The exposed X-ray plates
Stories from Physics
for 11-14
14-16
16-19
After the detonation of the atomic bomb over Hiroshima in 1945, people on the ground struggled to understand how so much destruction had been caused by a single bomber. Rumours spread that the widespread fires were the result of petrol sprayed by aircraft and the bright flash was due to the ignition of magnesium powder. One piece of evidence that was mysterious at the time hinted at the radioactive nature of the blast – at a local Red Cross hospital, X-ray plates stored in the basement had become exposed.
References
The exposed X-ray plates
G. DeBroot, The Bomb: A History of Hell on Earth, London, Pimlico, 2005, p. 91
