Edward Teller: We had a countdown that stopped — where I was, ten miles from point zero — at minus 30 seconds. Then silence. A long time. I was sure it misfired. I was lying on the ground as instructed, looking at it — not as instructed — (wearing) heavy welding glass. And then, at the right time — or, I thought it was too late — it was early in the morning, quite dark — a very weak amount of light. I remember clearly, in the first second, my thought was, “Is this all?” Then I remembered I had this heavy welding glass on, and gloves, so no light could enter. So when this light — maybe in two seconds — started to fade, I tipped my hand and looked down at the sand. And you know, it was as though I had removed a curtain and bright sunlight came in. Then I was impressed. Then I saw the brilliant flash. Not looking at it, but looking at the sand next to me. And of course we all were very much aware of the point that, in a few weeks, this would not be just an experiment. And some of us, including me, did have real doubts whether this should be used without first demonstrating it.