Nuclear bomb debris can reveal blast size, even decades later

New fallout forensics technique measures elements formed from radioactive decay

Trinity nuclear test

FALLOUT FORENSICS  A new technique allowed researchers to accurately estimate the energy release from the 1945 Trinity nuclear test in New Mexico (shown). The method could help regulators enforce nonproliferation treaties, the researchers say.

Jack W. Aeby/Los Alamos National Laboratory

A new type of fallout forensics can reconstruct nuclear blasts decades after detonation.