Detonation
The test was carried out at 07:15 A.M local time on November 1, 1952 (19:15 October 31 GMT). It produced a yield estimated in the range of 10.4–12 megatons of TNT. However, 77% of the final yield came from fast fission of the uranium tamper, which meant that the device produced large amounts of fallout.
The fireball was approximately 3.25 miles (5.2 km) wide, and the mushroom cloud rose to an altitude of 57,000 feet (17.0 km) in less than 90 seconds. One minute later it had reached 108,000 feet (33.0 km), before stabilizing at 136,000 feet (25 miles or 37.0 km) with the top eventually spreading out to a diameter of 100 miles (161 km) with a stem 20 miles (32 km) wide.
The blast created a crater 6,240 feet (1.9 km) in diameter and 164 feet (50 m) deep where Elugelab had once been; the blast and water waves from the explosion (some waves up to twenty feet high) stripped the test islands clean of vegetation, as observed by a helicopter survey within 60 minutes after the test, by which time the mushroom cloud and steam were blown away. Radioactive coral debris fell upon ships positioned 35 miles (48 km) from the blast, and the immediate area around the atoll was heavily contaminated for some time. Produced by intensely concentrated neutron flux about the detonation site were two new elements, einsteinium and fermium.
The entire shot was documented by the filmmakers of Lookout Mountain studios. The film was accompanied by powerful, Wagner-esque music featured on many test films of that period and was hosted by actor Reed Hadley. After the test, a private screening was given to President Dwight D. Eisenhower. It was later released to the public after censoring, and was shown on commercial television channels.
Edward Teller, perhaps the most ardent supporter of the development of the hydrogen bomb, was in Berkeley, California at the time of the shot. He was able to receive first notice that the test was successful by observing a seismometer, which picked up the shock wave that traveled through the earth from the Western Pacific test site. In his memoirs, Teller wrote that he immediately sent an unclassified telegram to his colleagues at Los Alamos which, for security purposes, contained only the words "It's a boy."
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