At 8:15 am on August 6, 1945 the atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima, killing approximately 140,000 men, women and children. Another 10,000 died from radiation poisoning, and the survivors suffered heat burns. Three days later another bomb was dropped on Nagasaki, instantly killing about 40,000 people and several thousand due to radiation. Despite all these consequences, one important question is still debated today. Was it moral to drop the atomic bombs on Japan to save the lives of American soldiers? No, the problems created by the bomb far outweigh the benefits due to the number of lives lost, it made the surrounding land uninhabitable and caused birth defects in future generations. One of the most immediate effects of the atomic bomb was its ability to kill thousands in seconds and more over time. The explosion, heat and radiation from the Hiroshima bomb killed everything within a 20 mile radius. Killing 140,000 people on impact and another 10,000 more over the weeks due to radiation poisoning. Although the Nagasaki bomb killed nearly half, the destruction left by the bomb cannot be denied. When the bomb exploded, a very high atmospheric pressure of several thousand atmospheres was created. This created a powerful shock wave and the wind blew at around 1000 miles per hour. Thousands of people were killed by being thrown into the air or crushed by structures. The explosion shattered windows, sending glass flying into the air, penetrating deep into the victims' bodies. Radiation also played a role in the death toll from atomic bombs: everyone within 1 kilometer of the explosion died from the initial radiation. Within 20 to 30 minutes of the explosion heavy black rain began to fall in the northwest. The rain contained radioactive soot and dust… middle of paper… wildlife would die. The once beautiful American geography would now be unrecognizable. The creation of nuclear weapons and the dropping of the atomic bomb on Hiroshima were the beginning of a different America. Nuclear war played an important role in the changes the United States faced in the 1940s and 1950s. It has affected many aspects of life, some immutable, but all devastating. Nuclear war has not only affected the social and mental aspects of a person's life, but also the health and safety of Americans, the economy and government of the United States, and the geography of the country. People's lives have changed in every way possible, mostly negatively. Americans had to quickly but slowly learn to adapt to the new changes around them. Despite living in the constant sense of a nuclear attack, Americans struggled every day to understand and prepare for the effects that were soon to come..