Rare ‘Forbidden’ quasi Crystal Discovered in Debris from World’s First Atomic Bomb Test

The first atomic bomb test in the world,the Trinity test in 1945,yielded more than a devastating bang. Scientists have discovered a rare quasi crystal in the glassy rock that originated after the explosion. That is a material with a structure that, according to the laws of nature, should not actually exist.

On July 16, 1945, at 5:29 a.m., the Trinity test took place in the desert of the state of New Mexico; it was the very first test with a nuclear weapon.The plutonium bomb, nicknamed ‘The Gadget,’ had a force equal to 21,000 tons of TNT. The explosion was so intense that the surrounding sand melted into a glassy material, known as trinition.

In a rare piece of red trinition, collected at 55 to 60 meters from the explosion center, now, 80 years later, scientists found something special: a quasi crystal with a unique composition, formed from a combination of melted sand, copper wires of measuring equipment, and iron from the test tower.

A ‘Forbidden’ Crystal Structure

Quasi crystals are no ordinary crystals. Normal crystals have a regular, repeating structure, such as a honeycomb. Quasi crystals do have an orderly structure