On July 16, 1945, the first atomic bomb exploded in the New Mexican desert, creating intense heat, light, and sound. Nearby scientists and military personnel experienced the blast from bunkers. Residents, unaware, initially attributed the explosion to an ammo dump blast. The explosion vaporized instruments and created a new radioactive material called trinitite. The bomb emitted various light colors, with a significant energy portion released in forms of ultraviolet, visible, and infrared light. The fallout spread radioactive debris across states and into other countries, impacting rural areas.
The heat was 10,000 times hotter than the sun's surface, completely vaporizing instrument-containing balloons tethered to the tower. The tower disintegrated as well.
The light emitted from the bomb produced shades of gold, purple, violet, blue, and more, with approximately one-third of the total energy of the explosion in the form of ultraviolet, visible, and infrared light.
Witnesses, including the Special Engineer Detachment's Hans Courant, described feeling the heat from 6 miles away, with his hands warming as the bomb detonated.
The fallout cloud from the Trinity test released radioactive debris over nearby ranches and farms, affecting dozens of states and even spreading to two other countries.
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