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The Atomic Age, also known as the Atomic Era, is a phrase typically used to delineate the period of history following the detonation of the first atomic bomb, Trinity, on July 16, 1945. Although nuclear chain reactions had been hypothesised in 1933 and the first artificial self-sustaining nuclear chain reaction (Chicago Pile-1) took place in December 1942, the Trinity test and the ensuing bombing of Hiroshima, Japan represented the first large scale use of nuclear technology and ushered in profound changes in socio-political thinking and the course of technology development. Atomic power was seen to be the epitome of progress and modernity.