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Sourcing of Copper and Lead within Red Inclusions from Trinitite Postdetonation Material.
Elizabeth C Koeman1, Antonio Simonetti1, Peter C Burns1
1†Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering and Earth Sciences and ‡Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, Indiana 46556, United States.
Analytical Chemistry
|April 24, 2015
Summary
Analyzing Trinitite, the first nuclear bomb
Area of Science:
- Nuclear forensics and materials science.
- Geochemistry and isotope analysis.
- Historical nuclear event characterization.
Background:
- Historical postdetonation materials offer insights into nuclear device composition.
- Trinitite, from the 1945 Trinity Test, contains melted sand and device components.
- Declassified chemical and isotopic data enable source attribution studies.
Purpose of the Study:
- To fingerprint components of the first nuclear device using Trinitite.
- To investigate the origin of lead (Pb) and copper (Cu) in Trinitite red inclusions.
- To verify source attribution methodologies for nuclear materials.
Main Methods:
- Chemical and isotopic analysis of Trinitite samples, focusing on red inclusions.
- Lead (Pb) isotope ratio measurements.
- Trace element analysis of industrial copper (Cu) manufacturing products.
Main Results:
- Trinitite red inclusions show high Pb and Cu concentrations, positively correlated.
- Pb isotope compositions indicate mixing from geological, device, and industrial Cu sources.
- Anthropogenic Pb likely originated from Buchans Mine, Canada; Cu from US ore deposits.
Conclusions:
- Pb and Cu isotope signatures in Trinitite can identify specific component origins.
- This study validates nuclear forensics techniques for historical nuclear events.
- Understanding device material provenance is crucial for source attribution.
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