Separating Fact from Fiction in the Iconic Hiroshima Mushroom Cloud Photos
The Clouds of Hiroshima
I examine the most famous photographs of the Hiroshima bombing to distinguish between the actual atomic mushroom cloud and the later pyrocumulus smoke clouds caused by the firestorm. By analyzing images taken by S/Sgt. George Robert Caron from the Enola Gay and ground-level shots by Mitsuo Matsushige, I reveal how cropping and timing have shaped our historical understanding of the detonation's true scale and appearance.
Anyone who has tried to photograph large clouds or buildings knows that it is very difficult to really capture the lived sense of scale, so if this is what the photo looks like, the reality must have been even more awesome.
- voidUpdate
I think that everybody who supports the use of nuclear weapons should look at these pictures and listen to the experiences by the survivors of the blast about what it was actually like just afterwards and think critically about if any creature deserves to be subjected to that
- johnea
From the article:
> It is an impressive sight.
The fascination with this is more than a little disturbing.
Somewhat reassuring to see that many comments here interpret the images as a call to eliminate nuclear weapons. But it's hard to image our current ape man species moving away from mass murder as an international policy implementation.
The propensity of our primate species for self annihilation doesn't pose much hope for extended survival.
Innate murderous tendencies that may have encouraged the caveman's survival will surly be what wipes us out...
- arjie
Impressive photographs, especially the ones on the ground. It is no wonder that they capitulated soon after the second one. The statistical reality of the war must have been frightening but the visual impact must have been overwhelming. To stare up at a pillar of cloud representing an unprecedented form of destruction that ends cities in a single bomb. Terrifying.
- goodwillhunting
I've never seen the ones from the ground, truly an apocalyptic sight if I've ever seen one. I can't imagine what it would be the to be person actually taking that shot. I bet they are forever changed. Thank you for posting! a welcome change if only for a minute from the deluge of openAI posts.