July 3, 1970, test Likorn Pierre J. / French Army

July 3, 1970, test Likorn Pierre J. / French Army

July 3, 1970, test Likorn Pierre J. / French Army

When We Tested Nuclear Bombs

Since the time of Trinity -- the first nuclear explosion in 1945 -- nearly 2,000 nuclear tests have been performed. Most of these occurred during the 1960s and 1970s. When the technology was new, tests were frequent and often spectacular, and they led to the development of newer, more deadly weapons. Since the 1990s, there have been efforts to limit the testing of nuclear weapons, including a U.S. moratorium and a U.N. comprehensive test ban treaty. As a result, testing has slowed , though not halted.

Los Alamos director J. Robert Oppenheimer is seen in silhouette as he oversees final assembly of The Gadget at the Trinity test site in July of 1945. (U.S. Department of Defense)

Exposed wiring of The Gadget, the nuclear device which exploded as part of Trinity, the first nuclear weapons test of an atomic bomb. At the time of this photo, the device was being prepared for its detonation, which took place on July 16, 1945. (U.S. Department of Defense)

Jumbo, a 200-ton steel canister designed to recover the plutonium used in the Trinity test in the event that the explosives used were unable to trigger a chain reaction. In the end, Jumbo wasn't used for recovery, but was placed near ground zero to help gauge the effects of the blast. It survived intact, but its support tower did not. (U.S. Department of Defense) 

The expanding fireball and shockwave of the Trinity explosion, seen .025 seconds after detonation on July 16, 1945.(U.S. Department of Defense)

A longer-exposure photograph of the Trinity explosion seconds after detonation on July 16, 1945. (U.S. Department of Defense)

A fireball begins to rise, and the world's first atomic mushroom cloud begins to form, nine seconds after Trinity detonated on July 16, 1945.(U.S. Department of Defense)

U.S. military observers watch the explosion during Operation Crossroads Baker, a nuclear test conducted on Bikini Atoll on July 25, 1946. This was the fifth nuclear explosion ever, after two other tests and the two bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki.(U.S. Department of Defense)

A massive column of water rises from the sea as the U.S. detonate an atom bomb at Bikini Atoll in the Pacific in the first underwater test of the device, July 25, 1946. (AP Photo)

A huge mushroom cloud rises above Bikini atoll in the Marshall Islands on July 25, 1946 following an atomic test blast, part of the U.S. military's Operation Crossroads. The dark spots in foreground are ships that were placed near the blast site to test what an atom bomb would do to a fleet of warships. (AP Photo)

In July 1946, the United States conducted two atomic tests at Bikini Atoll in the Pacific. The tests, codenamed Able (an atmospheric explosion) and Baker (underwater), were among the very first of the more than 1,000 tests that the U.S. would eventually conduct in Nevada and the South Pacific over the next five decades.Able and Baker were notable not only because they occurred so early in what would come to be known as “the Atomic Age,” but also because hundreds of civilian observers—primarily members of the press—were on hand to witness the explosions and the resulting destruction of ships moored around each explosion’s ground zero.Among those civilians was photographer Fritz Goro, who was with Operation Crossroads (as the July 1946 tests were collectively called) as an official observer.Phoyo: Radioactive cloud from nuclear test, Bikini Atoll, July 1946. Fritz Goro,Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images

American sailors shield their eyes during a nuclear test at Bikini Atoll, July 1946. Fritz Goro,Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images

Bikini Atoll, July 1946. Navy workman sandblasts radioactive paint off the side of submarine contaminated during the Baker nuclear test in July 1946. Fritz Goro,Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images

Bikini Atoll, July 1946. Monitoring the beach and beach craft on a South Pacific island during radiation testing, 1946. Fritz Goro,Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images

Bikini Atoll, July 1946. Feeding a goat used as a test animal during Operation Crossroads in July 1946. Fritz Goro,Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images

Operation Greenhouse took place in the spring of 1951, consisting of four explosions at the Pacific Proving Grounds in the Pacific Ocean. This photo is from the third test, George, on May 9, 1951, the first thermonuclear bomb test, yielding 225 kilotons.(U.S. Department of Defense)

The project "Ranger" in 1951. First tests at the Nevada Test Site. Operation originally named "Operation Faust". National Nuclear Security Administration / Nevada Site Office)

U.S. nuclear test "George" of Operation Greenhouse test series, 9 May 1951. George shot was physics experiment relating to the hydrogen bomb; Item shot was first boosted fission weapon.

"Rope tricks" are seen in this image of a nuclear explosion taken less than one millisecond after detonation. During operation Tumbler-Snapper in 1952, this nuclear test device was suspended 300 feet above the Nevada desert floor, and anchored by mooring cables. As the ball of plasma expanded, the radiating energy superheated and vaporized the cables just ahead of the fireball, resulting in the "spike" effects. (U.S. Department of Defense)

Operation Upshot–Knothole was a series of eleven nuclear test shots conducted in 1953 at the Nevada Test Site.The project “Upshot-Nothol" test "Annie." The test took place March 17, 1953. 18,000 men exposed in Desert Rock V up to 26.6 REM. 84 exceeded current yearly limits of 5 REM/yr.(Photo: Wikicommons)

Operation Upshot–Knothole was a series of eleven nuclear test shots conducted in 1953 at the Nevada Test Site.Upshot-Knothole Grable, a test carried out by the U.S. military in Nevada on May 25, 1953. A 280mm nuclear shell was fired 10km into the desert by the M65 Atomic Cannon, detonating in the air, about 500 feet above the ground, with a resulting 15 kiloton explosion.(U.S. Department of Defense)

Complete destruction of House No. 1, located 3,500 feet from ground zero, by an atomic blast on March 17, 1953, at Yucca Flat at the Nevada Proving Ground. U.S. Department of Defense)

(1 of 2) In Operation Doorstep, conducted during the larger Operation Upshot-Knothole nuclear bomb test, mannequins are seated at a table in the dining room of house number two, attending a "dinner party" thrown by Civil Defense officials who are testing the effects of an atomic explosion on houses and occupants on March 15, 1953. (AP Photo/Dick Strobel) 

(2 of 2) After the blast, mannequins lie strewn about the room, their "dinner party" interrupted violently by an atomic blast on March 17, 1953. (U.S. Department of Defense)

(1 of 2) Stretched on a bed, in an upstairs bedroom of house number two, is a mannequin ready to test the effects of an atomic explosion at the atomic proving grounds near Las Vegas, Nevada, March 15, 1953. Through the window a mile and a half away stands a 300 foot steel tower atop which the bomb will be detonated. The purpose of the test blast is to show Civil Defense officials what would happen in an American city if it were subjected to a atomic attack. (AP Photo/Dick Strobel) 

(2 of 2) After the blast, a damaged bedroom, window and blankets missing, resulting from a test during an atomic blast on March 17th, 1953. (U.S. Department of Defense)

(1 of 2) Mannequins representing a typical American family gathered in a living room are pictured on March 15, 1953 in House No. 2, awaiting an atomic test explosion on Nevada proving grounds. (AP Photo)

(2 of 2) After the blast, a damaged living room, members of the mannequin family tossed about or missing after an atomic blast on March 17th, 1953. (U.S. Department of Defense)

Castle Bravo was the code name given to the first United States test of a dry fuel hydrogen bomb, detonated on March 1, 1954, at Bikini Atoll, Marshall Islands, as the first test of Operation Castle.Photo: Wikicommons

The project "Castle" test "Romeo". 26 March 1954; Bikini Atoll; Capacity: 11 mt. Bravo shot inspired secret 4.1 project to study fallout victims. It over-produced by 250% of expected yield, caused fallout over a wide area.

Operation Project 56 was a series of 4 nuclear tests conducted by the United States in 1955-1956 at the Nevada Test Site. Over 895 acres (362 ha) of Area 11 at the NTS were contaminated with plutonium dust and fragments. The area has become known as Plutonium Valley, and continues to be used on an intermittent basis for realistic drills in radiological monitoring and sampling operations.Photo: Nevada desert 1955 atomic bomb test. Loomis Dean,Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images

After a nuclear weapon test, Nevada, 1955. Loomis Dean,Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images

This "Survival Town" house, photographed recently, was built some 7,500 feet from a 29-kiloton nuclear detonation -- it remained essentially intact. Survival Town consisted of houses, office buildings, fallout shelters, power systems, communications equipment, radio broadcasting station, and trailer homes. The test, called Apple II, was fired on May 5, 1955. (U.S. Department of Defense)

After a nuclear weapon test, Nevada, 1955. Loomis Dean,Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images

After a nuclear weapon test, Nevada, 1955. Loomis Dean,Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images

The test explosion of a hydrogen bomb during Operation Redwing over the Bikini Atoll on May 20, 1956. (AP Photo) 

During Plumbbob test at the Nevada Test Site on August 30, 1957, the Franklin Prime shot is detonated from a balloon in Yucca Flat at an altitude of 750 feet. (National Nuclear Security Administration / Nevada Site Office)

Ionization glow surrounds the cooling fireball of the Diablo shot, fired in Yucca Flat at 4:30 a.m. Monday, July 15, 1957.(National Nuclear Security Administration / Nevada Site Office)

The flash of the exploding nuclear warhead of an air-to-air rocket is shown as a bright sun in the eastern sky at 7:30 a.m. July 19, 1957 at Indian Springs Air Force Base, some 30 miles away from the point of detonation. A Scorpion, sister ship of the launching aircraft, is in the foreground. (National Nuclear Security Administration / Nevada Site Office)

The fireball of the Priscilla shot, fired on June 24, 1957, as a part of the Operation Plumbbob series.(National Nuclear Security Administration / Nevada Site Office) 

NATO observers watch the detonation of Operation Plumbbob Boltzmann on May 28, 1957.(National Nuclear Security Administration / Nevada Site Office)

The tail section of a U.S. Navy Blimp is shown with the Stokes cloud in background at the Nevada test Site on August 7, 1957. The blimp was in temporary free flight in excess of five miles from ground zero when it was collapsed by the shock wave from the blast. The airship was unmanned and was used in a military effects experiment. (National Nuclear Security Administration / Nevada Site Office)

Fizeau. Operation Plumbbob was a series of nuclear tests conducted between May 28 and October 7, 1957, at the Nevada Test Site. The operation consisted of 29 explosions, of which only two did not produce any nuclear yield. Twenty-one laboratories and government agencies were involved.

Observers view atmospheric testing during operation Hardtack I -- a thermonuclear detonation during the Pacific tests in 1958.(National Nuclear Security Administration / Nevada Site Office)

Hardtack Oak nuclear weapon test. 28 June 1958. From Wikimedia Commons

A view of the Arkansas test, part of Operation Dominic, a series of over 100 nuclear test explosions in Nevada and the Pacific in 1962.(U.S. Department of Defense)

The rising fireball of the Aztec test, part of Operation Dominic, a series of over 100 nuclear test explosions in Nevada and the Pacific in 1962.(U.S. Department of Defense)

Shot during Fishbowl Bluegill, this is an image of an explosion of a 400 kiloton nuclear bomb taking place in the atmosphere, 30 miles above the Pacific, as viewed from above, in October 1962. (U.S. Department of Defense)

Expanding rings surround a mushroom cloud, during the Yeso test explosion, part of Operation Dominic, a series of over 100 nuclear test explosions in Nevada and the Pacific in 1962. (U.S. Department of Defense)

Sedan Crater was formed when a 100 kiloton explosive buried under 635 feet of desert alluvium was fired at the NTS on July 6, 1962, displacing 12 million tons of earth. The crater is 320 feet deep and 1,280 feet in diameter.(National Nuclear Security Administration / Nevada Site Office)

Operation Dominic was a series of 31 nuclear test explosions with a 38.1 Mt total yield conducted in 1962 by the United States in the Pacific.This test series was scheduled quickly, in order to respond in kind to the Soviet resumption of testing after the tacit 1958-1961 test moratorium. Operation Dominic occurred during a period of high Cold War tension between the United States and the Soviet Union, since the Cuban Bay of Pigs Invasion had occurred not long before. Nikita Khrushchev announced the end of a three-year moratorium on nuclear testing on 30 August 1961, and Soviet tests recommenced on 1 September, initiating a series of tests that included the detonation of Tsar Bomba. President John F. Kennedy responded by authorizing Operation Dominic. It was the largest nuclear weapons testing program ever conducted by the United States, and the last atmospheric test series conducted by the U.S., as the Limited Test Ban Treaty was signed in Moscow the following year.Photo: The project "Dominic" test "Cham". Power: 1.59 megatons; place: Johnston Island; Date: October 18, 1962.

The project "Ivy" test "Mike." Date: October 31, 1952 .; Elugelab Island, Eniwetok Atoll; Capacity: 10,400 mt; type of charge: atomic.

Impressive and dreadfulIt: has been fired at 18.30 on July 3, 1970, and yielded 914 kilotons. Test "Likorn" in the territory of French Polynesia. Image №1. Pierre J. / French Army

July 3, 1970 This is the second picture of a series of four of the Licorne thermonuclear test in French Polynesia. Test "Likorn" in the territory of French Polynesia. Image №2. Pierre J. / French Army

July 3, 1970. This is the third picture of a series of the Licorne thermonuclear test in French Polynesia. Test "Likorn" in the territory of French Polynesia. Image №3. Pierre J. / French Army

July 3, 1970. This is the fourth and last picture of a series of four of the Licorne thermonuclear test in French Polynesia.Test "Likorn" in the territory of French Polynesia. Image №4. Pierre J. / French Army

2006-10-09, North Korea, First fission plutonium-based device tested by North Korea

2009-05-25, North Korea, Successful fission device tested by North Korea

2013-02-16, North Korea, Most recent nuclear test

1998-05-11, Pokhran-II, India, First potential fusion/boosted weapon test by India; first deployable fission weapon test by India

1998-05-28, Chagai-I,Pakistan, First fission weapon (boosted) test by Pakistan

1998-05-30, Chagai-II, Pakistan, Second fission weapon (boosted) test by Pakistan

1945-08-06, Little Boy, USA, Bombing of Hiroshima, Japan, first detonation of an enriched uranium gun-type device, first use of a nuclear device in military combat.

The mushroom cloud over Hiroshima after the dropping of Little Boy.At the time this photo was made, smoke billowed 20,000 feet above Hiroshima while smoke from the burst of the first atomic bomb had spread over 10,000 feet on the target at the base of the rising column. Six planes of the 509th Composite Group, participated in this mission; one to carry the bomb Enola Gay, one to take scientific measurements of the blast The Great Artiste, the third to take photographs Necessary Evil the others flew approximately an hour ahead to act as weather scouts, 08.06.1945. Bad weather would disqualify a target as the scientists insisted on a visual delivery, the primary target was Hiroshima, secondary was Kokura, and tertiary was Nagasaki.

Complete destruction of House No. 1, located 3,500 feet from ground zero, by an atomic blast on March 17, 1953, at Yucca Flat at the Nevada Proving Ground. The time from the first to last picture was 2.3 seconds. The camera was completely enclosed in a 2-inch lead sheath as a protection against radiation. The only source of light was that from the bomb. In frame 1, the house is lit by the blast. By frame 2 the radiating energy has set it on fire, and the remaining frames show the rapid disintegration of the house by the blast wave.(U.S. Department of Defense)

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cast When We Tested Nuclear Bombs

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