In the event of a nuclear attack, the analysis of fallout debris will be crucial to the timely attribution of the nuclear materials used. As such, the synthesis and analysis of realistic, urban, melt glass has been the focus of many projects in recent years. Traditionally, these synthetic materials have been prepared using furnaces to heat the glass over several hours. A novel preparation method which uses a vacuum arc welder to simulate a nuclear fireball plasma allows for the instantaneous heating of materials to temperatures over 3000C, while in a reducing environment. In this study, the vacuum arc welder was used to prepare synthetic trinitite, as well as remelt a sample of authentic trinitite. Additionally, a sample of authentic trinitite was remelted using the more traditional MTI furnace. An authentic sample of trinitite along with the prepared samples of trinitite were then compared via SEM, EDS, and XRD analysis.

SEM, EDS, and XRD analysis of synthetic trinitite as compared to authenitic and remelted trinitite samples

ACS Spring 2022

The official archive and repository for all ACS Meetings & Expositions abstracts and select posters or presentations.