With the defeat Germany on May 8th 1945, the United States was an in a precarious situation. Even with the steady destruction of its empire, Japan simply wouldn’t surrender. The United States had two options: mobilize over 2 million men and invade the Japanese home islands incurring nearly 1 million causalities and adding two years to the war or use one of the most destructive technologically sophisticated weapons known to man. America choose the latter; on August 6th 1945, the Enola Gay left the Northern Mariana Islands. Inside was a 15 kiloton, gun-type fission weapon loaded with over 145 pounds of highly radioactive uranium, its name was Little Boy. Six hours later, at the height of 31,000 ft, the first atomic bomb was dropped over the city of Hiroshima, with catastrophic consequences. But how exactly did the Little Boy Atomic Bomb work? What were the parts and mechanisms of the first nuclear bomb? What processes did it undergo during its detonation? Why was Hiroshima targeted? How big was the blast zone? How much of the city was destroyed and most importantly how many Japanese casualties were incurred when the first American atomic bomb reached its destination? Sources: Little Boy Bomb: https://www.nationalmuseum.af.mil/Visit/Museum-Exhibits/Fact-Sheets/Display/Article/196219/little-boy-atomic-bomb/ US Firebombing Campaign: https://www.britannica.com/event/strategic-bombing-during-World-War-II Little Boy Blast Zones: https://www.nps.gov/articles/000/the-atomic-bombings-of-hiroshima-and-nagasaki.htm These animations were created using Blender v4.4. https://www.blender.org/download/ #atomic #nuclear #bomb