Lecture Summary

Oh boy oh boy World War 2 and a lot of things happened here! Let’s all address that Hitler; was indeed a big stinking loser. Surprisingly though the things that happened during World War 2 was pretty good for design. We got to see how propaganda was used in World War 2, to the point where Hitler made children’s books antagonizing the Jewish peoples to brainwash kids into joining the Nazi Party.

That’s pretty metal if you ask me.

But other than invasions, the first few commercial flights were made available with the utmost luxury of travel! Looking at you Economy Class…

The posters that came out of this period advertising flight was simply stunning, simple paintings of destinations and no annoying text to accompany it.

Overall the world was just getting out of the Great Depression, and the transition between the Depression into the Second World War was hard on a lot of people.

I also heard that the Second World War made jobs for a lot of people. What don’t believe me?

Research it yourself. I’m here talking about atomic bombs not Job Marketing.

Go on.

Get outta here.

The Atomic Bomb

As everyone knows, the atomic bomb is a weapon of mass destruction capable of taking hundreds and thousands of lives. There has only been 2 recorded dropping of the atomic bomb used as warfare in history, however the amount of recorded tests done equate to around 2,421 bombs dropped from 1945-2009. The Cold War was a significant era where atomic bombs were produced, missiles aimed at cities and ready to fire at the dial of a number and the press of a button. Many of these missiles have been disabled however not all of them are deactivated. It’s said that there are around 300 active missiles readily available for launch.

The most famous recordings of the atomic bomb come from the 2 atomic bombs dropped on Nagasaki and Hiroshima at the peak of World War II. What started this all was the Attack on Pearl Harbor

The mushroom cloud from Hiroshima

Attack on Pearl Harbor

Pearl Harbor on day of attack

The Attack on Pearl Harbor was led by Japanese forces, aiming to send a message to America. The Japanese air crafts dropped bombs resulting in 2,403 casualties and 1,178 wounded for the American base. The result of the attacks was the declaration of war on Japan by America, and America taking arms and joining the Second World War. America would soon get their revenge, specifically on Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

 The Production of Nuclear Weapons

The production of Nuclear Weapons came with the discovery of splitting the atom, discovered by John Cockcroft and Ernest Walton. There are three types of Nuclear Bombs however we will namely focus on the fission bomb and thermonuclear bomb.

Fission bombs go through a process called Nuclear Fission, a nuclear reaction where the nucleus of an atom is split. The result of this massive energy split frees neutrons and gamma photons while releasing a large amount of energy. This energy is on a large scale compared to energy standards of radioactive decay.  By amassing enormous amounts of atoms being split at the same time this results in a large amount of destructive force.

The bombs dropped on Hiroshima called “Little Boy” and “Fat Man” dropped on Nagasaki are fission bombs.

Little Boy bomb

Thermonuclear bombs are a combination of nuclear fission type and fusion reactions. By having a implosion tamper, fusion fuel, and a spark plug this second type of bomb functions differently from the regular fission bomb.

The Implosion Tamper houses the splitting of atoms, and converts the bomb pit into heat, creating a small detonation with the primary fission bomb inside. The released energy from the primary fission bomb bombards the spark plug, which fuses with the fusion fuel. The radiation from a x-ray spectrum absorbs surrounding air creating the blast and fire of a nuclear bomb.

This type of bomb is also known as a Hydrogen bomb because of the addition of hydrogen isotopes in later models.

 

Citation: ”

Survey 10 sheet: Fortune and the Fuhrer”. Snaydon, Judy. IDEA School of Design, Capilano University.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Attack_on_Pearl_Harbor

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_weapon

https://www.businessinsider.com/map-every-nuclear-bomb-explosion-history-2015-10

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thermonuclear_weapon

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_weapon_design

https://www.atomicheritage.org/history/bombings-hiroshima-and-nagasaki-1945