809: Los Alamos
| Los Alamos |
 Title text: The test didn't (spoiler alert) destroy the world, but the fact that they were even doing those calculations makes theirs the coolest jobs ever. |
This comic refers to the Manhattan Project at Los Alamos, where in 1945 their development of the first nuclear weapon had progressed to the point that they were going explode "The Gadget" at Trinity Site. There was genuine concern that some unexpected result was possible, including the scenario about the atmosphere igniting. The scientists were almost certain that it would either work as expected, or just be a dud, but were unable to rule out several other scenarios. The test proceeded, and it worked as expected.
The joke part at the end is a reference to a common Mnemonic device for basic Trigonometric functions. Any scientist saying that is likely joking, but if serious would be seriously troubling.
"Now I am become Death, destroyer of worlds." -- Robert Oppenheimer (Lead scientist on bomb project, quoting Hindu scripture after the successful test)
Much detail may be found at Wikipedia under many of the capitalized topics above, including Los Alamos, Manhattan Project, Trinity Site, Mnemonic, Trigonometry, and Robert Oppenheimer. If you get really curious, look up Norris Bradbury and Ed Grothus while you're at it. I knew both of them growing up in Los Alamos.
