Saturday, August 1, 2026 - Scientists have identified a previously unknown metal alloy
created during the atomic bomb explosion over Hiroshima in 1945. Researchers
discovered the microscopic alloy inside tiny grains of radioactive fallout,
known as "hiroshimaite," collected from beach sands in Hiroshima Bay
nearly 80 years after the bombing.
The team believes the alloy formed inside the nuclear
fireball, where temperatures exceeded 7,000°C, instantly vaporising buildings,
steel, glass and soil before the materials cooled within moments. Those extreme
conditions produced a substance unlike any previously recorded by scientists.
The newly discovered alloy consists of iron, chromium,
nickel, manganese, molybdenum, silicon and aluminium — elements commonly found
in stainless steel. However, researchers found that the atoms combined into a
completely new crystal structure as the fireball cooled at an extraordinary
rate.
Scientists from the University of Florence made the
discovery while analysing 34 glassy fallout particles recovered from Hiroshima
Bay. Using advanced microscopes and X-ray analysis, they searched for unusual
materials created during the explosion.
One metallic grain, measuring only a few thousandths of a
millimetre across, stood out because its internal atomic structure did not
match any known material. After comparing it with thousands of existing alloys,
the researchers concluded they had identified a previously unknown
multicomponent alloy.
Writing in the journal Science Advances, the researchers
said: "We report the discovery of a previously unknown multicomponent
alloy recovered from beach sands of Hiroshima Bay, formed during the August 6,
1945 atomic airburst."
The scientists believe the finding suggests other unknown
materials may still be hidden among microscopic debris left behind by the
bombing. They added that studying such materials could improve understanding of
how matter behaves under extreme temperatures and pressures.
The atomic bomb, codenamed "Little Boy," was dropped on Hiroshima at 8:15 a.m. on August 6, 1945. It detonated approximately 1,900 feet above the city with an explosive force equivalent to about 15,000 tons of TNT. An estimated 60,000 to 80,000 people were killed instantly. By the end of 1945, the death toll had risen to about 140,000 as thousands more died from burns, injuries and radiation sickness.
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