Casualties of War: The nuclear age

Replica of Fat Man, the atomic bomb dropped on Nagasaki.

Despite losing Iwo Jima and Okinawa, and having most of the Japanese cities bombed flat, Imperial Japan just would not surrender. As a result two atomic bombs were dropped on Japan; one on Hiroshima in 6 Aug 1945, and the the other on Nagasaki in 9 Aug 1945. These two bombs alone killed about 100,000 to 200,000 people. The surrender of Imperial Japan swiftly followed.

For the first time in human history, the destruction of the human race by an arms race was fully realised. If a single weapon could kill hundreds of thousands, what was to stop scientists from developing and refining weapons that could kill millions?

The world now knew the Americans had nuclear weapons. To prevent the United States from being a superpower to the world's only power, the Soviet Union developed and detonated their own nuclear weapon by 1949.

Such weaponry brought the everyone into a brave new world. In order to ensure sovereignty, the rest of the world had two option. Either an alliance with the Americans/Soviets, or possess their own forms of nuclear weapons.

These countries would choose the path of the bomb:
United Kingdom - 1952
France - 1960
China - 1964
India - 1974
Pakistan - 1998
North Korea - 2006

Yet the nuclear age presents us numerous opportunities.

For one, nuclear energy allows the long isolated trips with spacecraft and submarines. It has allowed us unprecedented research into healthcare.

For two, it is still provide the only reliable non-fossil source of energy.

For three, nuclear power has acted as a deterrent for war become major global conflicts.

Whatever we view the atomic age as, the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki has changed the face of the earth.