Castle Bravo: A Man-Made Disaster

In the memoir, The Glass Castle, by Jeannette Walls both Rex and Rose Mary Walls illustrate depictions of failure and defeat. It is certain beyond doubt that they were unsuccessful in society’s definition of success as parents. This was due to the neglect of assuming responsibility for raising and protecting their own children. However, Bob Dylan’s definition of success reads, “ A man is a success if he gets up in the morning and gets to bed at night and in between does what he wants to do.” Bob Dylan’s definition might prove otherwise, considering that Rex and Rose Mary to have accomplished their goals, since they only pursued their own interests. Yet this is still not the case, they are still considered unsuccessful.

As World War II was coming to an end during 1945, the creation of one of the most destructive weapons known to humanity occurred within the United States. This weapon, known as “the atomic bomb,” was used on the two Japanese cities: Hiroshima and Nagasaki, resulting in a death toll unprecedented by any military weapon used before and an immediate, unconditional surrender. Some historians believe President Truman decided to drop the atomic bomb in order to intimidate the Soviet Union whereas others believe it was a strictly military measure designed to force Japan’s unconditional surrender. In the Report of a Scientific Panel of nuclear physicists, some scientific colleagues believed the atomic bomb was a “purely technical

realize that the plant was having an accident with the coolant level. The tubes holding the nuclear fuel began to melt since they became over heated which also caused fuel pellets to melt. Even though this was the most dangerous kind of nuclear accident, the radiation did not reach outside of the containment building nor did it release out into the environment. There were no immediate injuries or deaths reported from the raditation to the faculty workers.

The Manhattan Project was one of the most notorious and catastrophic projects in United State history. A bomb that took years to perfect and made the U.S. gamble millions of dollars on new technology that wasn't certain to work. All the secretive facilities scattered all over the U.S. contributed to the creation of a futuristic weapon of mass destruction beyond anyone’s imagination. The atomic bomb caused thousands to die and left years of remnant radiations. The Manhattan Project will forever remain as one of the greatest “successful” catastrophic discoveries in human history.

Before the bombs were set off over Nagasaki and Hiroshima, a test bomb was detonated in the desert lands of New Mexico. The scientists involved in the research and fruition of this weapon were holding their breaths to see if it worked. They were not concerned with how many potential lives their creation could end, they were only interested in seeing if all of their hard work and two billion dollars in funding would pay off. Dr. J. R. Oppenheimer was credited with the idea of using the atomic bomb as a military weapon. If the bomb worked the intention was to use it to end lives, but as they watched in anticipation to see if the

The bomb exploded with the power of 22,000 tons of TNT and 70,000 people died in 1945 from the bomb.

On the morning of August 6, 1945, a B-29 Bomber that was names Enola Gay had flew over the City of Hiroshima Japan and dropped the first atomic bomb to have ever been made. The motive for the creation and research of the bomb was a direct result of the Japanese bombing on Pearl Harbor. When the bomb was finalized after all the research of splitting atoms and combining plutonium and uranium and knowing what to use, many tests were done and the bomb was presumed ready. But no one could have guessed the magnitude of this bomb. The city was engulfed in flames as the power of the bomb being equivalent to 20,000 tons of TNT being dropped exploded. There was much work that went into making this project a success amongst all others. There was a wide variety of scientific brain knowledge, civilian knowledge and much military knowledge and assembly to make this project happen.

After the Trinity nuclear test, conducted on July 10, 1945, the nuclear weapon’s ability was shown. Even U.S. President Harry S. Truman attended the testing of the weapon (Ferrell, 189). The destruction instigated by the explosion comprised of the disintegration of a 60 foot high steel tower; additionally the bombs detonation created a crater 6 feet deep and 1,200 feet in diameter. The bomb was so powerful that a steel tower half a mile away collapsed. Even men 10,000 yards away were flung off their feet, and the men carrying out the test, as well as Truman felt the heat from the explosion on their hand 32 kilometers away from the bomb (Maddox, 154).

Canadian hospital ship, HMHS Llandovery Castle sunk on the evening of June 27, 1918 near the coast of Ireland.

It was understood that fission was capable of making a massive bomb, way more powerful than chemical energy. According to an article from…………...Just one kilogram of plutonium or uranium could be capable of producing the same explosion as 20,000 tons of TNT. Scientists used a very fast nucleus which would run into other nuclei and then produce more and more all the way up to about 80 times each giving off atomic energy. All of this would happen in one millionth of a second and produce a temperature that exceeds anything here on earth. It can reach up to about ten billion degrees. The first thing that happens when a bomb explodes is, there is an initial blast wave, then there is a electromagnetic pulse followed by a thermal wave. There is also the radiation damage and then local and global fallout. The initial blast wave will crush anything in its path with 750 mile per hour air speed. The electromagnetic wave would shut down and damage all electronics over a huge radius. The thermal wave will burn anyone exposed to it and create many

The time was 5:29 a.m., July 16, 1945 and out in the middle of the Jornada del Muerto desert which was about 35 miles away from the nearest town, Socorro, New Mexico, the United States ---for the first the human history --- unleashed the power of nuclear weapons. The detonation of the “Trinity” bomb release around 84 TJ which is equivalent to around 20 kilotons of TNT that created a massive crater at the ground zero bomb test. Those who had observed the detonation described as a “ball of fire” as if the “sun was coming up in the south”.

Jorge Mendez Blake built his project “The Castle” to demonstrate how a single book can change an entire wall (French, 2016). The wall can be seen as a metaphor for learning. A single book can have the power to shift a person’s entire foundation of learning. Educators have the responsibility to ensure that the foundation of learning is changed for the positive.

By bombing Japan, many civilians were killed as a result of the U.S. 's desire to use a new weapon. Laurence describes the bomb as, "a thing of beauty to behold" and "Never before had so much brain power been focused on a single problem" (11). This demonstrated how the U.S. saw Japan as a problem that needed to be dealt with quickly and that the new and supposedly destructive weapon was the best choice. While the targets, Hiroshima and Nagasaki, were both production areas ,they were inhabited by a number of civilians. By choosing to drop the bomb, thousands were annihilated and any survivors began to suffer from radiation sickness shortly after. Because of its destruction, the U.S. believed the atomic bomb was a quick solution to the war.

Early in the morning of April 27, 1986, the world experienced its largest nuclear disaster ever (Gould 40). While violating safety protocol during a test, Reactor 4 at the Chernobyl power plant was placed in a severely unstable state, and in a matter of seconds the reactor output shot up to 120 times the rated output (Flavin 8). The resulting steam explosion tossed aside the reactor’s 1,000 ton concrete covering and released radioactive particles up to one and a half miles into the sky (Gould 38). The explosion and resulting fires caused 31 immediate deaths and over a thousand injuries, including radiation poisoning (Flavin 5). After the

The disaster took place on April 1986, and was caused by inexperienced staff. When the power plant had to undergo a special test, to make sure that sufficient amount of cooling water would be supplied to the reactor in case of a power outage. However, the test had been delayed, because the national grid required the power output more than the expected time. Hence, the test was postponed after midnight where the night shift had to come. The night shift had little experience about such a test as most of them were electrical engineers rather than nuclear. On the other hand, the night shift had to perform the test before the grid needed the power again, otherwise they would have all been fined or fired. Consequently, lead to an unnecessary pressure on the personnel, which in turn increased the probability of making incorrect