Since the first blinding flash of a nuclear explosion lit up the desert skies of New Mexico in July 1945, the world has grappled with the immense power and peril of nuclear weapons. What started as a secret wartime initiative quickly spiraled into a global arms race, and across the globe the areas of science, politics, and public health became entangled in a complex and tragic history involving weaponry.
Over the decades, numerous countries have detonated nuclear bombs across the planet. Most of these detonations occurred as part of military tests, conducted in deserts, oceans, islands, and deep underground. Yet these tests left scars not only on the Earth’s surface, but also in the DNA of those exposed.
So, how have nuclear bombs been used to advance the world’s weaponry? Click through this gallery to find out.