Video Summary: 24 Hours After Hiroshima 2/3

When the bomb explodes a very large amount of heat and light are produced. The temperature rises to tens of millions of degrees. It’s as if someone has reached out to the center of the sun.

When people get exposed to that kind of heat and light their skin turns into carbon and they simply seize to exist instantly. In the radius of 800 ft from ground zero almost no one survived the bomb. Some people vanished completely. (See What does it feel like to die?)

If a person gets exposed directly to that heat and light he will disappear, leaving behind him almost no trace except for some shade on the ground called the atomic shadow. Scientists used those shadows to study the location and the impact of the explosion.

Scientists discovered that the bomb was dropped 550 feet away from the original target which is a very accurate hit. 50% of those who were killed within a half mile of ground zero died from severe burns. (See How does burning to death feel like?)

The intense heat results in objects catching fire instantly hundreds of feet away from the explosion. The mother of one of the victims failed to recognize her daughter who survived as she looked all black. She only knew her from her voice.

Over 60,000 buildings were destroyed or severely damaged. This represented 67% of the city’s structure.

The bomb exploded 1900 feet above the city. Upon explosion, a super heated bubble of air pushes outwards creating a shock-wave. The shock wave then reflects on the surface of the ground creating both a primary shock and a secondary shock. This maximizes the effect of the bomb.

If Little Boy, the bomb, was detonated on the ground the earth would have absorbed most of the energy and so the shock-waves wouldn’t have been forced out. The bomb resulted in heavy damage for 3 miles in every direction.

50 years later, Hiroshima was completely rebuilt except for one building which was directly hit by the bomb and was left as a symbol of peace. The building remained standing because it was directly under ground zero but all people there were killed.

The fires were everywhere that they were visible to the crew of the Enola Gay, the plane that dropped the bomb, from a height of more than 30,000 feet.

According to a firefighting expert, the multiple fires combine, creating fire tornadoes and air-blasts that travel up to 50 miles per hour. The fires then merge and become stronger and more intense.

The fires lasted for 6 hours and spanned 4.5 square miles.