General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: As a physicist, my two cents on the atomic bomb. [View all]still_one
(92,190 posts)Last edited Thu Aug 6, 2015, 06:26 PM - Edit history (2)
Yes, it is easy to look in retrospect, but at the time when the development was going on, it was a race to develop it before Germany. The invasion of Europe stopped its use in Germany in its tracks.
For Japan it was also analyzed.
It was estimated in an invasion of Japan 50000 Americans would have lost their lives, and several times more that number for Japanese
Here is an article which addresses this very question
http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/1946/12/if-the-atomic-bomb-had-not-been-used/376238/
Even if the atomic bomb was NEVER used in WWII, your assertion that the bomb should never have been built, is a nice goal, but not realistic, since there is no doubt Russia, China, or some other country would have developed it regardless.