The First Test of the Atomic Bomb in 1945 Made Great Innovations

During the Trinity nuclear test on July 16, 1945, in the New Mexico desert—the world’s first experiment the atomic bomb—a new invention of its own making. It was found Recently, an international research team led by geologist Luca Bindi at the University of Florence, discovered a novel clathrate composed of calcium, copper, and silicon. It is something that has never been seen in nature or as a product created in a laboratory.

What Are Clathrates?

The term “clathrates” refers to the so-called “cage-like” materials that trap certain atoms and molecules inside, giving them a unique shape. Most interestingly, these materials are being studied for different applications from energy conversion (such as thermoelectric devices that can convert heat into electricity) to the development of new semiconductors, gas and hydrogen storage for future energy technologies.

New Story

To find the new material, researchers looked at trinitite, a silicate glass that contains rare metal particles. Using other techniques such as x-ray diffraction, the team was able to identify a type I clathrate of calcium, copper, and silicon within a copper-containing metal drop embedded in a sample of red trinitite.

The researchers say that these new things happened automatically during the nuclear explosion. This shows that extreme conditions, such as high temperature and pressure, can create new materials that are impossible to obtain by traditional methods.

Natural Laboratories

The discovery is very interesting because in the same event of destruction another very rare substance was produced: a quasicrystal rich in silicon, already recorded by a group of experts led by Bindi a few years ago.

A quasicrystal, like Bindi he said WIRED then, it is something that is not a crystal, but it looks like one. “Their wonder,” he said, “is that atomic arrangements that are not periodic, but almost so, create strange symmetries that yield surprising properties that are, in some cases, difficult to predict.”

Establishing a link between these elements helps scientists better understand how atoms are formed under extreme conditions and expands the possibilities of developing new materials. “Events such as nuclear explosions, lightning strikes, or meteoritic events act as real natural laboratories,” the researchers explain. They allow us to look at kinds of things that we can’t reproduce in the laboratory.

In fact, this research opens up new perspectives on the development of new technologies, showing that even destructive events can make the discoveries useful in the future.

This article appeared first WIRED Italy and translated from Italian.