Trinity test device

E16090

The Trinity test device was the first nuclear explosive ever detonated, a plutonium-based implosion bomb tested by the Manhattan Project in July 1945.

Aliases (2)
  • Trinity nuclear test ×9
  • Trinity test ×7

Statements (48)
Predicate Object
instanceOf atomic bomb
nuclear explosive device
plutonium implosion bomb
associatedWith World War II
nuclear weapons development
codeName The Gadget
coreShape solid plutonium core
countryOfOrigin United States
craterDepth about 1.5 meters
craterDiameter about 80 meters
designType implosion-type nuclear weapon
developer Los Alamos Laboratory
Manhattan Engineer District
diameter about 1.5 meters
explosiveLensType high-explosive lenses
firstOf first nuclear explosive ever detonated
fissileMaterial plutonium-239
hasComponent detonators
explosive lenses
neutron initiator
plutonium pit
steel containment shell
tamper
historicalSignificance marked beginning of nuclear age
influenced Fat Man nuclear bomb
length about 3.25 meters
locationRelativeTo about 35 miles southeast of Socorro, New Mexico
mountedOn 100-foot steel tower
mushroomCloudHeight about 12 kilometers
partOf Manhattan Project
producedMaterial trinitite
purpose proof-of-concept test of implosion design
resultedIn successful nuclear detonation
safetyFeature remote detonation system
similarTo Fat Man bomb design
supervisedBy J. Robert Oppenheimer
testDate 1945-07-16
testedAt Trinity test
testedBy United States Army
United States Army Corps of Engineers
testSite Jornada del Muerto desert
New Mexico
White Sands Proving Ground
testTime 05:29:21 local time
testYield about 21 kilotons of TNT
usedExplosives Baratol
Composition B
weight about 5.4 metric tons

Referenced by (20)

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