However, as the atomic bomb ended a war, it began a new age, creating new philosophies on human existence, technology, and society. With a bomb so powerful it could destroy humanity, people began to realize what its potential really was. With this new wave of optimistic spirit came a new wave of technological advances. Many improvements were made in the fields of science and medicine due to the needs of the war and its aftermath. Man now had the confidence to master new technology he discovered. Aside from advances in science and medicine, came the advances in weaponry, a deadly growth in man's upward trend. Paul Tibbets, a colonel in the Flight of the Enola Gay, sums up the changes of his time in the following quote:
"Now, on the return flight, I reflected on the wonders of science and rejoiced that the new weapon had surely made future war unthinkable. Just as the spear had been more deadly than the club, the bow and the arrow more formidable weapon than the spear, gunpowder had made the bow and arrow obsolete. Each technological advance in weaponry had made war more hideous, but so far had not persuaded mankind to abandon this means of settling quarrels between peoples. Now certainly we had developed the ultimate argument for keeping the peace(Elson,p.200)."
The explosion of the atomic bombs over Japan extended far passed the damages done to Japan itself. It began a new age of highly destructive innovations and discoveries, where all mankind could be wiped off the face of the Earth with a push of the little "Red Button".
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