The beginning of the forties of the XX century was rich in significant events for science. This time was marked by the greatest discoveries in the field of atomic physics and meant that mankind was faced with enormous opportunities for the utilitarian purpose of a new most powerful source of energy. But the global political situation at that time predetermined the course of history. Attempts by scientists from several countries to direct the use of atomic energy in a peaceful direction turned out to be futile, since the priority was set in favor of the formation of a new type of weapon.
The United States of America was the first to create atomic weapons. The development was carried out as part of a project code-named "Project Manhattan". During this project, three bombs were created, which were given the names "Trinity", "Fat Man" and "Kid". The Trinity bomb was detonated during nuclear tests, the Fat Man was dropped on Nagasaki, and Hiroshima received an atomic explosion from the Kid.
The story goes that in August 1945, exactly three weeks after the first atomic bomb was tested, US President Harry Truman ordered the bombing of the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Accordingly, on August 6 of the same year, an atomic explosion was heard over Hiroshima, and three days later a second bomb was dropped.to Nagasaki. The American government believed that by doing so, it would end the war between the United States of America and Japan.
The atomic explosion caused enormous consequences. After the bombing and explosion in Hiroshima, the total death toll was about one hundred and forty thousand people. The city of Nagasaki lost about eighty thousand people. Japan had no choice but to surrender. Therefore, on August 15, the Japanese government signed an act of surrender. In world history, the atomic explosion that sounded in two Japanese cities was the only explosion specifically aimed at killing people.
Since the discoveries in the field of nuclear physics were originally aimed at practical applications for peaceful purposes, research in this direction did not stop. Already in 1949, scientists of the Soviet Union began to develop projects for nuclear energy. In the May days of 1950, construction began on the world's first nuclear power plant near the village of Obninsk, Kaluga Region, and four years later it was already launched. A few years later, the first stage of the second Soviet nuclear power plant in the Tomsk region in the city of Seversk was put into operation. In the same year, the construction of the Beloyarskaya station in the Urals in the city of Zarechny, Sverdlovsk Region, began. Six years later, the first stage of this plant was put into operation, and a few months after the launch of Beloyarka, the first block of a nuclear power plant near the city of Novovoronezh was put into operation. This station started operating at full capacity after the commissioning of the second stage in 1969.year. 1973 was marked by the launch of the Leningrad Nuclear Power Plant.
The construction of the infamous nuclear power plant in northern Ukraine, near the city of Chernobyl, has been underway since 1978 and ended with the commissioning of the fourth power unit in 1983. The operation of this facility became a failed project for the then Soviet Union. The accident at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant was not alone. In September 1982, during the repair of the reactor of the first block, an accident occurred at the station, accompanied by the release of a vapor-gas radioactive mixture into the atmosphere. A significant area was affected by the release, although the authorities officially stated that the environment was not affected.
The accident that occurred in 1986 played a decisive role in the fate of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant. The atomic explosion in Chernobyl thundered at 00:23 on April 26 during the testing of another turbogenerator. The explosion completely destroyed the reactor, the roof of the turbine hall collapsed, more than thirty fires were recorded. By 5 o'clock in the morning all the fires were eliminated. The accident was accompanied by a powerful radioactive release. During the explosion, two employees of the station died, more than a hundred people were transported to Moscow. As a result of the accident, more than one hundred and thirty employees of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant and rescue workers received radiation sickness.
In general, according to generalized data, the atomic explosion in Chernobyl claimed 28 lives, and about six hundred people received a significant dose of radiation, which many participants in those bleak events still haveday.
