The Trinity Test (Encore)

Everything Everywhere Daily: History, Science, Geography & More

Gary Arndt

History, Education

4.7 • 2.3K Ratings

🗓️ 11 May 2023

⏱️ 13 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

On July 16, 1945, at 5:29 am, 35 miles southwest of Socorro, New Mexico, the world’s first nuclear bomb was detonated. This was the culmination of the Manhattan Project, one of the largest and most expensive programs in world history. Yet, just before the event, the scientists and engineers who worked on the project weren’t entirely sure it would work and, if it did, just what the results would be. Learn more about the Trinity Test, the world’s first atomic bomb detonation, on this episode of Everything Everywhere Daily. Sponsors BetterHelp is an online platform that provides therapy and counseling services to individuals in need of mental health support. The platform offers a range of communication methods, including chat, phone, and video sessions with licensed and accredited therapists who specialize in different areas, such as depression, anxiety, relationships, and more. Get 10% off your first month at BetterHelp.com/Everywhere ButcherBox is the perfect solution for anyone looking to eat high-quality, sustainably sourced meat without the hassle of going to the grocery store. With ButcherBox, you can enjoy a variety of grass-fed beef, heritage pork, free-range chicken, and wild-caught seafood delivered straight to your door every month. Visit ButcherBox.com/Daily to get 10% off and free chicken thighs for a year. InsideTracker provides a personal health analysis and data-driven wellness guide to help you add years to your life—and life to your years. Choose a plan that best fits your needs to get your comprehensive biomarker analysis, customized Action Plan, and customer-exclusive healthspan resources. For a limited time, Everything Everywhere Daily listeners can get 20% off InsideTracker’s new Ultimate Plan. Visit InsideTracker.com/eed. Subscribe to the podcast! https://link.chtbl.com/EverythingEverywhere?sid=ShowNotes -------------------------------- Executive Producer: Charles Daniel Associate Producers: Peter Bennett & Thor Thomsen Become a supporter on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/everythingeverywhere Update your podcast app at newpodcastapps.com Discord Server: https://discord.gg/UkRUJFh Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/everythingeverywhere/ Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/everythingeverywheredaily Twitter: https://twitter.com/everywheretrip Website: https://everything-everywhere.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:16.2	On July 16th, 1945, at 529 AM, 35 miles south of Socorro, New Mexico, the world's first atomic bomb was detonated.
0:17.5	This was the culmination of the Manhattan Project, one of the largest and most expensive programs
0:21.9	in world history.
0:23.0	Yet before the event, scientists and engineers who worked on the project
0:27.0	were entirely certain it would work, and if it did, just what the results would be.
0:31.0	Learn more about the Trinity Test, the world's first atomic bomb detonation, on this episode
0:35.8	of Everything Everywhere Daily. The story of the Manhattan Project is not one that can easily be covered in a single episode of this podcast.
0:57.0	The cost of the project was staggering at a time when a billion dollars was still a lot of money.
1:03.6	The number of people who worked on the project was likewise staggering, especially considering
1:07.7	that the United States was in the middle of a globe-spanning two-front war.
1:11.8	While the theoretical science behind making a bomb was known, it was a far cry
1:15.5	between knowing it could theoretically be done and actually doing it. There were several debates
1:20.4	amongst the scientists in the Manhattan Project as to how a bomb could and should be built. several debates about
1:23.3	could and should be built.
1:25.0	There were different theories as to what course of action they should take.
1:28.0	It wasn't just a matter of what could work, but also what would be the easiest to build on the most effective.
1:34.0	There were two competing designs that were debated in the program,
1:37.0	and before I get into what these designs were, I need to explain the concept of critical mass and supercriticality.
1:44.3	For a nuclear reaction you need to have an isotope of some radioactive element which is considered
1:48.5	fissile. A fissile isotope is one that will split after capturing a neutron.
1:53.9	In the process of splitting, it will then give off more than two neutrons on average.
1:58.6	Those neutrons will split even more atoms, ejecting more neutrons, causing a chain reaction. However, the ability of that
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