This Day in Science History - July 16 - Trinity Test

July 16, 1945 marks the beginning of the Atomic Age. The United States tested the first atomic bomb in the New Mexico desert. It was the result of three years of crash research under the name Manhattan Project. The resulting explosion was equivalent to approximately 20,000 tons of TNT and created a crater of glass 1,100 feet wide.

The test was still Top Secret and the military released a press statement explaining the large explosion as a 'remotely located ammunitions magazine containing a considerable amount of high explosives and pyrotechnics exploded' and reported no loss of life. The actual cause of the explosion would not be reported until after the August 6 Hiroshima explosion.

Find out what else occurred on this day in science history.

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