Trinitite

sand melted into radioactive glass

Trinitite (also known as atomsite or Alamogordo glass) is the glassy residue left on the desert floor after the plutonium-based Trinity nuclear bomb test on July 16, 1945, near Alamogordo, New Mexico.

"We knew the world would not be the same. A few people laughed, a few people cried, most people were silent. I remembered the line from the Hindu scripture, the Bhagavad-Gita. Vishnu says, ‘Now, I am become Death, the destroyer of worlds.’ I suppose we all felt that one way or another.”
- Robert Oppenheimer

A Rare Form of Matter

At 5:29 AM on the morning of July 16, 1945, in the state of New Mexico, a dreadful slice of history was made. The dawn calm was torn asunder as the United States Army detonated a plutonium implosion device known as the Gadget – the world's very first test of a nuclear bomb, known as the Trinity test. This moment would change warfare forever. The energy release, equivalent to 21 kilotons of TNT, vaporized the 30-metre test tower (98 ft) and miles of copper wires connecting it to recording equipment. The resulting fireball fused the tower and copper with the asphalt and desert sand below into green glass – a new mineral called trinitite.

Further Info at the Science Alert! »

About the Music
An ominous opening foreshadows a hard-edge funk-rock groove. The synth lead is a combination of Roland D-50, JV-880 or Oberheim M-1000 that varies a tad by section. Note: Remixed August 13th, 2025