This week marks-is a manner of speaking, the sixties of a macabre experiment, which would give a sharp turn to the history of mankind. This is the first nuclear explosion that took place in the Jornada del Muerto desert in Alamogordo (New Mexico).
The experiment, under the suggestive codenamed Trinity, apparently proposed by Robert Oppenheimer himself, was designed to test a new weapon developed at Los Alamos. Be the first nuclear explosion caused by humans, and responded to the need for experimental data on its destructive power, because there was only derived estimates of the calculations. Obviously, Oppenheimer did not choose the name of Trinity by the attractive star of Matrix, predictable scenario hypothesized uncontrolled development of nuclear power, but was inspired by a passage from the Hindu Bhagavad-Gita, where he took the concept of trinity between the creator (Brahma), the protector (Vishnu) and Destroyer (Shiva).
To measure the effects of the Trinity, it was necessary to calibrate the instruments, which were detonated a few months before the experiment 108 tons of TNT stacked between the tubes full of fission products. And achieved an unprecedented explosion, however, was very weak compared with Trinity, so that some devices were damaged and lost many of the measurements provided.
got burned were also some of the participants in the experiment. At the end of the safety standards were almost nonexistent. Suffice it to say that the plutonium necessary for the core of the bomb was transported without any special protection or that the components were assembled in the McDonald Ranch in Alamogordo, where they were taken to the zero point for a pump. Final assembly took place in a simple tent! With this background
surprised that there were many casualties among the attendees, although the information in this regard is unclear. There is a document of Los Alamos National Laboratory on this, but it seems that this is restricted information. At least I could not access it ( LA-3719 Health Physics Survey of Trinity Site ). It does appear that some groups were seriously irradiated attending soldiers as guinea pigs protected by simple trenches.
On 16 July at half past five, was given the order to detonate. Oppenheimer followed from a shed located about ten kilometers from ground zero and even gave instructions to get back to the blast to protect against strong light, could not prevent several observers were blinded by the light. The reporters reflected the deep satisfaction of Oppenheimer convinced he had found the weapon that would end World War II, as actually happened. But Oppenheimer had not been so proud to know that he had just cut the ribbon of a tragic era, whose first event will take place a month later, when it fell on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the deadly nuclear devices that would change history. And who would later start the cold war, a dangerous time in which the excessive growth of nuclear weapons would threaten the very survival of the planet.
Fortunately, sanity returned to the political landscape through the nuclear non-proliferation agreements between the superpowers. However, we still suffer the consequences of that fever. According to New Scientist "enjoy" a worrying nuclear legacy, with nine nations with nuclear weapons, 27000 pump and 1855 tonnes of plutonium in the world. There are also many countries that, while not possessing nuclear weapons, have the materials and technology to develop it.
other words, the anniversary of the first nuclear explosion caused is not a celebration of throwing rockets, pun intended, or that humanity should be proud. But it is a reason to seek understanding among peoples. Nations continue to disagree and timid attempts to control nuclear activities are no more than cosmetic. If agreement is reached within a few days ago in Vienna from 89 nations decided to make a more intensive monitoring of nuclear materials. The attempt is appreciated, but is it enough?
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