"I am become Shiva, destroyer of worlds."
Apr. 1st, 2006 07:43 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
thewayneOne of the interesting things about living in Southern New Mexico is the proximity to White Sands Missile Range. It is the testing center for every rocket or missile that may go into US military service. They do horrible things to missiles to test them long before they are fired, and if you're ever driving between Las Cruces and Alamogordo and you're in a hurry, you'd better do a little research to find out if US 70 will be open, it's always closed when they're shooting missiles.
White Sands also houses the site where the first atomic bomb detonation took place, the Trinity site. Today it was open for public tours.
http://www.wsmr.army.mil/pao/TrinitySite/trinst.htm
On July 16, 1945 the world changed with the explosion of the first atomic bomb. The explosion took place at Trinity Site which is on what is now White Sands Missile Range. Trinity is a national historic landmark which is open to the public twice a year. The following links will provide you with information on the history of the site, how to get there and some of the historic images."
Today, Russet and I went there. Honestly, there's not much to see. There's the monument precisely where the bomb was detonated. There's a small piece of concrete with a couple of pieces of big gauge rebar set in it that's all that remains of the footing for the tower that held the bomb. And there's a shelter that covers the only non-filled-in portion of the original crater, it also shows Trinitite, the glass mineral fused/formed when the bomb detonated. Unfortunately that housing has been infiltrated with sand and the Trinitite is no longer visible.
That's it. That's all of the physical remains of the first atomic bomb blast.
They had a replica of the Fat Man bomb casing which was the first atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima about three weeks later. They had a radiological display showing things that you wouldn't think are radioactive but are, complete with a Geiger counter so that you can be a science geek for a minute. And of course they had some vendors selling books, t-shirts, and food.
It's 85 miles from Alamogordo if you get in a caravan that leaves the Alamo fairgrounds at about 8am. The caravan gets to take a shortcut through a side gate in Tularosa, otherwise you have to drive through the Stallion Gate entrance between Carrizoza and San Antonio (NM). That route will take you around 120 or more miles and a lot more time.
It was a fairly quiet experience for Russet and I. I've also been to the Atomic Energy Museum in Albuquerque and the Titan Missile Silo Museum south of Tucson. It can be a rather sobering experience to go to those places when you realize the tremendous destructive power that was unleashed that day, a power that went on to fuel a decades-long arms race with the USSR, the after-affects of which are still being felt.
I would definitely recommend it to anyone with an interest in history. The site is open to the public only twice a year, the first Saturday in April and October. Last year they also had a tour on the 60th anniversary of the detonation, unfortunately I had to be at work the next day and I just didn't have the time. It's free except for your time and gas. The Alamo Chamber of Commerce has tourist buses that run $35 a seat.
The quote I used for the subject? Allegedly it was said by J. Robert Oppenheimer, the "father of the atomic bomb", upon the detonation of the bomb.
White Sands also houses the site where the first atomic bomb detonation took place, the Trinity site. Today it was open for public tours.
http://www.wsmr.army.mil/pao/TrinitySite/trinst.htm
On July 16, 1945 the world changed with the explosion of the first atomic bomb. The explosion took place at Trinity Site which is on what is now White Sands Missile Range. Trinity is a national historic landmark which is open to the public twice a year. The following links will provide you with information on the history of the site, how to get there and some of the historic images."
Today, Russet and I went there. Honestly, there's not much to see. There's the monument precisely where the bomb was detonated. There's a small piece of concrete with a couple of pieces of big gauge rebar set in it that's all that remains of the footing for the tower that held the bomb. And there's a shelter that covers the only non-filled-in portion of the original crater, it also shows Trinitite, the glass mineral fused/formed when the bomb detonated. Unfortunately that housing has been infiltrated with sand and the Trinitite is no longer visible.
That's it. That's all of the physical remains of the first atomic bomb blast.
They had a replica of the Fat Man bomb casing which was the first atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima about three weeks later. They had a radiological display showing things that you wouldn't think are radioactive but are, complete with a Geiger counter so that you can be a science geek for a minute. And of course they had some vendors selling books, t-shirts, and food.
It's 85 miles from Alamogordo if you get in a caravan that leaves the Alamo fairgrounds at about 8am. The caravan gets to take a shortcut through a side gate in Tularosa, otherwise you have to drive through the Stallion Gate entrance between Carrizoza and San Antonio (NM). That route will take you around 120 or more miles and a lot more time.
It was a fairly quiet experience for Russet and I. I've also been to the Atomic Energy Museum in Albuquerque and the Titan Missile Silo Museum south of Tucson. It can be a rather sobering experience to go to those places when you realize the tremendous destructive power that was unleashed that day, a power that went on to fuel a decades-long arms race with the USSR, the after-affects of which are still being felt.
I would definitely recommend it to anyone with an interest in history. The site is open to the public only twice a year, the first Saturday in April and October. Last year they also had a tour on the 60th anniversary of the detonation, unfortunately I had to be at work the next day and I just didn't have the time. It's free except for your time and gas. The Alamo Chamber of Commerce has tourist buses that run $35 a seat.
The quote I used for the subject? Allegedly it was said by J. Robert Oppenheimer, the "father of the atomic bomb", upon the detonation of the bomb.
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Re: Trinity Site
Date: 2006-04-02 02:27 pm (UTC)AFAIK, biological weapons have not been used, but you could possibly class the US giving Indians blankets contaminated with Smallpox as a bio weapon.
Interestingly, I looked up the term on Wikipedia, and the first usage was: "The term first arose in 1937 in reference to the mass destruction of Guernica, Spain, by aerial bombardment." It used to be called NBC for Nuclear/Biological/Chemical, which was the term that I was familiar with for quite a number of years.