Impacts of the Second World War

Impacts of the Second World War

BACKGROUND

Various revolutions occurred during the era of the industrial revolution in the world, one of those critical events that changed the history of that time and have effects to date is the Second World War. Unlike other innovations, Second World War aimed at killing and destroying rather than building. Despite the goals, science and technology were highly relied on to ensure victory. To date, the Japanese are still affected by the effect of nuclear war; this has changed the way they attend to other things. The second world began on 1 September 1939, WHEN Germany invaded Poland (Fouka 2019). The primary sides during the Second World War included Japan, Germany, and Italy vs. the USA, Britain, France, Soviet Union, and China.

INTRODUCTION

The Second World War led to significant innovations and technologies. The Second World War can best be described as a battle of scientific minds as well as existing weaponry such as guns and bullets. Currently, historians are focusing much effort to examine the impacts of the first and the Second World War on society. After the two wars, a lot of data was made available for historians to work to build a deep understanding of the wars on society (Thies et al., 2020). Besides this, another analysis from a polemical point of view on the impacts of the Second World War on the society has been done, and an example is the effect of the Second World War on the British industrial sector.

This research, therefore, fits into the world war-related studies by investigating the impacts of using science and technology in the Second World War and its implications on society. Scientific innovations played a crucial role in shaping the operations during the Second World War; it is hailed as introducing efficiency and maximizing the damages on the enemies, a consequence that is still felt today.  Arguably, without the radar technology, bombsight, penicillin, and other innovations, probably the Second World War could not have had the impacts it created..

LITERATURE REVIEW

Numerous studies have been done to expand understanding of the Second World War. Hartcup 2016, surveyed the effect of science on the Second World War, in his paper, he discussed some of the significant innovations that shaped the Second World War. Mindell 2017 and MacLeod, 2002 researched to discover the science and technology that were applied during the Second World War. He discussed the various weapons that caused massive destruction in the war. Veterans Affairs Canada did a study on science and technology of the Second World War and, in their discussions, did discuss the leading inventors and structures of the various technologies used in the Second World War. Much research has been directed towards discussing the different technologies and science used during warfare; this creates a gap to expand on the effects of science and technology on the Second World War. This research will, therefore, focus on the impacts of science and technology on the Second World War.

RESEARCH QUESTIONS

This research aims to answer the following questions

What were the impacts of science and technology on the Second World War?

What were the long term and short term effects of world war?

How did the Second World War change modern-day warfare?

FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION

Science and technology impacted dramatically in the Second World War by leading to innovations that changed how the war was carried. The extensive use of science and technology eventually lead to the Second World War being referred to as the war of science instead of the war of minds. Some of the innovations that played a significant impact on the war were the radar, atomic bomb, and medicine.

The invention of medicine.

Previously before the Second World War began, penicillin had already been invented; however, during the Second World War, the penicillin drug was produced in large quantities. The use of penicillin created a lot of impacts during the Second World War. Medical advances used in the US troops saved more lives. In theater, 4% of the US troops who were injured during war survived compared to that of the German troops, which was 10% (Stolz, 2019). Other innovations that created an impact on the US troops were vaccination, which prevented them from contracting yellow fever. Today yellow fever vaccine that was invented during the Second World War is still being used mostly in yellow fever prevention in Africa. Science also led to the development of an orthopedic treatment that helped in the treatment of wounded soldiers and other citizens who were injured during the war. Orthopedic surgery from then has been advanced to modern application and is currently applied out of battles. The need to have doctors to be trained during the second world war led to further advances in the medical fields; this knowledge was applied to ordinary citizens after the end of the second world war.

The Second World War also led to the government organizing special medical research funds that were aimed at preserving the lives of soldiers in the battle.  An increase in such a research grant was beneficial to citizens of the USA since the number of doctors in the USA during and after the Second World War increased. Driven by research and innovation, medical practice in the USA exploded ahead of any other country in the world. 72% of those who were born in 1942-1944 are still living in courtesy of such medical advances (Stolz, 2019).

Weaponry innovations

The Second World War led to the development of the atomic bomb. For others, it was referred to as the ultimate destroyer. The atomic bomb led to the USA being feared than any other nation. It was due to the impacts of the atomic bomb they dropped in Hiroshima and Nagasaki that they were declared superpowers. The atomic bomb did not have many positive effects other than the US being a pronounced superpower and winning the send world war.

The negative impacts of the Second World War atomic bomb are still felt to date. The exact number of deaths in Japan Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombing is known to date; however, people speculate it could be within 129,000-240,000 (Riddle, 2016). When the first bomb was dropped Japanese president asked the citizens to surrender, but they declined to lead to the US bombing the second town of Nagasaki. The atomic bomb led to long term adverse health effects on Japanese such as a rise in Anemia, Rise in Leukemia and cancer, a rise in cataracts and keloids, and the most significant impact of all was the birth complications. The radiation effects of the atomic bomb led to the malfunction of DNA structures in human beings and also numerous stillbirths. The nuclear bomb also led to environmental impacts on the Japanese cities. As a result, rebuilding the cities and restoring the environment took a lot of years. As of 2011, Hiroshima had a population of 1.2 million, while Nagasaki had 446, 000 (Riddle, 2016).

The invention of radar

The main challenge during the First World War was identifying an approaching. Most of the countries that sustained injuries during the First World War was as a result of failing to identify any approaching enemy. The use of radio waves that were invented by English scientists was critical during the Second World War; the invention led to more safety since the majority of the enemies were identified on their approach. The technology of radio waves did not end in world war; however, the radio wave technology was applied in communications after the Second World War using mobile phones (Riddle, 2016). Presently the radio waves technology is also used in document sharing such as Bluetooth technology and infrared line of rays as used in the remotes and television sets.  IN 1970, the USA developed an Airborne Warning and Control System (AWACS) radar and airborne detection system that used radar technology and Doppler Principle to detect diseases (Skolnik, 2019).

The radar technology is currently applied in aviation technology to control the movements of planes and also in war crafts to avoid enemy radar when attacking an enemy. The radars have also been applied in weather stations to indicate prevailing weather conditions (Skolnik, 2019).

Development of electronics and communication for intelligence

The Second World War led to the development of the first artificial intelligence computer. Enigma machine was developed to break the codes that were used by the Nazis during their communications. The enigma worked through the interpretation of tables and codes and using calculators to precisely determine the codes. This technology did not only end during the second world war; however, due to the need to have more secret codes that cannot be decrypted by enemies, the use of data encryption technology which involves encrypting and decrypting was invented (Conzo 2019). Since the Second World War, data security was also enhanced, and other machines like ATMs were developed following the principle behind the formation of the enigma machine. The Boolean algebra was even invented after the Second World War; it was inspired by the Enigma machine. This led to computer programming and the development of the first mathematical calculators.

Other innovations include pressurized cabins introduced in the first B-29 Super fortress fighter jets. The technology was aimed at protecting the pilots against the impact of pressure when flying at high altitudes. The first pressurized space jet led to the development of the technology to be applied in the flight industry (Docquier et al., 2020). Currently, all the jets manufactured to focus on the pilots’ safety first by using pressurized space technology.

CONCLUSION

The Second World War will remain a game-changer in the field of technology and medicines. The war led to groundbreaking histories like the first jets, rise in calculators and Boolean algebra, orthopedic surgery, history of penicillin drug, and development of disease and weather detection radars. All these positive innovations changed the world; however, the war also led to negativities that will forever remain in the minds of people, mostly when interacting with Japanese citizens or visiting Japan.

REFERENCE

Conzo, P., & Salustri, F. (2019). War is forever: The long-run effects of early exposure to World War II on trust. European Economic Review, 120, 103313.

Docquier, F., Turati, R., Valette, J., & Vasilakis, C. (2020). Birthplace diversity and economic growth: Evidence from the US states in the Post-World War II period. Journal of Economic Geography, 20(2), 321-354.

Fouka, V. (2019). How do immigrants respond to discrimination? The case of Germans in the US during World War I. American Political Science Review, 113(2), 405-422.

Hartcup, G., & Lovell, B. (2016). The effect of science on the Second World War. Springer.

MacLeod, R. (2002). Book Review: The Effect of Science on the Second World War. War in History, 9(2), 246-248.

Riddle, L. (2016). The Lasting Effects of the Atomic Bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. WAR HISTORY ONLINE. Retrieved 7 April 2020, from https://www.warhistoryonline.com/world-war-ii/lasting-effects-wwii-atomic-bombings.html.

Riddle, L. (2016). The Lasting Effects of the Atomic Bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. WAR HISTORY ONLINE. Retrieved 7 April 2020, from https://www.warhistoryonline.com/world-war-ii/lasting-effects-wwii-atomic-bombings.html.

Skolnik, M. (2019). Radar. Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved 7 April 2020, from https://www.britannica.com/technology/radar.

Stolz, J. (2019). The lasting effects of World War II medical advances. The Virginia Gazette. Retrieved 7 April 2020, from https://www.dailypress.com/virginiagazette/opinion/va-vg-stolz-0601-story.html.

Thies, C. F., & Baum, C. F. (2020). The Effect of War on Economic Growth. Cato Journal, 40(1), 199-212.