The Atomic Bomb -The atomic bomb was first used in warfare at Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August 1945and the bomb played a key role in ending World War Two. -The atomic bomb (A bomb), created via the Manhattan Project, was first exploded at the top secret base of Alamogordo on July 16th, 1945. The bomb that dropped on Hiroshima was code-named 'Little Boy'. The amount of energy 'Little Boy' generated when it exploded was the equivalent of a 15 kiloton TNT explosion - yet the above photograph shows that the bomb itself was relatively small despite its huge explosive capability. Half of that energy was consumed when the explosion generated an ultra high air pressure which resulted in a very strong bomb blast. One third of the rest of the energy created was consumed when the explosion generated heat, while the rest of the energy that was created was consumed in the creation of radiation.
Directly beneath the centre of the explosion ,the temperature rose to about 7,000 degrees F. The damage was massive.The explosion of 'Little Boy' also created alpha, beta, gamma and neutron rays.
'Little Boy' and 'Fat Man' (dropped on Nagasaki) had some differences in the way they were designed. 'Little Boy', below, weighed about 9,000lbs, was 28 inches in diameter and 10 feet long.