Not sure if this is the right subreddit, but does anyone know why it was a good idea for the US to drop atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, from a scientists point of view? The only reason I have thus far is that it would allow us to test the bomb. I would greatly appreciate anyone's help!
I'm not really sure what you're asking. The scientists who wanted to drop the bomb wanted to do so because they hoped it would end the war quickly. Not because they wanted to "test the bomb" (they had already tested it prior to that, at the Trinity test). They were interested in the aftereffects of an atomic bomb used on cities, but that was not their primary motivation — that was taking advantage of an existing situation in order to get data that might be relevant in the future.
A small group of top scientists was asked in June 1945 whether they thought the bomb should be used immediately on a city, or whether it should be demonstrated. Here is their response — they concluded that "no technical demonstration likely to bring an end to the war; we see no acceptable alternative to direct military use." Whether that is a "scientific" question or not is up for grabs. Even they concluded that "We have, however, no claim to special competence in solving the political, social, and military problems which are presented by the advent of atomic power."
Well, if you count art history as a science, it makes it easier to detect post-A-bomb fakes of pre-A-bomb paintings.