The 'law of motion,' another junior high school science topic, states that an object takes the same amount of time to fall, whether dropping straight down or along a parabolic path. This means that the atomic bomb was released short of the hypocenter.īased on the testimonies from crew members of the Enola Gay, the atomic bomb is believed to have exploded 43 seconds after its release from the aircraft. However, in reality, gravity will make the bomb drop along a parabolic path, as in Illustration 1. 'It was released from an airplane in flight.' He went on to explain 'the law of inertia' which is taught in the third year of junior high school.Īccording to this law, a bomb dropped from an airplane, just after its release, should continue to move horizontally in the same direction and at the same speed as the plane. 'No, that's impossible,' he replied, referring to my theory. Nagata delivered a lecture in town entitled 'Where did the Enola Gay drop the atomic bomb?' To check, I spoke with Kunio Nagata, 48, a science teacher at Ujina Junior High School in Hiroshima. It's easy to imagine, then, that it was dropped at a point above that. The atomic bomb is said to have exploded about 600 meters above Shima Hospital. 3.8 km in the sky, east-northeast of the hypocenter
