To Test or Not to Test?
Weapons tests were a bit unusual when it came to the gadgets. When Oppie decided not to test Little Boy, I agreed with his reasoning whole-heartedly. We were all fairly confident in its design, and U-235 was far too precious to waste. Fat Man we weren't so sure about. On May 7, 1945, we tested the ordinary explosives involved in the gadget to ensure that all of the measuring instruments were working, but the actual test to find out whether or not this design would work was scheduled for that summer. The operation was code-named Trinity.
Before Trinity, two major events happened. On April 12, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt suffered a cerebral hemorrhage and died. The Manhattan Project was now under the control of Harry S. Truman, who until then had known almost nothing about it. Then, on May 8, Germany surrendered to the Allies, ending the war in Europe. The Project had originated because of the need to beat the Germans to the bomb, but the Germans never even came close to creating one. The bombs would have no effect on the war with Germany, but the United States was still at war with Japan. It would be up to Harry S. Truman to determine the fate of our weapons of mass destruction.
In the months before Trinity, we worked through the night. I usually took a short nap in my Tech Area office each night, but sleep became a luxury. It seemed like each day we discovered a new crisis in one of the bomb's five-hundred components. Every time we checked one of the components for flaws, I prayed that nothing would be amiss. It was extremely nerve-racking.
Weapons tests were a bit unusual when it came to the gadgets. When Oppie decided not to test Little Boy, I agreed with his reasoning whole-heartedly. We were all fairly confident in its design, and U-235 was far too precious to waste. Fat Man we weren't so sure about. On May 7, 1945, we tested the ordinary explosives involved in the gadget to ensure that all of the measuring instruments were working, but the actual test to find out whether or not this design would work was scheduled for that summer. The operation was code-named Trinity.
Before Trinity, two major events happened. On April 12, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt suffered a cerebral hemorrhage and died. The Manhattan Project was now under the control of Harry S. Truman, who until then had known almost nothing about it. Then, on May 8, Germany surrendered to the Allies, ending the war in Europe. The Project had originated because of the need to beat the Germans to the bomb, but the Germans never even came close to creating one. The bombs would have no effect on the war with Germany, but the United States was still at war with Japan. It would be up to Harry S. Truman to determine the fate of our weapons of mass destruction.
In the months before Trinity, we worked through the night. I usually took a short nap in my Tech Area office each night, but sleep became a luxury. It seemed like each day we discovered a new crisis in one of the bomb's five-hundred components. Every time we checked one of the components for flaws, I prayed that nothing would be amiss. It was extremely nerve-racking.
Getting Ready
We slowly began relocating everything necessary for the test to the Trinity site. Oppie left for the remote piece of desert on July 11, and the following day the plutonium core was transported to the site. On July 12, the explosives that would surround the plutonium core were taken to the 100-ft steel tower on which the bomb would be detonated. That morning, I worked with seven other scientists to assemble the bomb's core. We were supervised by Robert Bacher, and Oppie stuck his head in every so often to check up on things. This just made us more nervous. There were four army jeeps sitting outside just in case we needed to make a quick getaway.
At 3 pm, the phone rang. A group supervised by George Kistiakowsky had finished preparing the explosives for the bomb, so Bacher drove the plutonium core to the tower. I thought that it must have been a strange feeling indeed to have an atomic bomb sitting in the back of your car.
When we arrived at the tower, we began lowering the plutonium core into the huge ball of explosives on a wire. It didn't fit. Much to my embarrassment, I panicked- not visibly, but mentally. Bacher quickly assured everyone that we had not made a mistake. The plutonium core had expanded in the heat of the ranch house where we assembled it. If we left it out for a minutes, it would cool off and contract. We took Bacher's advise and let the plutonium cool. After several silent minutes, we tried again. The plutonium fit perfectly.
On July 13, we used a motor-powered crane to lift the bomb to the top of the tower. A team of scientists (which I was not a part of) climbed the tower and began attaching wires and detonators all over the bomb's surface.
July 15 was the day for final checks. At 4 pm, a thunderstorm blew in. This was worrying news, especially with the test set for 4 am the next morning. According to Jack Hubbard (the head meteorologist), there would be a window of clear skies between 5 and 6 am, and so the test was rescheduled for 5:30 am.
We slowly began relocating everything necessary for the test to the Trinity site. Oppie left for the remote piece of desert on July 11, and the following day the plutonium core was transported to the site. On July 12, the explosives that would surround the plutonium core were taken to the 100-ft steel tower on which the bomb would be detonated. That morning, I worked with seven other scientists to assemble the bomb's core. We were supervised by Robert Bacher, and Oppie stuck his head in every so often to check up on things. This just made us more nervous. There were four army jeeps sitting outside just in case we needed to make a quick getaway.
At 3 pm, the phone rang. A group supervised by George Kistiakowsky had finished preparing the explosives for the bomb, so Bacher drove the plutonium core to the tower. I thought that it must have been a strange feeling indeed to have an atomic bomb sitting in the back of your car.
When we arrived at the tower, we began lowering the plutonium core into the huge ball of explosives on a wire. It didn't fit. Much to my embarrassment, I panicked- not visibly, but mentally. Bacher quickly assured everyone that we had not made a mistake. The plutonium core had expanded in the heat of the ranch house where we assembled it. If we left it out for a minutes, it would cool off and contract. We took Bacher's advise and let the plutonium cool. After several silent minutes, we tried again. The plutonium fit perfectly.
On July 13, we used a motor-powered crane to lift the bomb to the top of the tower. A team of scientists (which I was not a part of) climbed the tower and began attaching wires and detonators all over the bomb's surface.
July 15 was the day for final checks. At 4 pm, a thunderstorm blew in. This was worrying news, especially with the test set for 4 am the next morning. According to Jack Hubbard (the head meteorologist), there would be a window of clear skies between 5 and 6 am, and so the test was rescheduled for 5:30 am.
A New Age
I was to watch the blast from one of many bomb shelters at the Trinity site. I was assigned to Oppie's bunker, six miles from the blast site. The room was an interesting sight. Scientists sat on the edge of stools in front of tables covered in electronic panels, dials, switches, and blinking lights. We had the power to shut the bomb down at the first sign of trouble. At 5:05, a physicist named Sam Allison began the countdown.
After what felt like the longest nineteen minutes of my life, the words "Zero minus one minute," were broadcast to all of the bunkers. What occurred 60 seconds later marked the beginning of a new age- the age of atomic energy. Fission was no longer the stuff of theoretical physicists dreams- it was a reality.
I was to watch the blast from one of many bomb shelters at the Trinity site. I was assigned to Oppie's bunker, six miles from the blast site. The room was an interesting sight. Scientists sat on the edge of stools in front of tables covered in electronic panels, dials, switches, and blinking lights. We had the power to shut the bomb down at the first sign of trouble. At 5:05, a physicist named Sam Allison began the countdown.
After what felt like the longest nineteen minutes of my life, the words "Zero minus one minute," were broadcast to all of the bunkers. What occurred 60 seconds later marked the beginning of a new age- the age of atomic energy. Fission was no longer the stuff of theoretical physicists dreams- it was a reality.
In The News
The blast was heard as far away as El Paso, Texas, 150 miles from the explosion. Windows in Silver City, 200 miles away, were rattled by the shock wave. In Amarillo, Texas, 450 miles away, people saw the flash of the explosion.
No one knew what had happened. Newspapers and radio stations were mobbed with calls demanding information. The army issued a statement that had been prepared months before by General Groves. It stated, "The explosives dump at the Alamogordo Air Force Base has blown up. No lives are lost. The explosion is what caused the tremendous sound and the light in the sky. I repeat for the benefit of the many phone calls coming in: the explosive dump at the Alamogordo Air Base has blown up."
The blast was heard as far away as El Paso, Texas, 150 miles from the explosion. Windows in Silver City, 200 miles away, were rattled by the shock wave. In Amarillo, Texas, 450 miles away, people saw the flash of the explosion.
No one knew what had happened. Newspapers and radio stations were mobbed with calls demanding information. The army issued a statement that had been prepared months before by General Groves. It stated, "The explosives dump at the Alamogordo Air Force Base has blown up. No lives are lost. The explosion is what caused the tremendous sound and the light in the sky. I repeat for the benefit of the many phone calls coming in: the explosive dump at the Alamogordo Air Base has blown up."