 The "gadget", partially assembled on the shot tower for the Trinity test. "The gadget" was the code-name given to the first nuclear explosive developed under the Manhattan Project during World War II which was tested at the "Trinity" test on July 16, 1945. It was so-called because it was not a deployable weapon, and because revealing words like "bomb" were not used during the project for fear of being overheard by those not aware of the project's purpose and promoting speculation or aiding in espionage. It was an implosion-type plutonium device, similar in design to the "Fat Man" bomb used three weeks later in the atomic bombing of Nagasaki, Japan. Image File history File links Trinity_Gadget. ...
Image File history File links Trinity_Gadget. ...
An early stage in the Trinity fireball, photographed by Berlyn Brixner. ...
The mushroom cloud of the atomic bombing of Nagasaki, Japan, 1945, rose some 18 km (11 mi) above the hypocenter. ...
The Manhattan Project resulted in the development of the first nuclear weapons, and the first-ever nuclear detonation at the Trinity test of July 16, 1945. ...
Combatants Allies: Poland, British Commonwealth, France/Free France, Soviet Union, United States, China, and others Axis Powers: Germany, Italy, Japan, and others Casualties Military dead: 17 million Civilian dead: 33 million Total dead: 50 million Military dead: 8 million Civilian dead: 4 million Total dead: 12 million World War II...
An early stage in the Trinity fireball, photographed by Berlyn Brixner. ...
July 16 is the 197th day (198th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian Calendar, with 168 days remaining. ...
1945 (MCMXLV) was a common year starting on Monday (the link is to a full 1945 calendar). ...
The first nuclear weapons, though large, cumbersome and inefficient, provided the basic design building blocks of all future weapons. ...
General Name, Symbol, Number plutonium, Pu, 94 Chemical series actinides Group, Period, Block n/a, 7, f Appearance silvery white Atomic mass (244) g/mol Electron configuration [Rn] 5f6 7s2 Electrons per shell 2, 8, 18, 32, 24, 8, 2 Physical properties Phase solid Density (near r. ...
A post-war Fat Man model. ...
The Fat Man mushroom cloud resulting from the nuclear explosion over Nagasaki rises 18 km (60,000 ft) into the air from the hypocenter. ...
Design
 The "gadget", fully assembled "The gadget" was an implosion type nuclear explosive device, using plutonium. A subcritical sphere of plutonium was placed in the center of a hollow sphere of high explosive. Numerous detonators located on the surface of the high explosive were fired simultaneously to produce a powerful inward pressure on the core, squeezing it and increasing its density, resulting in a supercritical condition and a nuclear explosion. Setting up the gadget at the Trinity site, 1945. ...
Setting up the gadget at the Trinity site, 1945. ...
Nuclear Weapon Implosion Implosion is a process in which objects are destroyed by collapsing in on themselves. ...
General Name, Symbol, Number plutonium, Pu, 94 Chemical series actinides Group, Period, Block n/a, 7, f Appearance silvery white Atomic mass (244) g/mol Electron configuration [Rn] 5f6 7s2 Electrons per shell 2, 8, 18, 32, 24, 8, 2 Physical properties Phase solid Density (near r. ...
This article is concerned solely with chemical explosives. ...
The exploding-bridgewire detonator (EBW, also known as exploding wire detonator) was invented by Luis Alvarez and Lawrence Johnston for the Fat Man-type bombs of the Manhattan Project, during their work in Los Alamos National Laboratory. ...
Pressure (symbol: p) is the force per unit area acting on a surface in a direction perpendicular to that surface. ...
 Schematic cross-section of the "gadget" The initial design, based on work done on cyclotron supplied plutonium would have envisioned a gun-type device, akin to Little Boy. However, mass produced plutonium emitted enough neutrons to make it likely that it would pre-detonate with low yield, making this design, known as "Thin Man", unusable. Schematic cross-section of the first atomic bomb, which was tested at the Trinity site in the framework of the Manhattan Project, and was nicknamed the gadget made from Nuclear Weapon Archives description about 630 pixels/metre thickness of casing not given (It may not have been very thick. ...
Schematic cross-section of the first atomic bomb, which was tested at the Trinity site in the framework of the Manhattan Project, and was nicknamed the gadget made from Nuclear Weapon Archives description about 630 pixels/metre thickness of casing not given (It may not have been very thick. ...
A postwar Little Boy casing mockup. ...
Thin Man plutonium gun test casings at Wendover Army Air Field, as part of Project Alberta in the Manhattan Project. ...
Subsequently, an implosive design was selected, resulting in the design known as Fat Man. Both Fat Man and the gadget are not strictly "Fat Man type", as the design was modified into a production design, and both are strictly one-off affairs. A post-war Fat Man model. ...
Test
The atomic fireball at the " Trinity" nuclear test - Main article: Trinity test
The "gadget" was tested at Trinity Site, New Mexico, near Alamagordo. It was feared that the Trinity test might ignite the Earth's atmosphere killing all life on the planet. Less wild estimates thought that New Mexico would be incinerated. Calculations showed that the yield of the device would be between 0 (if it didn't work) and 20 kilotons (metric, equivalence of TNT). In the aftermath of the test, it appeared to have been a blast equivalent to 18 kt of TNT. It was also a highly covert operation. Color photograph of the first nuclear test at Trinity site, July 16, 1945. ...
Color photograph of the first nuclear test at Trinity site, July 16, 1945. ...
An early stage in the Trinity fireball. ...
An early stage in the Trinity fireball, photographed by Berlyn Brixner. ...
An early stage in the Trinity fireball. ...
Official language(s) None; English and Spanish de facto Capital Largest city Santa Fe Albuquerque Area Ranked 5th - Total 121,665 sq. ...
Alamogordo is a city located in Otero County, New Mexico, United States of America. ...
An early stage in the Trinity fireball, photographed by Berlyn Brixner. ...
Trinitrotoluene (TNT, or Trotyl) is a pale yellow crystalline aromatic hydrocarbon compound that melts at 354 K (178 °F, 81 °C). ...
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