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 before mankind there were enormous opportunities for the utilitarian purpose of a new powerful energy source. But the global political situation at that time predetermined the course of history. Attempts by scientists of several countries to direct the use of atomic energy in a peaceful direction proved futile, since priority was put in favor of the formation of a new type of weapon.
The United States of America was the first to create atomic weapons. Development was carried out as part of a project codenamed Manhattan Project. During this project, three bombs were created, which were given the names “Trinity”, “Fat Man” and “Baby”. The Trinity bomb was detonated during a nuclear test, 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 test of the first atomic bomb, 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 sounded over Hiroshima, and three days later the second bomb was dropped on Nagasaki. The government of America believed that this would put an end to the war between the United States of America and Japan.
The atomic explosion caused tremendous consequences. After the bombing and explosion in Hiroshima, the total number of deaths totaled about one hundred forty thousand people. The city of Nagasaki lost about eighty thousand people. Japan had no choice but to give up. 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 destroying people.
Since the initial discoveries in the field of nuclear physics were aimed at practical applications for peaceful purposes, research in this direction did not stop. Already in 1949, scientists of the Soviet Union began developing projects for nuclear energy. In the May days of 1950, construction began on the world's first nuclear power plant in the Obninsk village of the Kaluga Region, and four years later it was already launched. A few years later, the first phase of the second Soviet nuclear power plant in the Tomsk region in the city of Seversk was commissioned. In the same year, the construction of the Beloyarsk station in the Urals in the city of Zarechny, Sverdlovsk Region, was begun. Six years later, the first phase of this station was launched, and a few months after the launch of Beloyarka, the first unit of the nuclear station 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. The year 1973 was marked by the launch of the Leningrad Nuclear Power Plant.
The construction of the notorious nuclear power plant in Northern Ukraine, near the city of Chernobyl, was carried out since 1978 and ended with the launch of the fourth power unit in 1983. The operation of this facility was a failed project for the then Soviet Union. The accident at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant was not one. In September 1982, during a repair of the reactor of the first unit, an accident occurred at the station, accompanied by the release of a gas-vapor mixture into the atmosphere . A significant area was affected as a result of the release, although authorities have officially declared that the environment has not been affected.
The decisive role in the fate of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant was played by the accident that occurred in 1986. The atomic explosion in Chernobyl thundered at 00 hours 23 minutes on April 26 during the test of the next turbogenerator. The explosion completely destroyed the reactor, the roof of the engine room collapsed, more than thirty fires were recorded. By 5 a.m., all fires were eliminated. The accident was accompanied by a powerful radioactive release. During the explosion, two station employees 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 joyless events are still experiencing.