In the early hours of July 8, 1945, a small group of scientists and military personnel gathered at a remote location in the New Mexico desert. They were there to witness something that had never been attempted before: the detonation of an atomic bomb.
The device they were testing was unlike any other bomb ever built. It was powered not by conventional explosives, but by nuclear fission – the splitting of atoms. When it worked as intended, the blast would be equivalent to the explosion of tens of thousands of tons of TNT.
The team knew that they were taking part in history, but they could not have imagined just how momentous their achievement would be. The successful test proved that nuclear weapons were a reality and ushered in a new era of international politics – one in which countries with access to this powerful technology held a very real threat over those that did not.
Despite its significance, few people outside of the scientific community know about the Nedm experiment today. This is largely due to its top-secret nature at the time; even now, many details about what happened remain classified. Nevertheless, it is an important part of our shared history and an event that continues to shape our world today.