Hiroshima Shadows Preserve One of History's Darkest Moments

The initial flash burn from the first atomic bomb explosion imprinted images onto nearby stone buildings. Elva Etienne / Getty Images

One of the most haunting images of World War II is the "human shadow" etched into the stone steps of the City of Hiroshima branch of Sumitomo Bank.

Although this outline of a person sitting and waiting for a bank to open shows a snapshot of one of the most intense wartime acts in human history, it remains an essential reminder prevent a similar tragedy form happening in the future.

Read on to learn about the Hiroshima shadows and how they illustrate the world-ending power that the United States and Russia still possess.

How Did the Atomic Blast Create the Hiroshima Shadows?

When the United States carried out the first atomic bomb explosion in human history, the energy expelled closest to the point of detonation (hypocenter) was so powerful that the initial "flash burn" bleached any stone buildings.

In many cases, anyone or anything between the blast and the wall surface was imprinted onto a nearby building. However, it is essential to remember that these shadows are not human body remains but are, instead, the outline of objects blocking the intense heat and radiation.

About the Atomic Bombs

The United States dropped two types of nuclear weapons in a sneak attack near the end of World War II.

The "Little Boy" bomb exploded on August 6, 1945 in Hiroshima. It was an enriched uranium gun-type fission weapon, while the "Fat Man" plutonium implosion-type nuclear weapon was dropped on Nagasaki just 3 days later.

Each bomb exploded several hundred meters (thousands of feet) above the ground, creating a larger destruction area around the point of detonation since the blast was able to rebound off the Earth. The blasts destroyed buildings, incinerated clothing and burned skin of everyone within a mile of the epicenter of each atomic explosion.

Aftermath of the Nuclear Explosions

Roughly 100,000 Japanese citizens died on the first day. Still, the death toll would rise dramatically over the next few months and following years as radiation continued to take its toll on the population. Even considering increased cancer and birth defect rates, the total human cost of the nuclear bombs at Hiroshima and Nagasaki is still unknown.

Ultimately, the dark history of these haunting shadows represents the implications of how cutting-edge science and groundbreaking research are often used to create weapons of warfare instead of bettering society.