Editing Manhattan Project (section)

=== Trinity ===
{{Main|Trinity (nuclear test)}}
Because of the complexity of an implosion-style weapon, it was decided that, despite the waste of fissile material, a full-scale [[nuclear test]] was required. Oppenheimer codenamed it "Trinity".<ref>{{harvnb|Jones|1985|p=465}}.</ref> In March 1944, planning for the test was assigned to [[Kenneth Bainbridge]], who selected the [[Alamogordo Bombing Range]] for the test site.<ref>{{harvnb|Hewlett|Anderson|1962|pp=318–319}}.</ref> A base camp was constructed with barracks, warehouses, workshops, an explosive magazine and a commissary.<ref>{{harvnb|Jones|1985|pp=478–481}}.</ref> A pre-test explosion was conducted on 7 May 1945 to calibrate the instruments. A wooden test platform was erected {{convert|800|yd}} from future Trinity Ground Zero and piled with about {{convert|100|ST}} of high explosives{{efn|The charge consisted of {{convert|89.75|ST|t}} tons of [[TNT]] and {{convert|14.91|ST|t}} tons of [[Composition B]] (with the total explosive power of approximately 108 tons of TNT), actually a few tons more than the stated "100-tons".<ref>{{cite book |last=Walker |first=Raymond L. |date=1950 |title=100-ton Test: Piezo Gauge Measurements |url=https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015086443556&seq=3 |publisher=U.S. Atomic Energy Commission, Technical Information Division |page=1}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Loring |first=William S. |date=2019 |title=Birthplace of the Atomic Bomb: A Complete History of the Trinity Test Site |url=https://books.google.am/books?id=h0CIDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT141#v=onepage&q&f=false |location=Jefferson, North Carolina |publisher=McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers |page=133 |isbn=978-1-4766-3381-7}}</ref>
}} spiked with [[nuclear fission product]]s.<ref name="Jones, p. 512" /><ref>{{harvnb|Hoddeson|Henriksen|Meade|Westfall|1993|pp=360–362}}</ref>

[[File:Trinity device readied.jpg|thumb|left|The explosives of "the gadget" were raised to the top of the tower for the final assembly.|alt=Men stand around a large oil-rig type structure. A large round object is being hoisted up.]]
Groves did not relish the prospect of explaining to a Senate committee the loss of a billion dollars worth of plutonium, so a cylindrical containment vessel codenamed "Jumbo" was constructed to recover the active material in the event of a failure. It was fabricated at great expense from {{convert|214|ST}} of iron and steel.<ref>{{harvnb|Hoddeson|Henriksen|Meade|Westfall|1993|pp=174–175}}</ref> By the time it arrived, however, confidence in the implosion method was high enough, and the availability of plutonium was sufficient, that Oppenheimer decided not to use it. Instead, it was placed atop a steel tower {{convert|800|yd}} from the weapon as a rough measure of the explosion's power. Jumbo survived, although its tower did not, adding credence to the belief that Jumbo would have successfully contained a [[Fizzle (nuclear explosion)|fizzled explosion]].<ref>{{harvnb|Hoddeson|Henriksen|Meade|Westfall|1993|pp=365–367}}</ref><ref name="Jones, p. 512">{{harvnb|Jones|1985|p=512}}.</ref>

[[File:Trinity Detonation T&B.jpg|thumb|right|The [[Trinity (nuclear test)|Trinity test]] of the Manhattan Project was the first detonation of a [[nuclear weapon]].]]
For the actual test, the weapon, nicknamed "the gadget", was hoisted to the top of a {{convert|100|ft|m|adj=on}} steel tower, as detonation at that height would give a better indication of how the weapon would behave when dropped from a bomber. Detonation in the air maximized the energy applied directly to the target and generated less [[nuclear fallout]]. The gadget was assembled under the supervision of [[Norris Bradbury]] at the nearby [[McDonald Ranch House]] on 13 July, and precariously winched up the tower the following day.<ref>{{harvnb|Hoddeson|Henriksen|Meade|Westfall|1993|pp=367–370}}</ref>

At 05:30 on 16 July 1945 the gadget exploded with an [[TNT equivalent|energy equivalent]] of around 20 kilotons of TNT, leaving a crater of [[trinitite]] (radioactive glass) in the desert {{convert|250|ft}} wide. The shock wave was felt over {{convert|100|mi}} away, and the [[mushroom cloud]] reached {{convert|7.5|mi}} in height. It was heard as far away as [[El Paso, Texas]], so Groves issued a cover story about an ammunition magazine explosion at Alamogordo Field involving gas shells.<ref>{{harvnb|Hoddeson|Henriksen|Meade|Westfall|1993|pp=372–374}}</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Jones|1985|pp=514–517}}.</ref>

Oppenheimer later claimed that, while witnessing the explosion, he thought of a verse from the [[Hindu]] holy book, the ''[[Bhagavad Gita]]'' (XI,12):
{{verse translation|italicsoff=true|lang=sa
|कालोऽस्मि लोकक्षयकृत्प्रवृद्धो लोकान्समाहर्तुमिह प्रवृत्तः। ऋतेऽपि त्वां न भविष्यन्ति सर्वे येऽवस्थिताः प्रत्यनीकेषु योधाः॥११- ३२॥
|If the radiance of a thousand suns were to burst at once into the sky, that would be like the splendor of the mighty one&nbsp;...{{sfn|Jungk|1958|p=201}}<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.asitis.com/11/12.html |title=Bhagavad Gita As It Is, 11: The Universal Form, Text 12 |access-date=19 July 2013 |publisher=A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada}}</ref>}}

together with verse (XI,32), which he translated as "Now I am become Death, destroyer of worlds".<ref name="Time Inc p. 133">{{cite magazine |title=J. Robert Oppenheimer |first=Lincoln |last=Barnett |author-link=Lincoln Barnett |magazine=[[Life (magazine)|Life]] |issn=0024-3019 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GVIEAAAAMBAJ&dq=oppenheimer+%22if+the+radiance+of+a+thousand+suns+were+to+%22&pg=PA133 | access-date=2023-08-29 | page=133}}</ref><ref name="TIME.com 1948 k845">{{cite magazine |title=The Eternal Apprentice |magazine=[[Time (magazine)|Time]] | date=1948-11-08 | url=https://content.time.com/time/subscriber/article/0,33009,853367-8,00.html | access-date=2023-08-29}}</ref>{{efn|The first instance in print of Oppenheimer's ''Gita'' story is apparently from 1948. Oppenheimer at times translated it to "shatterer of worlds" as well. The quote with "destroyer of worlds" comes from a taped interview of Oppenheimer did with NBC in 1965. Oppenheimer's translation is not considered a standard or literal one, and was likely influenced by the style of his [[Sanskrit]] teacher, [[Arthur Ryder]], who translated the line as: "Death am I, and my present task / Destruction." A more common translation has the identification not as "Death," but as "Time." In the passage, the Hindu god [[Krishna]] is revealing himself and his true form to Prince Arjuna, imploring Arjuna to fulfill his duty and take part in a war, and assuring him that the fate of those killed is really up to Krishna, not mortal men.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Hijiya|first=James A.|title=The 'Gita' of J. Robert Oppenheimer|journal=Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society|date=June 2000|volume=144|number=2|pages=123–167}}</ref>}}

The test was significantly more successful than had been anticipated; this was immediately cabled to Stimson, who was then at the [[Potsdam Conference]], and Groves hastily prepared a lengthier report sent via courier. President [[Harry S. Truman]] was powerfully and positively affected by the news. Stimson noted in his diary that when he shared it with Churchill, Churchill remarked: "Now I know what happened to Truman yesterday. I couldn't understand it. When he got to the meeting after having read this report, he was a changed man. He told the Russians just where they got on and off and generally bossed the whole meeting."<ref>{{harvnb|Groves|1962|pp=303–304}}.</ref>