75 years ago, the U.S. exploded its first atomic bomb, in the New Mexico desert. It was the culmination of 5 years of hurried development.

Throughout World War II, Germany hoped to use the incredible energy density of uranium and plutonium to build a devastating weapon.

To beat them to the bomb, the U.S. assembled teams across the country—130,000 staff and scientists, many of whom had fled Europe to avoid Nazi persecution.

In July 1945, team leaders gathered to watch that first detonation from 10 miles away. They were unsure whether it would detonate at all.

The blast vaporized the 100-foot tower that held the bomb, turned the desert sand to glass for a mile around, and broke windows more than 100 miles away. It exceeded the force the scientists had expected by 2 to 4 times.

To try to force Japan to surrender and end World War II, President Truman warned that the U.S. had created a weapon of “utter devastation.” The Japanese emperor was unmoved.

Truman made the decision to drop a smaller uranium bomb, but Japan would still not capitulate. Three days later, the U.S. dropped a plutonium bomb like the one in the desert.

Together they killed nearly 200,000 people, and Japan surrendered.

Over the next 3 decades, America and other atomic powers developed more nuclear weapons. But they’ve never been used again in war, and let’s hope they never will.

I’m Scott Tinker with a grim reminder of the power of science.