Atomic bomb tested, July 16, 1945
A summer storm delays the test until 5:25 a.m. A tremendous light fills the sky, a brightness so intense that those who see it will talk about it for the rest of their lives. A fireball shoots to a height of 40,000 feet, then a purple cloud radiates heat that can be felt miles away. One hundred seconds later, an enormous boom erupts as a shock wave follows the explosion, so powerful that windows shatter 180 miles away. For a quarter mile around the blast site the earth is scorched black. The extreme heat melts the sand into green glass.