# Canonical recap data for Detonation of First Atomic Bomb (1945)
# Source: https://recap.at/1945/trinity-test
# Format: YAML 1.2 (UTF-8). Generated at request time.
slug: trinity-test
canonicalUrl: "https://recap.at/1945/trinity-test"
title: Detonation of First Atomic Bomb
subtitle: The Trinity test detonates the first nuclear weapon in New Mexico, initiating the atomic age and Cold War.
recapType: global_event
eventStatus: concluded
startDate: 1945-01-01
datePrecision: year
year: 1945
decade: 1940
country:
name: United States
slug: united-states
summaryShort: Detonation is a type of combustion involving a supersonic exothermic front accelerating through a medium that eventually drives a shock front propagating directly in front of it. Detonations propagate supersonically through shock waves with speeds about 1 km/sec and differ from deflagrations which have subsonic flame s
summaryLong: Detonation is a type of combustion involving a supersonic exothermic front accelerating through a medium that eventually drives a shock front propagating directly in front of it. Detonations propagate supersonically through shock waves with speeds about 1 km/sec and differ from deflagrations which have subsonic flame speeds about 1 m/sec. Detonation may form from an explosion of fuel-oxidizer mixture. Compared with deflagration, detonation doesn't need to have an external oxidizer. Oxidizers and fuel mix when deflagration occurs. Detonation is more destructive than deflagration. In detonation, the flame front travels through the air-fuel faster than sound; while in deflagration, the flame front travels through the air-fuel slower than sound.
lede: On July 16, 1945, the United States detonated the world's first nuclear weapon in the New Mexico desert, a test codenamed Trinity. The explosion yielded roughly 22 kilotons and instantly validated decades of theoretical physics, setting off an arms race and fundamentally reshaping global power.
heroImageUrl: "https://live.staticflickr.com/1858/44662781022_6a53f8c03d_b.jpg"
heroImageCredit: "\"DSC01337 - MK-4 Atomic Bomb\" by archer10 (Dennis) is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0. To view a copy of this license, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/."
importance: 98
sourceConfidence: 75
keyFacts: []
timeline: []
sources:
- url: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Detonation"
  title: Detonation
  provider: Wikipedia
related: []
categories:
- tech-launch
- war
metaDescription: The Trinity test on July 16, 1945 marked humanity's first nuclear detonation in New Mexico, reshaping warfare and geopolitics forever.
wikidataQid: Q786054
taxonomy:
domain: military
eventTypes:
- nuclear_test
canonicalClasses:
- creation
- transformation
- conflict
impactRadius: global
velocity: sudden
predictability: scheduled
intentionality: planned
domainCoupling: multi_domain
lifecycleClass: birth
archiveSnapshots:
- url: "https://web.archive.org/web/20260530161207/https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Detonation"
  capturedAt: 2026-05-30
  label: Detonation
  originalUrl: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Detonation"
peoplesVoice:
- source: President Harry S. Truman, U.S. President
  voiceType: official
  context: Official statement issued hours after the Trinity test, framing the bomb as an instrument of war termination.
  excerpt: The force from which the sun draws its power has been loosed against those who brought war to the Far East.
  sentimentLabel: celebratory
  significance: 90
  attribution: White House statement, August 6, 1945
  publishedAt: 1945-08-06
  originalLanguage: en
- source: J. Robert Oppenheimer, Director of Los Alamos Laboratory
  voiceType: developer
  context: Immediate reaction at the Trinity test site in New Mexico, as the physicist witnessed the detonation firsthand.
  excerpt: Now I am become Death, the destroyer of worlds. I suppose we all thought that, one way or another.
  sentimentLabel: shocked
  significance: 85
  attribution: Synthesized from period accounts - Oppenheimer interviews, 1945
  publishedAt: 1945-07-16
  originalLanguage: en
- source: Pope Pius XII, Head of the Roman Catholic Church
  voiceType: analyst
  context: Vatican statement days after Hiroshima bombing, reflecting moral concern about the weapon's implications.
  excerpt: A new and dreadful instrument of destruction has been placed in human hands. The conscience of mankind must address what science has unleashed.
  sentimentLabel: grieving
  significance: 75
  attribution: Synthesized from period accounts - Vatican Radio broadcast, August 1945
  publishedAt: 1945-08-10
  originalLanguage: en
- source: General Leslie Groves, Military Director of the Manhattan Project
  voiceType: official
  context: Military assessment immediately after successful Trinity detonation, emphasizing technical triumph and strategic advantage.
  excerpt: The test was successful beyond the most optimistic expectations. We have delivered a weapon of unprecedented destructive capacity to the nation.
  sentimentLabel: supportive
  significance: 80
  attribution: Synthesized from period accounts - Report to Secretary of War Stimson, July 1945
  publishedAt: 1945-07-17
  originalLanguage: en
- source: Albert Einstein, Theoretical Physicist
  voiceType: expert
  context: Reaction after learning of Hiroshima destruction, from the scientist whose 1939 letter had warned of atomic possibility.
  excerpt: If I had known the Germans would not succeed in producing an atomic bomb, I would have done nothing.
  sentimentLabel: skeptical
  significance: 72
  attribution: Synthesized from period accounts - Einstein statements, August 1945
  publishedAt: 1945-08-08
  originalLanguage: en
