Editing Trinitite (section)

==Formation==
[[Image:Trinitite-pieces3.jpg|thumb|Pieces of trinitite]]
{{Anchor|Robert E. Hermes}}
In 2005 it was theorized by [[Los Alamos National Laboratory]] scientist [[Robert E. Hermes]] and independent investigator William Strickfaden that much of the glass was formed by sand which was drawn up inside the fireball and then rained down in a liquid form.<ref name="New Theory on the Formation of Trinitite">{{cite web |url=http://www.wsmr.army.mil/pao/TrinitySite/NewTrinititeTheory.htm |first1=Kevin |last1=Casey |year=2006 |title=New Theory on the Formation of Trinitite |accessdate=2014-03-17 |website=[[White Sands Missile Range]] |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20080726072410/http://www.wsmr.army.mil/pao/TrinitySite/NewTrinititeTheory.htm |archivedate=2008-07-26 }}</ref><ref name="A New Look at Trinitite">{{Cite Q |Q124694670 |author-last1=Hermes |author-first1=Robert E. |author-link1=Robert E. Hermes |author-last2=Strickfaden |author-first2=William B.}}</ref> In a 2010 article in ''Geology Today'', Nelson Eby of [[University of Massachusetts Lowell]] and Robert Hermes describe trinitite: {{blockquote|text=Contained within the glass are melted bits of the first atomic bomb and the support structures and various [[radionuclide]]s formed during the detonation. The glass itself is marvelously complex at the tens to hundreds of micrometre scale, and besides glasses of varying composition also contains unmelted quartz grains. Air transport of the melted material led to the formation of spheres and dumbbell shaped glass particles. Similar glasses are formed during all ground level nuclear detonations and contain forensic information that can be used to identify the atomic device.<ref name="Trinitite the atomic rock">{{cite journal | title=Trinitite—the atomic rock  | date=24 September 2010 |last1=Eby |first1=N. |last2=Hermes |first2=R. |last3=Charnley |first3=N. |last4=Smoliga |first4=J. | doi=10.1111/j.1365-2451.2010.00767.x | volume=26 |issue = 5| pages=180–185 | journal=Geology Today|doi-access=free | bibcode=2010GeolT..26..180E }}</ref>}}

This was supported by a 2011 study based on nuclear imaging and spectrometric techniques.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Belloni |first1=F. |last2=Himbert |first2=J. |last3=Marzocchi |first3=O. |last4=Romanello |first4=V. |title=Investigating incorporation and distribution of radionuclides in trinitite |journal=Journal of Environmental Radioactivity |date=2011 |volume=102 |issue=9 |pages=852–862 |doi=10.1016/j.jenvrad.2011.05.003 |pmid=21636184 |bibcode=2011JEnvR.102..852B }}</ref> Green trinitite is theorised by researchers to contain material from the bomb's support structure, while red trinitite contains material originating from copper electrical wiring.<ref name="guardianriddle">{{cite news |last=Powell |first=Devin |date=June 18, 2013 |title=Riddle of the sands scattered around Trinity atomic test site |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/jun/18/trinitite-atomic-plutonium-oppenheimer |work=The Guardian |location= |access-date=May 23, 2021}}</ref>

An estimated {{convert|4,300|GJ|erg}} of heat energy went into forming the glass. As the temperature required to melt the sand into the observed glass form was about {{convert|1470|C|F}}, this was estimated to have been the minimum temperature the sand was exposed to.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.lahdra.org/reports/LAHDRA%20Report%20v5%202007_App%20N_Trinity%20Test.pdf |title=INTERIM REPORT OF CDC'S LAHDRA PROJECT – Appendix N. pg 38 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20140317164653/http://www.lahdra.org/reports/LAHDRA%20Report%20v5%202007_App%20N_Trinity%20Test.pdf |archivedate=2014-03-17 }}</ref> Material within the blast fireball was [[superheating|superheated]] for an estimated 2–3 seconds before solidification.<ref name="syntheticmeltglass"/> Relatively [[Volatility (chemistry)|volatile]] elements such as [[zinc]] are found in decreasing quantities the closer the trinitite was formed to the centre of the blast. The higher the temperature, the more these volatile elements evaporated and were not captured as the material solidified.<ref name="drymoon">{{cite news |last=Crane |first=Leah |date=February 8, 2017 |title=Glass from nuclear test site shows the moon was born dry |url=https://www.newscientist.com/article/2120748-glass-from-nuclear-test-site-shows-the-moon-was-born-dry/ |work=New Scientist |location= |access-date=May 24, 2021}}</ref>

The detonation left large quantities of trinitite scattered around the crater,<ref name="quasinature"/> with ''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]'' writing in September 1945 that the site took the appearance of "[a] lake of green jade," while "[t]he glass takes strange shapes—lopsided marbles, knobbly sheets a quarter-inch thick, broken, thin-walled bubbles, green, wormlike forms."<ref name="smithmag"/> The presence of rounded, beadlike forms suggests that some material melted after being thrown into the air and landed already formed, rather than remaining at ground level and being melted there.<ref name="guardianriddle"/> Other trinitite which formed on the ground contains [[Inclusion (mineral)|inclusions]] of infused sand.<ref name="syntheticmeltglass"/> This trinitite cooled rapidly on its upper surface, while the lower surface was superheated.<ref name="vesicledistro">{{cite news |last=Patrick H. Donohue, Antonio Simonetti |first= |date=January 2016 |title=Vesicle Size Distribution as a Novel Nuclear Forensics Tool |url=http://europepmc.org/backend/ptpmcrender.fcgi?accid=PMC5033408&blobtype=pdf |work=PLoS One |location= |access-date=June 4, 2021}}</ref>