Scientists Find the Oldest Human-Made ‘Impossible’ Crystal Formed Out of One of the Most Violent Weapons
The consequences of nuclear weapons weren't completely known at the time of their inception. Even today, scientists are witnessing the effects of putting this kind of weaponry into the world. In 2021, a study published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) explained how the world's first nuclear bomb test created something that was downright 'impossible' on Earth before that.
This test took place on 16 July 1945, in the state of New Mexico, according to Science Alert. As per the United States Army, a plutonium implosion device known as the Gadget was detonated in this examination. The whole pursuit was labelled the Trinity test.
Researchers estimate that the explosion resulted in the energy release of around 21 kilotons of TNT, according to Futurism. In the 1980s, scientists announced that this explosion created a glass-like material called trinitite. This trinitite was formulated by the fusion of sand at the site, a 90-foot tower, and transmission lines made out of copper. Researchers claimed that the object was very glass-like in appearance, however, it was the item's inner structure that intrigued them more.
Inside a particular trinitite, experts found a rare form of matter called a 'quasicrystal.' This one stands apart from other known crystals because the atoms in it were not arranged in a periodic pattern. This implies that the atom arrangement in trinitite was not the same across all three dimensions. Furthermore, the experts observed that some samples of trinitite were exhibiting a 5-fold rotational symmetry. This meant that the atoms in these samples were arranged like an icosahedron, a solid structure with 20 sides, which is a prominent feature of a quasicrystal.
Researchers claimed that the newly discovered quasicrystal was composed of silicon, copper, calcium, and iron, stated Science News. Mineralogist Chi Ma of Caltech claimed that such a crystal had never before been examined by scientists worldwide. The material was named trinitite after the Trinity test, in which it was formed. The item has become deeply associated with the test because it was created in abundance during the process. The quasicrystal was spotted in the red trinite collected from the site.
Scientists claimed that this kind of symmetry is simply impossible on Earth, according to Futurism. Terry Wallace, director emeritus of Los Alamos National Laboratory and co-author, further shared that the formation of a quasicrystal requires conditions that are simply unavailable on the planet. "They require a traumatic event with extreme shock, temperature, and pressure," he added. "We don’t typically see that, except in something as dramatic as a nuclear explosion."
Experts determined that the 'quasicrystal' found from the Trinity test was the oldest known anthropogenic quasicrystal to date, according to Science Alert. Researchers are yet to figure out how the fusion facilitated back then to form the crystal. Considering that human activities could produce the specific crystal, researchers speculate that certain natural processes could also lead to such a product. Some of their theories include molten sand fulgurites forged through lightning strikes, as well as activities on material found on meteor impact sites. Researchers are hopeful that such findings will help experts in the future to better understand the effects of nuclear tests and help humanity to proceed accordingly.