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History Daily

The Trinity Nuclear Test - Original

History Daily

Airship | Noiser | Wondery

History

4.42.1K Ratings

🗓️ 16 July 2024

⏱️ 21 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

July 16, 1945. An atomic bomb is detonated in New Mexico, marking success in the Manhattan Project.


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Transcript

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0:00.0

There are more ways than ever to listen to History Daily ad-free.

0:04.1

Listen with Wondry Plus in the Wondry app.

0:06.0

As a member of NoisorPlus at noisor.com or in Apple Podcasts,

0:10.6

or you can get all of History Daily plus other fantastic history podcasts at IntoH30 a.m. on July 16th, 1945, at the Alamigordo bombing range in rural New Mexico.

0:33.9

41-year-old Dr. Robert Oppenheimer strikes a match, lights a cigarette, and peers out at the pale sky from behind the concrete walls of a bunker.

0:42.7

Even though it's early, Robert and dozens of fellow scientists have been in position for hours.

0:47.9

Robert is nervous, smoking cigarette after cigarette as he waits for a break in the weather.

0:53.3

Persistent rain has threatened to delay the

0:55.4

culmination of years of work, but the clouds have finally cleared, and a little over five miles away,

1:01.6

the first ever atomic bomb is about to explode. America has been embroiled in World War II

1:08.3

for more than three years. Nazi Germany surrendered two months ago,

1:12.5

but their Japanese allies continue the fight.

1:15.6

So if this atomic bomb works,

1:17.7

many in the U.S. government believe it could finally bring Japanese resistance to an end.

1:23.3

Robert puts out his cigarette and checks his pocket watch

1:26.2

as the last few seconds ticked down before detonation.

1:29.5

Through a narrow slit in the bunker wall, he watches the horizon.

1:33.7

Then, as the countdown reaches zero, a silent, bright flash signals that the bomb has been detonated.

1:40.3

After a few seconds, a fiery ball swells into the sky.

1:45.0

And then the sound of the explosion hits, growing louder and louder, like a storm rolling in.

1:52.0

The scientists and observers in the bunker applaud and shake hands.

1:56.4

They've been working on the bomb for years, and they're relieved that the test seems to have been a success.

...

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