Nuclear weapons tests are among the most violent events humans can trigger, and that violence leaves fingerprints in the ...

At approximately 5:30 a.m. on July 16, 1945, the world's first atomic bomb exploded in the New Mexican desert. It was bright, hot, and loud. Scientists and military personnel crouched nearby in ...

Many Americans—including students in the History of the Atomic Bomb course taught at the University of Texas at Austin by Bruce J. Hunt, A&S '84 (PhD)—have learned a version of this story: On Aug. 6, ...

Smithsonian Institution, Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage, Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives and Collections, 600 Maryland Ave., S.W., Suite 2001, Washington ...

When the first nuclear bomb test took place 80 years ago, the scientists who gathered to observe the explosion in the New Mexico desert recognized they were playing with fire. Physicist Enrico Fermi ...

The first reports were met with disbelief. A single bomb with the explosive force to level a city; a bomb, detonated with such intensity it burned as bright as — maybe, even brighter than — the sun.

When it comes to marking anniversaries of the atomic bomb, there are a few obvious choices. July 16, 1945, was the date of the Trinity test, the first nuclear explosion, and has been used by some as ...