Trip Report: The Wild, Wild West
The first part of this trip report is probably going to be a little odd. The trip started out a little different than most of ours, but BEAR (pun) with me, it will return to a more traditional format ...
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Sorry for the delay in updating this, and thank you for the compliments. It's nice to know the time spent working on this is appreciated. :C
Our next destination was Trinity Site, where the world's first nuclear explosion took place. The explosion was to test one of two types of nuclear bombs developed by the Manhattan Project in 1945. Prior to our visit to WSMR and Trinity Site, I didn't realize how different the bombs dropped on Japan were.
Very briefly:
The Hiroshima bomb, ("Little Boy"), was a gun-type nuclear bomb that achieved fission by literally firing one radioactive object into another inside the bomb casing. The Nagasaki bomb ("Fat Man") was an implosion-type nuclear bomb that achieved fission through the precise detonation of high explosives surrounding a plutonium core.
Little Boy was actually a simple, but inefficient uranium bomb that had a very poor explosive yield for the amount of uranium in it. It contained 64 kg (141 lb) of enriched uranium, of which less than a kilogram underwent nuclear fission. The men who worked on the Little Boy development team likened themselves to blacksmiths, because they worked on the bomb with monkey-wrenches and sledge-hammers. The scientists and engineers were so confident of the design though, that it was never tested prior to using it. Little Boy was the first atomic bomb dropped on Japan. The yield was about 15-16 kilotons.
Fat Man however, was a very sophisticated and technologically advanced plutonium bomb that contained only about 6.2 kilograms (13.6 lb) of nuclear material. About 1 kilogram achieved fission, and produced a yield of about 21 kilotons. Fat Man was more complex and worked by compressing the plutonium into a critical mass which sustains a chain reaction. The compression of the plutonium ball was to be accomplished by surrounding it with lens-shaped charges of high explosives. They were designed to all explode at the same instant. The force is directed inward, thus compressing the plutonium from all sides. Due to the scientific and engineering challenges they had to overcome, a test of the bomb was deemed critical. The bomb exploded at Trinity site was that test, and the device used was nearly identical to Fat Man, which was the second atomic bomb dropped on Japan.
I you're having trouble seeing the details of some of the interpretive signs, you should be able to use your browsers zoom in/out feature (ctrl +, ctrl -) to see the details better. Some of the pano-shots I uploaded the full size image, so look for the link below the picture.
We left Socorro the next morning early enough to make it out to Trinity site soon after they opened the gates. The roads inside the WSMR are a mix of paved and graded gravel. Trinity site is about 12 miles from I-25, and about 5 miles inside the secure perimeter of WSMR.
There's ample parking for the public, including buses and other large vehicles. This is a panoramic shot of the area from the bed of my truck after we parked. Ground zero is to the left, the McDonald ranch house is to the right. (Full Size)
Click For Full-Size Image.
Just off the parking lot is what appears to be a giant pipe. It's actually the remains of a containment vessel nicknamed "Jumbo", that was intended to be used in the test of the first atomic bomb. There were initially concerns that the triggering mechanism of the high explosives used to compress the plutonium core and initiate nuclear fission would not be accurate enough, and the bomb would "fizzle", and scatter the plutonium all over the site. It was designed to contain the TNT explosion if the chain reaction failed to materialize. This would prevent the plutonium from being lost. If the explosion occurred as planned, Jumbo would be vaporized. As they got closer to the actual test date, their confidence in the bomb was such that they no longer felt using it was necessary, and in fact would make it more difficult to gather data. It was located nearby when the Trinity device exploded, but it was hardly scratched. About a year later, in keeping with military tradition, the Army placed eight 500-pound bombs inside it and detonated them. Just because they could.
There is no actual crater at the blast site, it's more of a shallow depression in the soft desert soil. It's totally surrounded by a fence. The site has been cleaned up and decontaminated to the point that there is no significant risk to healthy adults. The amount of radiation absorbed in a typical visit is less than you would receive on a cross-country airline trip.
When the bomb exploded, it fused the sandy soil into a greenish, glassy crust that was named "Trinitite". This sign explains the process. Much of it was scooped up by soldiers afterwards, and the remainder was bulldozed off when the site was cleaned up. There are vendors selling samples of it there. It's only slightly radioactive.
An interpretive sign that is very interesting. I've left it it's original size, so if you want to read it just click the link.
Click For Full-Size Image.
Ground Zero is marked with an obelisk made of volcanic rock.
The bomb was mounted atop a 100' tower, and the monument sits between where the four legs were.
All that is visible of the tower today are the remains of one of the concrete footings.
Historical pictures are hung on the fence surrounding the site.
One area has been enclosed and covered by this low shed. You can't see in it, it's supposedly left in the state it was before the site was cleaned up.
The Fat Man bomb casing. This is brought up from the WSMR museum for the Trinty Site open house twice a year.
Rain off in the distance.
A panoramic shot of ground zero (full size).
Click For Full-Size Image.
Jumbo interpretive sign (full size).
Click For Full-Size Image.
Thick steel. There was originally another 9" of steel banding, in addition to the 6" of steel plate shown here.
After Trinity Site, we drove 2 miles south to the McDonald ranch house, which was used as a laboratory for testing bomb components by the scientists. The house wasn't damaged much by the explosion, other than blowing all the windows out. After deteriorating for 40 years, the house was restored to its 1945 appearance.
Rear of the house.
Windmill tower used to pump water.
Used to be on top.
Water storage. Used as a swimming pool by the scientists and engineers.
Barn and bunkhouse ruins. The Trinity explosion collapsed the roofs and damaged the buildings.
Looking toward ground zero from the ranch house. The explosion would have been on the horizon, just left of center.
Front of the ranch house.
Sign describing how the ranch house was used (full size).
Click For Full-Size Image.
Ranch house front room that was used as a clean room for the assembly of the "gadget".
Jumbo.
Historic panoramic composite picture.
After leaving WSMR, we head towards Arizona on US-60 and passed the Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array radio telescope. We'll have to visit this place sometime on a future trip. They offer guided tours on the first Saturday of each month.
I'm afraid that's all I have time for now. More later.
:):)
Our next destination was Trinity Site, where the world's first nuclear explosion took place. The explosion was to test one of two types of nuclear bombs developed by the Manhattan Project in 1945. Prior to our visit to WSMR and Trinity Site, I didn't realize how different the bombs dropped on Japan were.
Very briefly:
The Hiroshima bomb, ("Little Boy"), was a gun-type nuclear bomb that achieved fission by literally firing one radioactive object into another inside the bomb casing. The Nagasaki bomb ("Fat Man") was an implosion-type nuclear bomb that achieved fission through the precise detonation of high explosives surrounding a plutonium core.
Little Boy was actually a simple, but inefficient uranium bomb that had a very poor explosive yield for the amount of uranium in it. It contained 64 kg (141 lb) of enriched uranium, of which less than a kilogram underwent nuclear fission. The men who worked on the Little Boy development team likened themselves to blacksmiths, because they worked on the bomb with monkey-wrenches and sledge-hammers. The scientists and engineers were so confident of the design though, that it was never tested prior to using it. Little Boy was the first atomic bomb dropped on Japan. The yield was about 15-16 kilotons.
Fat Man however, was a very sophisticated and technologically advanced plutonium bomb that contained only about 6.2 kilograms (13.6 lb) of nuclear material. About 1 kilogram achieved fission, and produced a yield of about 21 kilotons. Fat Man was more complex and worked by compressing the plutonium into a critical mass which sustains a chain reaction. The compression of the plutonium ball was to be accomplished by surrounding it with lens-shaped charges of high explosives. They were designed to all explode at the same instant. The force is directed inward, thus compressing the plutonium from all sides. Due to the scientific and engineering challenges they had to overcome, a test of the bomb was deemed critical. The bomb exploded at Trinity site was that test, and the device used was nearly identical to Fat Man, which was the second atomic bomb dropped on Japan.
I you're having trouble seeing the details of some of the interpretive signs, you should be able to use your browsers zoom in/out feature (ctrl +, ctrl -) to see the details better. Some of the pano-shots I uploaded the full size image, so look for the link below the picture.
We left Socorro the next morning early enough to make it out to Trinity site soon after they opened the gates. The roads inside the WSMR are a mix of paved and graded gravel. Trinity site is about 12 miles from I-25, and about 5 miles inside the secure perimeter of WSMR.
There's ample parking for the public, including buses and other large vehicles. This is a panoramic shot of the area from the bed of my truck after we parked. Ground zero is to the left, the McDonald ranch house is to the right. (Full Size)
Just off the parking lot is what appears to be a giant pipe. It's actually the remains of a containment vessel nicknamed "Jumbo", that was intended to be used in the test of the first atomic bomb. There were initially concerns that the triggering mechanism of the high explosives used to compress the plutonium core and initiate nuclear fission would not be accurate enough, and the bomb would "fizzle", and scatter the plutonium all over the site. It was designed to contain the TNT explosion if the chain reaction failed to materialize. This would prevent the plutonium from being lost. If the explosion occurred as planned, Jumbo would be vaporized. As they got closer to the actual test date, their confidence in the bomb was such that they no longer felt using it was necessary, and in fact would make it more difficult to gather data. It was located nearby when the Trinity device exploded, but it was hardly scratched. About a year later, in keeping with military tradition, the Army placed eight 500-pound bombs inside it and detonated them. Just because they could.
There is no actual crater at the blast site, it's more of a shallow depression in the soft desert soil. It's totally surrounded by a fence. The site has been cleaned up and decontaminated to the point that there is no significant risk to healthy adults. The amount of radiation absorbed in a typical visit is less than you would receive on a cross-country airline trip.
When the bomb exploded, it fused the sandy soil into a greenish, glassy crust that was named "Trinitite". This sign explains the process. Much of it was scooped up by soldiers afterwards, and the remainder was bulldozed off when the site was cleaned up. There are vendors selling samples of it there. It's only slightly radioactive.
An interpretive sign that is very interesting. I've left it it's original size, so if you want to read it just click the link.
Ground Zero is marked with an obelisk made of volcanic rock.
The bomb was mounted atop a 100' tower, and the monument sits between where the four legs were.
All that is visible of the tower today are the remains of one of the concrete footings.
Historical pictures are hung on the fence surrounding the site.
One area has been enclosed and covered by this low shed. You can't see in it, it's supposedly left in the state it was before the site was cleaned up.
The Fat Man bomb casing. This is brought up from the WSMR museum for the Trinty Site open house twice a year.
Rain off in the distance.
A panoramic shot of ground zero (full size).
Jumbo interpretive sign (full size).
Thick steel. There was originally another 9" of steel banding, in addition to the 6" of steel plate shown here.
After Trinity Site, we drove 2 miles south to the McDonald ranch house, which was used as a laboratory for testing bomb components by the scientists. The house wasn't damaged much by the explosion, other than blowing all the windows out. After deteriorating for 40 years, the house was restored to its 1945 appearance.
Rear of the house.
Windmill tower used to pump water.
Used to be on top.
Water storage. Used as a swimming pool by the scientists and engineers.
Barn and bunkhouse ruins. The Trinity explosion collapsed the roofs and damaged the buildings.
Looking toward ground zero from the ranch house. The explosion would have been on the horizon, just left of center.
Front of the ranch house.
Sign describing how the ranch house was used (full size).
Ranch house front room that was used as a clean room for the assembly of the "gadget".
Jumbo.
Historic panoramic composite picture.
After leaving WSMR, we head towards Arizona on US-60 and passed the Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array radio telescope. We'll have to visit this place sometime on a future trip. They offer guided tours on the first Saturday of each month.
I'm afraid that's all I have time for now. More later.
:):)
