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The idea of nuclear weapons igniting the atmosphere emerged during the Manhattan Project, particularly around the Trinity test in 1945. Fears stemmed from discussions among scientists like Edward Teller about potential chain reactions in nitrogen.

However, calculations led by Hans Bethe and Emil Konopinski confirmed that atmospheric ignition was impossible. Despite Enrico Fermi's famous bet suggesting otherwise, since the first atomic bomb test, no nuclear explosion has ignited the atmosphere. Ongoing debates about nuclear fallout shifted focus over time, but scientific consensus remains that atmospheric ignition cannot occur.