The nuclear test that scientists feared might ignite Earth’s atmosphere

J. Robert Oppenheimer led the scientific effort that created the world’s first atomic bomb during World War II. The Trinity test in 1945 produced an explosion equal to nearly 25,000 tons of TNT, marking the beginning of the nuclear age. Some scientists had even feared the blast might ignite the atmosphere and destroy life on Earth. The weapons developed under Oppenheimer’s leadership were later used in Hiroshima and Nagasaki, killing more than 225,000 people and permanently changing global warfare.