  The Trinity test of July 16, 1945 marked the scientific apex of the Manhattan
Project. Often recognized as the symbolic birth of the nuclear age, Trinity's
multifaceted legacy remains just as captivating and complex as it did 75 years
ago. This paper examines why the test was necessary from a technical
standpoint, shows how Los Alamos scientists planned the event, and explores the
physical and emotional aftermaths of Trinity. The author also uses rarely
accessed original records to reconstruct the story of Trinity's health hazards,
as seen through the eyes of radiation technicians and medical doctors as events
unfolded. Trinity was conducted as the Potsdam Conference began, weeks after
the collapse of Nazi Germany. It was considered necessary to let President
Harry S. Truman know whether the United States possessed a nuclear capability
ahead of his negotiations with Joseph Stalin, the Soviet premier. The author
examines the competing priorities that drove the timetable for the test:
international politics, security and safety. Three weeks after Trinity, a
gun-assembled enriched-uranium bomb called Little Boy was used against the
Japanese city of Hiroshima. Three days later, Fat Man, a weaponized version of
the imploding Trinity device, was dropped on Nagasaki. The author briefly
examines these strikes and what impact they may have had on the Japanese
surrender. The paper concludes by examining the legacy of the Trinity test 75
years into the age it helped usher in.
