Editing Trinitite (section)

==Nuclear forensics==
[[File:Trinity Detonation T&B.jpg|thumb|right|The mushroom cloud seconds after the detonation]]
A 2010 study in the [[open access]] journal ''[[Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences]]'' examined trinitite's potential value to the field of [[nuclear forensics]].<ref>{{cite news |last=Spotts |first=Pete |date=November 12, 2010 |title=Scientists use 'trinitite' from 1945 to help decode nuclear blasts |url=https://www.csmonitor.com/Science/2010/1112/Scientists-use-trinitite-from-1945-to-help-decode-nuclear-blasts |work=The Christian Science Monitor |location= |access-date=May 25, 2021}}</ref> Prior to this research, it was assumed trinitite's components fused identically and their original composition could not be discerned. The study demonstrated that glass from nuclear detonations could provide information about the device and associated components, such as packaging.<ref name="bbcclues">{{cite news |last= |first= |date=November 8, 2010 |title=Nuclear debris could reveal clues of bomb's origin |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-11714316 |work=BBC |location= |access-date=May 27, 2021}}</ref>

During the 2010s millions of dollars of research was undertaken examining trinitite to better understand what information such glasses held that could be used to understand the nuclear explosion that created them.<ref name="ars"/> The researchers theorized that trinitite analysis may be useful for forensically identifying perpetrators of a future nuclear attack.<ref name="bbcclues"/><ref>{{cite news |last=Johnston |first=Casey |date=November 11, 2010 |title=Nuclear debris carries signatures of bomb that caused it |url=https://arstechnica.com/science/2010/11/nuclear-debris-carries-signatures-of-bomb-that-caused-it/ |work=Ars Technica |location= |access-date=May 28, 2021}}</ref>

Researchers involved with the discovery of the quasicrystal speculated their work could improve efforts to investigate [[nuclear weapons proliferation]] since quasicrystals do not decay, unlike other evidence produced by nuclear weapons testing.<ref name="quasiphys"/> Trinitite has been chosen as a research subject partly because the nuclear test was well-documented.<ref name="drymoon"/> A 2015 study in the ''[[Journal of Radioanalytical and Nuclear Chemistry]]'' funded by the [[National Nuclear Security Administration]] describes a method by which trinitite-like glass could be deliberately synthesized for use as test subjects for new nuclear forensic techniques.<ref name="syntheticmeltglass">{{cite journal |author-first1=Joshua J. |author-last1=Molgaard |author-first2=John D. |author-last2=Auxier |author-first3=Andrew V. |author-last3=Giminaro |author-first4=C. J. |author-last4=Oldham |author-first5=Matthew T. |author-last5=Cook |author-first6=Stephen A. |author-last6=Young |author-first7=Howard L. |author-last7=Hall |date=January 20, 2015 |title=Development of synthetic nuclear melt glass for forensic analysis |journal=Journal of Radioanalytical and Nuclear Chemistry |volume= 304|issue= 3|pages= 1293–1301|doi= 10.1007/s10967-015-3941-8|pmid= 26224989|pmc= 4514012|bibcode=2015JRNC..304.1293M }}</ref> [[Laser ablation]] was first successfully used to identify the [[isotopic signature]] unique to the [[uranium]] within the bomb from a sample of trinitite, demonstrating this faster method's effectiveness.<ref>{{cite magazine |last=Scoles |first=Sarah |date=November 6, 2018 |title=How a Uranium Hunter Sniffs Out Nuclear Weapons |url=https://www.wired.com/story/how-a-uranium-hunter-sniffs-out-nuclear-weapons/ |magazine=Wired |location= |access-date=May 28, 2021}}</ref>