【AI前沿】The First Atomic Bomb Test in 1945 Created an Entirely New Material

Marta MussoScienceMay 17, 2026 5:30 AMThe First Atomic Bomb Test in 1945 Created an Entirely New MaterialThe discovery from the Trinity nuclear test site shows how extreme conditions can result in materials never before seen in nature or in the lab.The new material is a clathrate made of calcium, copper, and silicon .Luca Bindi/Università di FirenzeCommentLoaderSave StorySave this storyCommentLoaderSave StorySave this storyDuring the Trinitynuclear teston July 16, 1945, in the New Mexico desert—the world’s very first test of anatomic bomb—a new material spontaneously formed. It wasdiscoveredonly recently, by an international research team coordinated by geologist Luca Bindi at the University of Florence, which identified the novel clathrate based on calcium, copper, and silicon. It’s a material never before observed either in nature or as an artificial compound created in the laboratory.What Are Clathrates?The term “clathrates” denotes materials characterized by a “cage-like” structure that traps other atoms and molecules inside, giving them unique properties. Of great technological interest, these materials are being studied for various applications ranging from energy conversion (as thermoelectric materials capable of transforming heat into electricity) to the development of new semiconductors, to gas storage and hydrogen for future energy technologies.The New MaterialTo discover the new material, researchers focused on trinitite, a silicate glass containing rare metallic phases. Using some techniques like x-ray diffraction, the team was able to identify a type I clathrate based on calcium, copper, and silicon within a tiny copper-rich metal droplet embedded in a sample of red trinitite.The new material, the researchers say, formed spontaneously during a nuclear explosion. This indicates that the extreme conditions, such as extremely high temperatures and pressures, can generate new materials that are impossible to obtain by traditional methods.Natural LaboratoriesThe discovery is even more interesting because in the same detonation event another very rare material was formed: a silicon-rich quasicrystal, already documented by the team of experts led by Bindi a few years ago.A quasicrystal, as BinditoldWIRED at the time, is something that is not a crystal, but looks a lot like one. “Their peculiarity,” he said, “is that the atomic arrangement that is not periodic, but nearly so, creates incredible symmetries from which derive amazing physical properties, among other things, very difficult to predict.”Establishing the link between these structures therefore helps scientists better understand how atoms organize under extreme conditions and expand the possibilities for designing new materials. “Events such as nuclear explosions, lightning strikes, or meteoritic impacts function as true natural laboratories,” the researchers explain. “They allow us to observe forms of matter that we cannot easily reproduce in the laboratory.”In essence, this research opens new vistas for the development of innovative technologies, demonstrating that even destructive events can bequeath discoveries useful for the future.This story originally appeared inWIRED Italiaand has been translated from Italian.