BOMBS AT BIKINI 



instruments and calculations. Pressure gages, for ex- 

 ample, would provide accurate knowledge of pressures 

 produced. And previous history, such as that of Lon- 

 doners exposed to German bombing attacks, had al- 

 ready shown clearly what pressures would do to men. 

 It was well known that sudden pressures of one hun- 

 dred pounds per square inch could kill a man outright. 

 It was known that pressures of only five pounds per 

 square inch could throw a man so vigorously, that if 

 his head struck a hard surface, he might be killed. For 

 gamma radiation the situation was similar. Gages 

 woul(J show the intensity of the radiation, and pre- 

 vious experience in laboratories would show how to 

 evaluate the data in terms of injury to men. 



The real purposes of using test animals were these : 

 (1) to show the types of symptoms produced by the 

 explosions; (2) to provide experience in cataloging 

 injuries and detecting the onset of slowly-developing 

 injuries; (3) to provide experience in treating injur- 

 ies; and (4) to reveal any new^ kinds of effects. The 

 injuries of principal interest were, of course, those 

 caused by nuclear radiations. Such injuries were found 

 at Hiroshima and Nagasaki, but the significant facts 

 had often been lost in the welter of confusing circum- 

 stances such as fires, floods, starvation, exposure, lack 



pressed fear of a widespread calamity. One writer was very grieved 

 that the A-Day program was to come on a Sunday, intended to be 

 a day of quiet and prayer; he expressed great relief when he was 

 informed that Sunday in U. S. A. was actually Monday at Bikini. 



86 



