Seventy years ago, on July 16 1945, the first nuclear weapon was tested in the desert near Alamogordo New Mexico. Known as “Trinity,” this test was the culmination of the Manhattan Project, which ultimately led to the end of WWII. The Plutonium implosion device called “The Gadget” was placed at the top of a 100-foot tower.
At 5:30 in the morning on July 16, the device exploded producing a blast which sent a mushroom cloud over 38,000 feet into the sky and released energy that was equivalent to twenty thousand pounds of TNT. This near instantaneous release of the binding energy that holds matter together generated heat as much as 10,000 times hotter than the surface of the sun. The heat could be felt by observers who were stationed over 10 miles away from the tower.
William Kolb, author of “Trinitite - The Atomic Age Mineral” (see below) points out that the distribution of Eu-152 around Ground Zero indicates most Trinitite resulted from vaporized sand that condensed into drops and rained down to the blast area as small puddles. He further writes that the crater itself was barren of Trinitite and that Trinitite actually fell beyond the rim of the 200 meter crater.
In 1952, the test site was bulldozed over by the Atomic Energy Commission. The only Trinitite on the market today was collected prior to 1952. The Trinitite below was collected by the former Los Compadres rock shop in Ojo Caliente, New Mexico in the 1940’s. Trinitite contains traces of the fission products Cesium 137 and Americium 241 and remains mildly radioactive to this day (approximately 10X background radiation).
The British conducted a signifiant amount of above-ground testing of their nuclear weapons in Australia in an area known as Maralinga. We recently acquired a few specimens of “Maralingite” - fused sand from this early testing. More information about Maralingite is at the bottom of this page.
Trinitite in 1/2 pound quantities for sale
Large amounts of Trinitite, such as the half-pound shown below, show both Cs-137 and Americium 241 (a decay product of Plutonium, which fueled the implosion device tested at the Trinity Site).
One-half pound of Trinitite
Description: For a limited time, we are offering Trinitite in half-pound quantities, such as the representative sample shown above. This is a truly unique and rarely seen opportunity to own the by-product of the first nuclear weapon ever tested in the desert near Alamogordo New Mexico on July 16 1945.
Price: $500 US shipping: $25
Trinitite: The Atomic Age Mineral. Copyright © William M. Kolb, 2015
The world’s foremost expert on Trinitite, William Kolb, has a really fascinating book (shown below) on the man-made mineral..
This book is the most comprehensive work on Trinitite available today. In 128 pages, the author covers a wide range of topics including the formation of Trinitite, ground zero before and after the detonation, the radioactivity of Trinitite and proper care and handling of the mineral. The book has dozens of color and black & white photos of the minerals and the test site, and detailed examinations of the characteristics of Trinitite. Written by the author of the well-known book "Living With Radiation: The First 100 Years” this is a must-read for anyone interested in Trinitite.
Price: $36 including shipping (US only). To purchase, contact the publisher via this link Trinitite: The Atomic Age Mineral