# Trinitite? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [October 4, 2013, 10:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trinitite/670399 "2013-10-04T22:41:42Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2013, 10:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trinitite/670399/1 "2013-10-04T22:41:42Z")
I realize that removing additional Trinitite from a nuclear test zone is illegal. But the stuff that was removed pre-ban is legal. I cite > **[Trinitite](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trinitite)** > > Trinitite, also known as atomsite or Alamogordo glass, is the glassy residue left on the desert floor after the plutonium-based Trinity nuclear bomb test on July 16, 1945, near Alamogordo, New Mexico. The glass is primarily composed of arkosic sand composed of quartz grains and feldspar (both microcline and smaller amount of plagioclase with small amount of calcite, hornblende and augite in a matrix of sandy clay) that was melted by the atomic blast. It was first academically described i It is ... > [@](#): > > In the late 1940s and early 1950s, samples were gathered and sold to mineral collectors as a novelty. Traces of the material may be found at the Trinity Site today, although most of it was bulldozed and buried by the United States Atomic Energy Commission in 1953.[5] It is now illegal to take the remaining material from the site; however, material that was taken prior to this prohibition is still in the hands of collectors. How can I **legally** obtain legitimate Trinitite? Ideally, I’d like to find some from the 45 explosion. The Trinity blast. ---
**Author:** ![aNewLeaf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ac91a4/32.png) [@aNewLeaf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aNewLeaf)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2013, 10:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trinitite/670399/2 "2013-10-04T22:52:48Z")
All your radioactive dreams are just a click away: [http://unitednuclear.com/](http://unitednuclear.com/) ---
**Author:** ![Trinopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/2bfe46/32.png) [@Trinopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trinopus)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2013, 11:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trinitite/670399/3 "2013-10-04T23:27:55Z")
**aNewLeaf** : thank you! I’ve sent away for the cheap $19.00 vial of fragments. Cool! ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2013, 12:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trinitite/670399/4 "2013-10-05T00:06:55Z")
I bought about 10 large chunks (each around 3/4 inch to 2 inches or so) of red trinitite a few years ago. Put one in a shadow box for a relative (who did not appreciate it, sigh) and put the others in a larger, multi-chambered shadow box for me. Being red trinitite, they contain copper from the control wiring or (more likely) outer shell of the gadget. So I tell people with pleasure that I have part of the world’s first atom bomb on my wall. 😃 ETA: Was going to list the source I used, but it no longer lists trinitite - but then, I bought about 90% of their stock. ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2013, 12:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trinitite/670399/5 "2013-10-05T00:23:15Z")
Here’s a kind of crappy [snapshot I just took of the t-box](http://www.dgath.com/misc/trinititebox.jpg). ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2013, 2:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trinitite/670399/6 "2013-10-05T02:32:15Z")
I didn’t realize it came in multiple colors. What color is the kind that turns you into a superpowered plant? ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2013, 2:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trinitite/670399/7 "2013-10-05T02:42:56Z")
> [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](#): > > I realize that removing additional Trinitite from a nuclear test zone is illegal. > But the stuff that was removed pre-ban is legal. > I cite > [Trinitite - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trinitite) > How can I **legally** obtain legitimate Trinitite? > Ideally, I’d like to find some from the 45 explosion. > The Trinity blast. I didn’t realize it had vintage years. “Id like the Bomb Perignon '45, please.” ---
**Author:** ![Bumbershoot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bumbershoot/32/3428_2.png) [@Bumbershoot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bumbershoot)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2013, 1:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trinitite/670399/8 "2013-10-05T13:18:15Z")
[Here is another site](http://www.minresco.com/trinitite/trin.htm) that sells trinitite. The wiki article linked in the OP describes red and black trinitite (very rare); green is most common. The article also says that “Occasionally, the name trinitite is broadly applied to all glassy residues of nuclear bomb testing, not just the Trinity test.” Coincidentally, I was going to visit the Trinity site today! I live in New Mexico but I’ve never been there. Unfortunately they recently reduced the semiannual open house schedule (the first Saturday in April & October) to once a year (the April date). [Link](http://www.wsmr.army.mil/PAO/Trinity/Pages/default.aspx). They say it is “Due to current fiscal constraints within the Department of Defense” (and this was before the government shutdown). I did purchase a piece of trinitite at a rock shop in southern New Mexico a while back- even had it tested with a Geiger counter and it is slightly radioactive! ---
**Author:** ![aNewLeaf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ac91a4/32.png) [@aNewLeaf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aNewLeaf)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2013, 1:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trinitite/670399/9 "2013-10-05T13:48:19Z")
> [@Amateur\_Barbarian](#): > > Here’s a kind of crappy [snapshot I just took of the t-box](http://www.dgath.com/misc/trinititebox.jpg). You built that for home display? Or for a museum or something? It’s fantastic, if a but gruesome. ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2013, 2:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trinitite/670399/10 "2013-10-05T14:36:51Z")
> [@aNewLeaf](#): > > You built that for home display? Or for a museum or something? It’s fantastic, if a but gruesome. I built it. The one I built for a family member was smaller and had one very nice piece in the center. (Which she totally failed to appreciate, but that’s another story.) I was extremely pleased to have found such a nice collection of red trinitite and thought it deserved a proper showcase. ETA: the photos are, in clockwise order from top left: (1) the only color photo of the Trinity shot that survives; (2) an aerial photo from the next morning; (3) the gadget just before the crew descended from the tower; (4) Oppenheimer, Groves and other notables examining what’s left of one of the tower’s anchor blocks three or four days after the shot. Seemed like appropriate “framing” for the pieces. BTW, I don’t believe there are “different vintages” of the mineral: unless I’ve been misinformed, this characteristic green glass formed ONLY at Trinity. There are fakes and substitutions, but a few simple tests (precise level of radioactivity and chemical composition) can distinguish the real thing, which comes only from that one site. ---
**Author:** ![pravnik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8edcca/32.png) [@pravnik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pravnik)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2013, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trinitite/670399/11 "2013-10-05T15:34:17Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > I didn’t realize it came in multiple colors. What color is the kind that turns you into a superpowered plant? Red Trinitite, but only Pre-Crisis. ---
**Author:** ![hologuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/3bc359/32.png) [@hologuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hologuy)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2016, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trinitite/670399/12 "2016-10-23T17:53:25Z")
To add to this thread, does anyone know of the best conduit to sell or donate to a non-profit organization Trinitite ('45 vintage)? I was going to sell some that I have on eBay but they prohibit it because it is mildly radioactive. eBay prohibits:\* “Atomic or nuclear blast items (such as hot rocks, items from a blast or testing zone, and Trinitite”\* In my basement cleanup mission (toss stuff, donate stuff, sell stuff) I went through a box from my childhood containing a few dozen pieces the size of a quarter. As a retired engineer i’m looking for the most efficient way to share (sell or donate) to someone or some organization that would bring joy and make relevant that moment of history July 16th, 1945 when the Atomic Age began. ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2016, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trinitite/670399/13 "2016-10-23T18:08:16Z")
> [@hologuy](#): > > To add to this thread, does anyone know of the best conduit to sell or donate to a non-profit organization Trinitite ('45 vintage)? I was going to sell some that I have on eBay but they prohibit it because it is mildly radioactive. eBay prohibits:\* “Atomic or nuclear blast items (such as hot rocks, items from a blast or testing zone, and Trinitite”\* In my basement cleanup mission (toss stuff, donate stuff, sell stuff) I went through a box from my childhood containing a few dozen pieces the size of a quarter. As a retired engineer i’m looking for the most efficient way to share (sell or donate) to someone or some organization that would bring joy and make relevant that moment of history July 16th, 1945 when the Atomic Age began. Well, I would LOVE a piece… ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2016, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trinitite/670399/14 "2016-10-23T22:01:25Z")
I expect that any museum with any interest in the stuff already has some. But if you buy a membership, you can sell it right here on our Marketplace forum, and I’m sure you’ll find eager buyers. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2016, 1:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trinitite/670399/15 "2016-10-24T01:31:01Z")
I have PMed \*\*Amateur Barbarian \*\*who seemed to be the most enthusiastic Trinitite collector we have. ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2016, 1:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trinitite/670399/16 "2016-10-24T01:57:16Z")
Thanks for the heads-up. I have the pieces I have and am not looking for any more, unless they’re exceptional red or black chunks. I didn’t realize eBay specifically banned it - it’s less radioactive than some scientific toys and basic nuclear chemistry radiation sources, AFAIK. So, **hologuy** , if you want to send me some photos or details on the pieces you have, I might be able to help you find a buyer for it. ETA: Actually, I think **Bosda** was looking to buy some. Maybe we can make a package deal. ---
**Author:** ![ASGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/838e76/32.png) [@ASGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ASGuy)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2016, 11:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trinitite/670399/17 "2016-10-24T11:12:33Z")
I’m going to chime in here. I visited the Trinity side in April of 2014. Foolish me, expecting a handful of attendees. There were _hundreds_ of visitors. My partner and I had to wait in line more than an hour just to get to the clearance gate. After that it was quick. There is a prominent sign at the compound entrance instructing visitors not to remove Trinitite from the site. At ground zero we took the obligatory photo standing at the marker and proceeded to look for Trinitite. We never found any but a group of three women we ran into showed us their findings. Trinitite really does look like green obsidian. The gals told us they weren’t going to take it out…yeah. It was a long drive and wait but I thought it was worth it. My partner did not. After our visit we made a big detour and visited the Very Large Array. Now _that_ was bitchen! (And it’s free if you go on Trinity Day.) BTW: It is my understanding that _only_ the material created at the Trinity site in 1945 is Trinitite. Other stuff is, well, other stuff. ---
**Author:** ![Damuri\_Ajashi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/898d66/32.png) [@Damuri\_Ajashi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Damuri_Ajashi)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2016, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trinitite/670399/18 "2016-10-24T18:19:45Z")
> [@Amateur\_Barbarian](#): > > Thanks for the heads-up. I have the pieces I have and am not looking for any more, unless they’re exceptional red or black chunks. I didn’t realize eBay specifically banned it - it’s less radioactive than some scientific toys and basic nuclear chemistry radiation sources, AFAIK. > > So, **hologuy** , if you want to send me some photos or details on the pieces you have, I might be able to help you find a buyer for it. > > ETA: Actually, I think **Bosda** was looking to buy some. Maybe we can make a package deal. Hey if you guys agree on a price, I will buy a few peices. (Is the level of radioactivity dangerous over prolonged periods or is it closer to my glow in the dark micronaut action figures?) They seem like they would make neat presents or be neat to bring to my scout meeting but not if they require special handling. ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2016, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trinitite/670399/19 "2016-10-24T18:23:12Z")
> [@Damuri\_Ajashi](#): > > (Is the level of radioactivity dangerous over prolonged periods or is it closer to my glow in the dark micronaut action figures?) They seem like they would make neat presents but not if they require special handling. They should be kept in a sealed container and not handled, and special care should be taken not to let any dust or particles get away (use wet-wipes or the like for any necessary cleanup). But even a modest sheet of acrylic or glass stops the low-level alpha emissions. ---
**Author:** ![Damuri\_Ajashi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/898d66/32.png) [@Damuri\_Ajashi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Damuri_Ajashi)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2016, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trinitite/670399/20 "2016-10-24T19:04:12Z")
> [@Amateur\_Barbarian](#): > > They should be kept in a sealed container and not handled, and special care should be taken not to let any dust or particles get away (use wet-wipes or the like for any necessary cleanup). > > But even a modest sheet of acrylic or glass stops the low-level alpha emissions. So as long as they are kept in a sealed glass container, it should be OK? Thanks! [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trinitite/670399.md?page=2)