Ground Zero, Trinity Site by junge1
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Description
The dark obelisk on the left side of the photo indicates the exact location where at 5:29:45 a.m. on July 16, 1945 Mountain War Time (MWT) the first nuclear device, referred to as 'Gadget'. was exploded. The device used a Plutonium-239 ball surrounded by conventional explosives. The force of the conventional explosives when set off would be directed inward to set off a chain reaction. This device was the more complicated of the two devices designed for a nuclear bomb, and was also used in 'Fat Man' which was dropped on Nagasaki on August 9, 1945.
'Gadget' was mounted on a 100-ft tall steel tower. The site is located in the remote Jornado del Muerto within the White Sands Missile Range . Three observation points were established at 10,000 yards from ground zero. These wooden shelters were protected by concrete and earth and one of these was used to trigger the automatic firing device.
Many scientists and support personnel, including Maj. Gen. Leslie Groves, head of the Manhattan Project, watched the explosion from base camp which was ten miles southwest of ground zero. Most visiting VIPs, like Edward Teller, watched from Compania Hill, 20 miles northwest of ground zero.
The explosion made a shallow, 4-ft deep depression 200-ft in diameter and the blast vaporized the 100-ft high steel tower and melted the desert sand and turned it into a green glassy radioactive substance, called Trinitite.
The shock wave from the explosion broke windows 120 miles away and was felt by many at least 160 miles away. The army explained this as an explosion of a large munitions storage area.
Today, the site is open to the public twice a year, the first Saturdays of April and October. This picture was taken on 7 October 2017, Sig...
Comments (12)
Faemike55
great capture and very cool information
Richardphotos
a talk show host told a story about the former President Reagan after his visit to Japan. a reporter asked him what he thought about Nagasaki and he replied that it is okay, but he prefers Panasonic
great capture
Cyve
Impressive place and great shot my friend !!!
Buffalo1
History live! Great shot and story.
ontar1
Cool, great capture!
LivingPixels
Super capture and some interesting info very informative!!!
rachris480907
Great capture and historical text!
starship64
What an amazing place. Great capture.
kgb224
Superb capture my friend. God bless.
farmerC
Shining done.
auntietk
There's a Fat Boy at Paul Allen's Flying Heritage at Paine Field. We saw it when we were there this summer, but it hasn't been there on previous visits, so apparently it's a relatively recent acquisition. I assume it's a dud, of course. :P
FurNose
"... ground zero (respectively Ground Zero)... ...the blast vaporized the 100-ft high steel tower and melted the desert sand and turned it into a green glassy radioactive substance..." Hmmm, somehow this sounds pretty familiar to me, but I can't remember why...