Operation Crossroads: When Bikini Atoll Became Ground Zero
HELLO AND WELCOME TO MY BLOG! Hello readers! Welcome to our historical journey, where we delve into fascinating events that have shaped our world. Today, we embark on an exploration of Operation Crossroads, an extraordinary military endeavor that took place in the mid-20th century. So grab your virtual passports as we travel back in time to the year 1946. The "Baker" explosion, part of Operation Crossroads, a nuclear weapon test by the United States military at Bikini Atoll, Micronesia, on 25 July 1946. The wider, exterior cloud is actually just a condensation cloud caused by the Wilson chamber effect and was very brief. The actual mushroom cloud is inside the condensation cloud (compare with this image, a photo taken slightly later, after the condensation cloud had cleared). The water released by the explosion was highly radioactive and contaminated many of the ships that were set up near it. Some were otherwise undamaged and sent to Hunter's Point in San Francisco, Cal...