55th Anniversary of Fat Man at Nagasaki
[via LIFE]
The efficacy of war is manifest in many ways: technological advances, societal refinement, economic benefits, and, most importantly, global unity. Undeniably, war is responsible for the marvels of today’s society, and, inversely, the absence of war is the cause of American society’s current state of stagnation.
The Enola Gay‘s sister B-29 Bockscar dropped Fat Man fifty-five years ago today. Though the fire-bombing of Japan claimed more lives, the immediate devastation wrought by a single weapon proved (for a second time) that human ingenuity could ultimately confound humanity.
We no longer live under the constant perceived threat of nuclear annihilation, however, the only thing that has changed in the last fifty-five years is the number of armaments waiting to be unleashed.
Think 100 terajoules is insane? Try four times that – because the size of the fireball and the number of bodies vaporized (or lining mass graves) are all that matters when nation-states compete.
