Rapid analysis of trinitite with nuclear forensic applications for post-detonation material analyses

Analysis of post-nuclear detonation materials provides information on the type of device and its origin. Compositional analysis of trinitite glass, fused silicate material produced from the above ground plasma during the detonation of the Trinity nuclear bomb, reveals gross scale chemical and isotopic heterogeneities indicative of limited convective re-homogenization during accumulation into a melt pool at ground zero. Regions rich in weapons grade Pu have also been identified on the surface of the trinitite sample. The absolute and relative abundances of the lanthanoids in the glass are comparable to that of average upper crust composition, whereas the isotopic abundances of key lanthanoids are distinctly non-normal. The trinitite glass has a non-normal Nd isotope composition, with deviations of -1.75 +/- A 0.60 epsilon (differences in parts in 10(4)) in Nd-142/Nd-144, +2.24 +/- A 0.75 epsilon in Nd-145/Nd-144, and +1.01 +/- A 0.38 epsilon in Nd-148/Nd-144 (all errors cited at 2 sigma) relative to reference materials: BHVO-2 and Nd-Ames metal. Greater isotopic deviations are found in Gd, with enrichments of +4 +/- A 1 epsilon in Gd-155/Gd-160, +4.19 +/- A 0.75 epsilon in Gd-156/Gd-160, and +3.48 +/- A 0.52 epsilon in Gd-158/Gd-160 compared to BHVO-2. The isotopic deviations are consistent with a Pu-239 based fission device with additional U-235 fission contribution and a thermal neutron fluence between 1.4 and 0.97 x 10(15) neutrons/cm(2).