Sand sample from atom bomb test, 1945.

This sample of sand is from the site of the first atomic bomb test explosion at Los Alamos, New Mexico. The sand has been fused, showing the effects of the intense heat generated by atomic explosions. In January 1951, the US government carried out its first nuclear tests in the Nevada desert. At the time, the US Atomic Energy Commision isued a statement that there had been 'no indication of any radiological hazards' from the explosion.