power of an atomic bomb

[macafee2]

Just watching a program and they reference the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima. Whilst I am sure the figures differ here and there I also suspect the number is devastatingly high. 70,000 on the day and 70,000 due to injuries and radiation poisoning.

My god what a number of deaths.

macafee2

[KWIL]

However far less than would have been lost on both sides should a land invasion been necessary. Awful though it may seem. It was only 15KT or thereabouts

[KWIL]

Be careful if you read it. It does stick in your memory.

Not as much as what they did to the POWs and any other unfortunates they came across. Remember the Burma railway.

9–10 March 1945, is the single most destructive bombing raid in human history. Of central Tokyo. 16 square miles were destroyed, leaving an estimated 100,000 civilians dead and over one million homeless.

[wraymond]

A really hard punch on the nose causes a change of mind to the playground bully. At the other end of the scale a single-minded aggressor can only be beaten by shock and awe. Better to drop a bomb on opposition HQ. Better still to not to start or take part in a battle.

[edwardmk]

Originally Posted by KWIL

Be careful if you read it. It does stick in your memory.

Not as much as what they did to the POWs and any other unfortunates they came across. Remember the Burma railway.

9–10 March 1945, is the single most destructive bombing raid in human history. Of central Tokyo. 16 square miles were destroyed, leaving an estimated 100,000 civilians dead and over one million homeless.

Yes. The incendiaries dropped and all of the close packed wooden buildings resulted in a firestorm. More died than initially at Hiroshima.
The Japanese mentality at the time was by our modern standards unspeakably cruel. That cruelty was returned in spades. No-one can be proud of what happened. War is not a sensible way to solve political differences, especially for the cannon fodder the elite send in to settle their arguments and the collateral civilian damage that also results. The largest ever nuclear weapon tested was a 50 megaton (Russia) We now 100 megaton bombs which are over 6000 times more powerful than the Hiroshima bomb. I really don't agree with anyone having a weapon like this. It's just wrong somehow.

[macafee2]

Originally Posted by edwardmk

Yes. The incendiaries dropped and all of the close packed wooden buildings resulted in a firestorm. More died than initially at Hiroshima.
The Japanese mentality at the time was by our modern standards unspeakably cruel. That cruelty was returned in spades. No-one can be proud of what happened. War is not a sensible way to solve political differences, especially for the cannon fodder the elite send in to settle their arguments and the collateral civilian damage that also results. The largest ever nuclear weapon tested was a 50 megaton (Russia) We now 100 megaton bombs which are over 6000 times more powerful than the Hiroshima bomb. I really don't agree with anyone having a weapon like this. It's just wrong somehow.

you take your fists to a fight
next person takes a knife
and the next takes a gun

Would you pick a fight with any of the other 2? If not, then that is a reason for having a more powerful weapon. Does not mean you intend to use it but it is a deterrent from attack. Problem is when the person with the more powerful weapon strikes first.

War is not nice but sometimes you have to fight.
From a badge I bought over 40 years ago "Wars will cease when men refuse to fight"

macafee2

[torque2me]

Originally Posted by macafee2

Would you pick a fight with any of the other 2? If not, then that is a reason for having a more powerful weapon. Does not mean you intend to use it but it is a deterrent from attack. Problem is when the person with the more powerful weapon strikes first.

War is not nice but sometimes you have to fight.
From a badge I bought over 40 years ago "Wars will cease when men refuse to fight"

macafee2

Good inference here, Take something that is current i.e. happing now.

China has taken over Tibet. Tibet has no armed forces (of any note) and thus becomes subjugated. International cries of foul are ignored and no hard ball is taken by international bodies.

A concientious objector states he/she will not fight. To retain their freedoms (speech, movement, religion etc) they have to rely on others otherwise they too will have to fall into line with forces they cannot contend with.

Knowing when to fight is the hard bit but being prepared is even more important. Lots of cannon fodder in 1914 and 1940/41 when resources were in short supply.

Very subjective this!
Kev

[macafee2]

“The Railway Man” Is this the one where they become "friends"?
Similar film about an Olympic runner but his "torturer" would not meet him after the war.

macafee2

[SCP440]

The sad thing is the population of this planet is getting out of control and if we dont have another war we will be badly over populated in a few more decades. At the end of WW2 the population of the planet was 2 billion and we have nearly 4 times more people that that now.

Wars have always kept the population at a sensible level. My Father who was in World war 2 rarely spoke about the horrors he had seen but even he said it will only be a matter of time before we have another.

My guess the percentage of population who will be destroyed will make previous wars look like a play ground fight. Most of the major cities will disappear in a flash.

On a plus we can hope we will no nothing about it as post the next war will be a terrible place to exist. There will be little or nothing of what we consider of modern life.

The big question who will start the next major conflict and what will be the reason or made up reason?

[stevestrat]

I don't think any of the "superpowers" are stupid enough to initiate anything but its the "tin pot dictators" and terror groups we have to be concerned about. I have no doubt that if they ever got the opportunity they'd take it. Of course there's also the "Dr Strangelove" scenario as well!