

Using information from the investigation following the dropping of the first atomic bomb on Hiroshima on August 6, 1945, this documentary outlines the immediate 24 hours following the massive explosion. The first atomic bomb contained 140 lbs of enriched uranium and reduced the downtown to a wasteland with 70,000 people killed immediately. Another 40,000 died three days later when a second bomb was dropped on Nagasaki. The Army spent 10 weeks studying the impact of the explosion focusing on thermal flash. The immediate impact was that some were vaporized leaving only atomic shadows. Triangulating these led them to conclude that the bomb exploded only a few hundred yards from its intended target. There was heavy damage for 3 miles in every direction. A great many were burned but there was very little information about radiation poisoning at the time. Today, scientists are still studying but the study continues today with the study of 120,000 Hiroshima survivors.