Countdown 1945: The Extraordinary Story of the Atomic Bomb and the 116 Days That Changed the World

The adjective “atomic” in reference to the atomic bomb (alternatively atom bomb, or nuclear bomb) refers specifically to the manner in which energy is released on a massive scale by the splitting of an atom. It was Leo Szilard’s theory that splitting an atom could result in unleashing an unprecedented amount of energy, triggering a chain reaction that could be harnessed to power a bomb. This theory was confirmed when a team of German physicists succeeded in splitting a uranium atom with the use of neutrons, through the process of nuclear fission.

Okinawa is an island in the Pacific Ocean located southwest of the Japanese mainland. It was a major strategic location for combat in the Pacific theater. Originally controlled by the Japanese, it was captured by Allied forces after months of fighting, and used as a base of operations for the impending land invasion of Japan. It was the battle for Okinawa in particular that caused American generals to be trepidatious about the possibility of invading Japan, since the fight for the small island had been so violent and cost so many lives.