The first nuclear explosion in history took place in New Mexico, at the Alamogordo Test Range, on the Jornada del Muerto (Journey of Death) desert, in the test named Trinity.
This was the second nuclear bomb ever built(Jumbo), but was the first ever to be detonated.
The origin of the name Trinity for this event is uncertain. It is commonly thought that Robert Oppenheimer provided the name, which would seem logical, but even this is not definitely known. A leading theory is that Oppenhimer did select it, and that he did so with reference to the divine Hindu trinity of Brahma (the Creator), Vishnu (the Preserver), and Shiva (the Destroyer).
May 7, 1945:
To help in preparing the instrumentation for the Trinity shot the "100 Ton Test" was fired on 7 May 1945. This test detonated 108 tons of TNT stacked on a wooden platform 800 yards from Trinity ground zero. The pile of high explosive was threaded with tubes containing 1000 curies of reactor fission products. This is the largest instrumented explosion conducted up to this date. The test allowed the calibration of instruments to measure the blast wave, and gave some indication of how fission products might be distributed by the explosion.
July 12, 1945:
The Gadget components arrive at the test site. Assembly of the test device begins at the McDonald Ranch farmhouse at Alamogordo at 1300 hours.
July 14, 1945:
Robert Bacher drives the assembled core to Zero, where final assembly of the Gadget was conducted in a canvas tent at the basis of the tower. Later that same day, the assembled Gadget (without detonators) was hoisted to the top of the 100 foot test tower.
July 15, 1945:
On the night of July 15th, the detonators were installed in the Gadget, and assembly was completed. Dr. Norris Bradbury, supervising the assembly process noted in his log book: "Look for rabbit's feet and four leaf clovers. Should we have the chaplain down here"?
July 16 1945, 5:29:45 A.M. (Mountain War Time)
Trinity Site Zero, Alamogordo Test Range, Jornada del Muerto desert.
Yield: 20-22 Kilotons
The explostion created a very bright flash, as seen in three states. There were many reports from civilains from all over that described the experience. People who saw it said it looked like the sun had risen for a few minutes and then went back down. Other thought they had seen a large plane or meteor crash. A sheep herder who was laying sleeping on a cot 15 miles away was blown off.
Upon witnessing the explosion, reactions among the bomb's creators were mixed. Their mission had been sucessfuly accomplished, however, they questioned whether humankind had become a threat to the world it inhabited. Many people involved in the creation of the atomic bomb signed petitions against dropping the bomb.
