AV Geeks Lunch 10 25 2021

hi everybody i'm skip alzheimer welcome to the av geeks lunchtime streaming show uh we are joining you it's monday uh this episode is pre-recorded because i'm not in my studio even though i am recording this in my studio um we watch old 16 millimeter films and i'm happy for you guys to join us uh today we're gonna watch films about the atom and specifically atomic power and how uh post um world war ii the push for atoms for peace ways to use the atom and radiation and [Music] for good so the first one we're going to watch is part of the moody institute of science features my uh favorite guy favorite science guy um dr erwin moon who got his phd in religious studies and not in science but he was a hobbyist scientist and photographer and he used to do what were called sermons from science where he would tour around schools mostly churches actually and uh other uh places and do science experiments and then talk about the gospels uh these are films that are edited a little bit uh in that they don't talk about the gospels they just talk about god in general and so this film is living with the atom which will show you at least one mushroom cloud and talk about uh atomic uh powers awesome destructive force but then also he'll talk about how it is for good so take it away dr moon [Music] foreign [Music] [Music] man had released energy from within the atom in the first atomic blast we are apt to think of atomic energy as something new but god placed this fabulous energy in every bit of matter when he created it in fact the earth has been warmed and lighted by atomic energy from the beginning for the energy of the sun is atomic energy no atomic energy is not new but now that man can control an energy the world is faced with problem history but the question arises just what is atomic energy well let's begin back at the beginning perhaps it can be said that the cornerstone of our knowledge in this atomic age was laid back in the year 1905 when an unknown clerk in a swiss patent office scribbled strange equations at his death here about half a century ago albert einstein gave to the world e equals m c squared energy the equivalent of mass a radically new conception key to the atomic age the idea expressed in e equals m c squared is actually quite simple but it has caused a great revolution in scientific thinking it means that any object this desk pencil piece of paper just any bit of matter represents an unbelievable amount of energy for example the atomic energy in uh well just the paper of this book is the equivalent of the power produced by hoover dam in one full year of operation enough to supply the electrical needs of your home for one million years air is a fragile thing yet in a single breath is energy equivalent to the burning of 200 000 gallons of high octane gasoline sufficient fuel to fly a giant four-engine airliner to the moon [Music] within just the paper of this railroad ticket is enough energy to power a cracked diesel electric streamliner three times around the world in fact the atomic energy in one pound of any kind of matter pint of water for example is the equivalent of the burning of one and one half million tons of coal now of course this doesn't mean that you can take a pint of water and pour it in the gas tank of your family car take off on a trip around the world but the energy is there hidden down inside the tiny particles of which all matter is made in order to understand this properly we must know something about the structure of matter matter may exist in any one of three states the same substance may be either a solid a liquid or a gas depending upon its temperature and the pressure water is a good example it may be a solid ice or a liquid or a gas but even in the gaseous state it's still h2o what do we mean when we describe water as h2o and what does all this have to do with atomic energy well to grasp what this simple formula really means is to understand some of the basic laws governing the structure of all matter electrolysis apparatus will help us understand why the chemist has called water h2o the glass tubes of the apparatus are filled with water from the reservoir above at the base of the tubes an electric current is caused to flow through the water from one platinum tipped electrode to the other immediately bubbles of gas form and goes streaming upward graduated scales on the tubes indicate the proportion in which these gases are released on one tube we read 20 on the other 10. the greater amount of gas burns with an almost invisible blue flame hydrogen the other gas causes a glowing splint to burst into flame this is oxygen so we say that water is composed of two gases hydrogen and oxygen combined in a proportion of two to one two particles called atoms of hydrogen are combined with one atom of oxygen to form a molecule of water h2o two colorless odorless invisible gases combined to form a liquid individual atoms of any substance are much too small to be seen if we had a million of them in a pile we couldn't even see the pile you might say well if we can't see atoms how do we know that they exist there are a number of ways that we can detect their presence brownie in motion is one of them if we draw the smoke of an ordinary match into a smoke chamber and then place it on the stage of a very high power microscope with dark field illumination we can see something that is really quite amazing notice the white spot there are smoke why are they moving they are being buffeted about by invisible particles of air air pressure is merely the resultant of untold billions of these particles bombarding an object at sea level their combined pressure is fourteen and seven tenths pounds per square inch that means that on a can like this there are some eight ton of pressure exerted on the surface why doesn't it collapse well that's because air molecules on the inside are exerting an equal but opposite force of course the velocity of the air particles is determined by their temperature as the temperature goes up their speed increases so let's heat the air inside the can the air molecules inside the can here mixed with water molecules are speeding up and so some of them are forced out of the can the smaller number inside going faster equalize the outside pressure but now let's turn the heat off and put the cap tightly on the can so that none of the particles we have driven out can get back inside as the air inside cools off these particles slow down and wage a losing battle against the greater number of particles hammering on the outside and the can collapses the effects of air pressure the movement of the smoke particles are evidences of the existence of these invisible particles but certainly they're not the only evidences for the whole atomic age is built upon certain and positive knowledge of their existence the atom is not a solid pellet of matter instead it's quite like a solar system it has a central nucleus and then electrons revolving in orbit about the nucleus and like the solar system it's almost entirely empty space a moment ago we analyzed water we found that it was made of two substances hydrogen and oxygen this represents the hydrogen atom the simplest of them all it has just one electron revolving about its nucleus the oxygen atom is considerably more complex there are eight electrons revolving about its nucleus which itself is more complex all of the substances in the material universe all of the millions of different kinds of things living and non-living are made of just a little over a hundred of these building blocks of different configuration hydrogen we said had one electron revolving about the nucleus well if there were two it wouldn't be hydrogen but helium three it wouldn't be a gas at all but instead would be lithium a silvery white metal and so we see that these building blocks which the creator has made form all of the material substance of the universe but in addition they are also the source of every bit of power in the universe all of us are familiar with chemical energy when we light a match it burns because chemical energy is liberated our civilization has been built upon chemical energy but even with chemical energy the atom is the ultimate source of power only with chemical energy it is the electrons the outer part of the atom that are involved with atomic or nuclear energy however it's the nucleus the very heart of the atom until recently chemical energy is all that we've known but on that fateful morning of july 16 1945 a new age was ushered in as man released nuclear energy for the first time a source of power millions of times greater than anything we've known before let's see if we can illustrate the difference between chemical energy and nuclear energy a firecracker is chemical energy when that firecracker went off it made quite a busted that was chemical energy and you know it's a good thing it was if it were possible for us to release the total nuclear energy in the same firecracker it would equal 10 million sticks of dynamite that's the difference between chemical energy and nuclear energy now how is nuclear energy released well one way is to split the nucleus into actually break it in half when this is accomplished some very strange and wonderful things happen in the first place the two halves weighed together will weigh less than the whole did before some of the masses disappeared in a burst of energy you remember our formula e equals mc squared the equivalence of mass and energy to split an atom we must fire a projectile of the right size and velocity and strike the atom in just the right place sounds simple doesn't it actually it's far from simple remember no one has ever seen an atom and the target is even smaller and the atomic projectile is still smaller to meet the requirements of this exacting task giant instruments such as the cyclotron have been built designed to fire a torrent of subatomic particles at the nucleus of the atom in this model of the cyclotron steel balls represent atomic particles which are guided in a circular path by a strong magnetic field under the influence of electrical forces the stream of atomic particles spiral out faster and faster until they hit the target at the periphery but now from the model to the instrument itself the famous 60 inch medical cyclotron at the university of california material to be bombarded is coated on a plate and then carefully mounted in the target assembly this target is then fixed to the cyclotron in such a way that the beam of high energy particles will strike in the control room behind a protective barrier the operator puts the cyclotron into operation radiation absorbing lead bolts provide safe temporary storage for the irradiated targets as they await their use in the laboratories of medical research probing still further into the mysteries of the atom is the 184-inch cyclotron also at the radiation laboratory of the university of california this great 4 000 ton instrument spans 56 feet and towers 33 feet above its foundation and accelerates particles to far greater energies than its 60 inch companion we are now within the very heart of the 184 inch cyclotron inside the tank between the pole pieces of the great 4 000 ton magnet during operation this area is a vacuum traversed by a spiraling torrent of atomic particles accelerated to velocities approaching the speed of light in the cyclotron and other accelerators such as the synchrotron and the bevetron and the linear accelerator atomic energy can be released but only in small quantities these are essentially research tools designed to give us more knowledge of the structure of the atom release of atomic energy on a large scale became possible when a method of sustaining a chain of atomic splits in an isotope of uranium was discovered the production of the first atomic bomb was a frantic race against time the urgency of war necessitated a whole generation of time being compressed into a hectic five years that was at a cost of two thousand million dollars at the peak of the activity almost a half a million persons pooled their efforts under the tightest of wartime censorship the success of the gigantic undertaking was dramatically demonstrated that morning at alamogordo when the first white hot nuclear fires this side of the sun lit the new mexico hills three weeks after the first experimental blast an atomic bomb was dropped on the japanese city of hiroshima and then three days later another on nagasaki these are pictures of that actual blast that destroyed the city of nagasaki two bombs have utterly destroyed two cities snuffed out the lives of 150 000 human beings and ended the war but still there were many questions concerning the atomic bomb that remained unanswered monstrous scale tests in the marshall islands were planned to provide the answers into bikini lagoon came a fleet of 90 target vessels led by the venerable old battleship nevada painted the gaudy red as bull's eye for the target array ashore steel towers were erected to house especially designed scientific instruments and cameras of all types and sizes doors of reinforced concrete and lead protected film from the effects of radioactivity flying boats joined the huge fleet of photographic aircraft this was the most photographed event in history the day of the first test arrives observation weather and instrument planes take to the air from their base on a neighboring island the atom bomb is aboard and it's set to explode above the surface of the water destination bikini from the weather plane blast gauges are parachuted toward the target on the way so [Music] [Music] [Music] now for the second atomic blast this one to be detonated under water boarding the firing ship the uss cumberland sound los alamos engineers present their credentials to marine guard security is the watchword aboard this electronic control ship signals will be transmitted to detonate the bomb the timing laboratory is a maze of complex electronics equipment interlocking radio transmitters automatic timers and recorders transmitters are warmed up and adjusted graph cards changed on time recorders only two minutes to go the standby signal to all hands at the central control console dr marshall holloway the leader of the group throws the switch for the 30-second signal at the automatic firing board the last 15 seconds are broadcast 15 10 five four three two one [Music] [Music] a terror stricken world shifted its gaze from this coral at all in the pacific to a parched valley in the nevada desert [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] so [Music] [Music] [Music] a new and more potent principle nuclear fusion was demonstrated in 1952 in the pacific as the first hydrogen bomb was definitely this bomb caused a pacific island three miles long and one mile wide to completely disappear and it could do the same to a city [Music] [Music] with power of this dimension at our fingertips let's think for a moment about the possibilities of the future man has within his grasp the power to wipe out civilization and practically destroy the earth in a few days time but again he has the power that can carry him into outer space for the first time in history his foot is on the threshold of the vast illimitable universe here before us is a tremendous potential of benefit or of destruction of good or of evil who will decide which it shall be well one thing is certain science alone can't decide it the question will be decided by the people of the world by you by me and the answer will depend upon what kind of people we are yes science has given us a fearful and yet a very wonderful thing to use how it is used will be determined by things hidden deep down in the hearts of men nuclear power is the basic power of the universe as we step into this awesome realm we seem to be standing before the presence of the creator himself it's enormously important that we appreciate this and that first of all we have reverence and respect for the power of the creator and now as never before we see the importance of faith of righteousness and of humility before god principles upon which this country was founded and the only principles upon which it can continue to exist in unleashing the power of the atom science has set before us a tremendous challenge and at the same time has brought to our attention the fact that the paramount issue is the rightness of our relationship to god and every other issue however important it may be becomes secondary beside it [Music] yeah i uh you know he whenever he sits at his desk and you know there's going to be some moralizing and there's going to be talking about you know the message um again you know he used science as a way to talk about his christian values so these are science films but not really because the the end result is not talking about science it's using science as a gimmick so he can turn to the bible and talk about stuff um fascinating uh and the films are beautifully shot a lot of them are just really something to see um because he was a really you know he wanted to show stuff like mac you know microphotography and time lapse photography and uh he's he claims to have the first uh film that had color open heart surgery footage um so he was a big enthusiast and he would come around with actual scientists and he would go to conferences and things like that he tried to keep up on the science but i think he did he didn't go to anything about evolution because he definitely wasn't a fan of evolution and he probably ignored anything that talked about quantum physics because it was just too much for him uh anyways this next film that we're gonna watch is um adam goes to the sea it's made by general electric who had a vested entrance interest in creating reactors atomic reactors that were in submarines and ships and also on land and so this is a promotional film for that enjoy [Music] more than 2 000 times during world war ii torpedoes found their targets in enemy vessels as the submarine fleet of the united states navy established a mark unequaled in the history of naval warfare the american submarine which saw action in world war ii is as superior to our navy's first practical submarine as the battleship missouri is superior to her famous ancestor the constitution our first carrier the langley which was a major achievement only 30 years ago with just a crude forerunner of today's attack carrier with their brood of jet fighter planes back of each and all of these advances in our navy's striking forces there is a story of cooperation for the men who sail the seven seas have long found powerful allies in those who sail the eighth sea the vast and never fully charted ocean of scientific research the atom bomb spreading its mushroom cloud over bikini ato in 1946 gave scientists and fighting men the opportunity to learn about the most destructive force yet devised by man and its effect on naval strategy of the future but a bomb is atomic energy uncontrolled after its release and men of science knew that the same energy kept under control might serve the navy in a vastly different way the means of obtaining that control was the reactor pile the furnace of atomic energy here the rare elements which produce nuclear fission in chain reaction uranium-235 or plutonium strategically placed will release tremendous energy in the form of heat in fact at work in a reactor a single pound of u235 will provide as much heat energy as two and a half million pounds of coal or nearly a quarter million gallons of diesel fuel oil and what is more oil to burn requires oxygen so does coal but in the process of nuclear fission no oxygen is required to the men of the navy the new power source had limitless possibilities none more immediately useful perhaps than in a submarine a conventional sub using diesel electric power attains its maximum range and speed on the surface later models which use a snorkel or breathing tube to supply air for the diesels achieve comparable range and speed just below the surface but a fully submerged sub despite tremendous improvements in batteries which must then supply its power source still can't maintain the speed or equal the range of either the snorkel sub or the surface sub what's more a sub on the surface is a comparatively easy target for the powerful electronic eyes and ears of an enemy a snorkel sub is only relatively safer [Music] while a fully submerged sub is safest of all from detection but since it must surface eventually to recharge batteries a patient enemy may still find his target on the other hand a submarine using atomic power with an air supply for crew could run submerged for weeks if necessary as to speed and range it was evident that an atomic sub should be able to cross the broadest ocean fully submerged faster than many ocean liners and in the process use less than a pound of atomic fuel the principle was clear let a nuclear reactor supply heat transfer that heat to boilers where water becomes steam to turn turbines and let the turbines through reduction gears turn the propellers to drive the ship faster and farther than ever before in theory then the atomic submarine was sound but the problems involved in building one were staggering the reactor itself of what material could it be built that would permit chain reaction while operating at the many different angles of submarine action and yet be able to survive combat shocks how to transfer the heat from reactor to boiler what liquid could withstand the great changes of temperature and still not act as a damper of the atomic fires the pumping system how to force the hot liquid from the reactor into the boiler and back to the reactor shielding what substance would be light enough yet provide sure protection to the crew from the deadly rays nuclear fission produces and finally how to reduce the overall size of this normally bulky complicated machinery and make room for it within a submarine already the most compactly designed warship afloat to answer these and the literally thousands of other questions involved the navy and the aec authorized two separate submarine projects under these parallel projects divergent but equally promising avenues of engineering and design were explored independently thus the stage was set for the world's first atomic submarines the nautilus and the sea wolves much of the work on the atomic power plant for the nautilus was carried out at the national reactor test center near arco idaho here in the empty desert wasteland a full-size duplicate of the nautilus engine was constructed and tested in january 1954 the hull of the london yard of general dynamic companies electric boat division the organization charged with hull construction for both atomic subs meanwhile development of the parallel sea wolf project has gone forward for many months principally in schenectady new york under the direction of the distinguished staff of general electric scientists and engineers at capital the knowles atomic power laboratory within these walls under conditions of strict security literally hundreds of highly trained scientists have been working with formulas that would have been meaningless a score of years ago using techniques and in many cases tools which were inconceivable before the achievement of nuclear fission this control room may bear little physical resemblance to the engine room of the finished sea wolf yet behind its concrete walls is a full-sized reactor of the type which will drive that sub and here this has happened thousands of times the chain reaction of nuclear fission has been started and stopped in the course of innumerable tests to determine the material and design of the sea wolf's atomic engine in the radioactive materials handling laboratory much new and necessary knowledge has been achieved in the handling of substances made hot with radioactivity mechanical hands daily performed tasks no human being could do directly and live a section of metal designed for use in a vital part of the submarine engine has been made highly radioactive and is tested in a concrete line vault where the eyes and hands performing the operation are a dozen feet away the test determines how much radiation this machine part has absorbed and with what effect hundreds of other tests have determined how to prevent any structural failures that might have endangered the underseas operation of the finished sub in every section of the atomic power lab all its workers from the senior craftsman in the machine shop adapting old skills to new needs to the youngest graduates from the nation's leading technical colleges on to the top-ranking nuclear scientists engineers and management all have been working with the navy and aec toward a single goal the design and construction of an atomic engine that is at once efficient tremendously powerful and safe to this end of ultimate safety extensive land-based tests were planned for the sea wolves engines before their installation in the actual ship in a peaceful valley far from the sea near schenectady the structure for the tests was built a steel sphere 10 times larger than man has ever built before to form the giant ball more than 600 plates of inch thick steel perfectly pre-formed had to be fitted with absolute precision an elaborate x-ray system checked the perfect seal of every inch of the thousands of feet of welding involved while capital scientists were sure that tests conducted within the sphere would involve no leakage of radioactive gases the steel sphere structure has provided an added precaution a kind of super safety valve and even as the sphere was being built a full-scale operating model of the engine and reactor room sections of the sea wolf was under construction as both sphere and hull were completed there came the important day towards which so many workers of so many crafts had worked so long what might be called a scientific launching into a scientific sea as the hull section was moved into the sphere and operational tests were begun while reasons of national security must conceal details of the tests within that sphere one thing is certain much will be learned here of the workings of atomic engines not only for submarines time uses as well for passenger and merchant ships for land transportation for electric power plants even perhaps for the huge airplanes of the future meanwhile the atomic submarines progress from drawing board to the reality of ships at sea newest bulwarks of our national defense powerful symbols of continuing cooperation between our scientists our engineers and our men of the sea working together in atomic engineering as in every phase of defense operations they will continue to increase the striking force of the most powerful navy in the world fascinating all right so the next film we're going to watch is uh from the net the um library of congress uh collection we've been working with them on different projects and so this is something i thought was really great it's called the atom comes to town and what interests me about this is this covers some of the ground that you see in the previous films but this is brought to you by the united states chamber of commerce now the united states chamber of commerce is different than your local chamber of commerce in that they are a big lobbying entity um and not always on the side of the worker like they fought actively against the 40-hour workweek against information about climate change and this was them petitioning on behalf of some of their big donors to try to make atomic energy something that the average person would be interested in and would allow plants to be built uh in their towns and so they were trying to counter balance the fear of all the atomic mushroom cloud footage that they saw at the end of world war ii and this was like well no wait we can still do good with this so it's interesting interesting to see how um discussions about a return to nuclear power have been popping up again when it comes to talking about green energy solutions um and so it'll be interesting to see how that plays out so here's the atom comes to town is made in 1957. enjoy [Music] [Music] you and i are living in the atomic age the peaceful atom no longer just a laboratory dream is here today working wonders providing a happier more abundant world for all mankind already atomic development is a major factor in the american economy thousands of men and women earn their livelihood by harnessing nuclear energy for our benefit the chamber of commerce of the united states is going to introduce you to just a few of these atomic wonders miracles that are happening all about you wherever you are because the atom has come to town yes the atom is on its way to brighten our towns and to help manufacture our most dependable and indispensable household service electric power electricity that illuminates our lives frees us from drudgery and brings us in contact with all the world through radio telephone and television can now be produced from the energy within the atom and to some of us at least this is surprising news you know i don't know what i do without my new kitchen really it saves me hours of work every day but do you suppose that our appliances would run as well on atomic energy hey sam you know that someday this machine of yours is going to be operating on atomic power yeah well they can run it on kerosene if they want to just as long as i'm still at the switch [Applause] from what i hear it'll be quite a while before these atomic power plants even get built i declare with all these atomic plants going up everywhere i wonder if a girl is even safe in her own home i just hope they know what they're doing who's lead i see by the morning paper we're getting an atom power plant here i remember when this town got its first electric generating station i was only a boy tom edison himself came down for the ceremonies checkmate the old gents write about one thing this town has sure grown up since he was a kid i don't understand why do we need an atomic power plant unless maybe it's to make free electricity yeah i suppose that's the reason well no that's not exactly the reason but never mind a lot of other folks are just as confused about the real purpose of atomic energy and it all begins with a particle of matter so small that it can't be seen under even the strongest microscope the end of that billiard cue for instance could comfortably accommodate more than 1 000 billion billion atoms but infinitesimal as it is scientists know pretty well just how the atom is constructed let's imagine these pool balls are the nucleus of an atom there would be protons like the red balls and neutrons like the yellow ones all bound together by powerful forces if our atom is split or fissioned some of the energy is released a few of the neutrons go flying off and can be made to split other atoms which release their energy in a chain reaction tremendous heat is generated and it is this heat that can be harnessed for our use every element in the world is made of atoms but only the atoms of a very few elements can be split in this way the most important are uranium atoms potential energy in just one tablespoon of uranium equals the muscle power of 40 million strong men working for an hour or the heat from more than 750 tons of coal in fact one tablespoon of uranium is potentially capable of making enough electricity to meet all the needs of an average size city for a full day or your own home for about 500 years but this is potential atomic energy in actual practice only a small amount of the uranium fuel can be burned or efficient the trick is to make electric power economically from this usable portion of the fuel atomic engineers begin with the simple energy conversion principle by which most of our country's electricity is already being produced fire can be used to make steam and steam can be used to turn a pinwheel if the spinning pinwheel is attached to a magnet the invisible lines of magnetic force can be made to cut across the turns of wire in a coil generating electricity in today's modern electric power plants this is exactly what happens coal oil or gas is burned in huge boilers which produce steam at tremendously high temperatures and pressures the steam spins a large turbine which drives a giant generator to create the electricity we use in an atomic power plant a reactor is substituted for the boiler the reactor is a special chamber in which atoms of uranium fuel are split releasing their pent-up energy in the form of heat of course safety devices are added including dense radiation shielding and special enclosures such as a steel sphere otherwise an atomic power plant is just about the same as any other power plant it will produce the same kind of electricity and run the same kind of appliances and machines as we are using now [Music] over the years our consumption of electricity has increased enormously ten years ago the average use in an american family was about 1500 kilowatt hours of power a year now with so many more household chores being done electrically about three thousand kilowatt hours are needed and ten years from now the average american family may be using twice this amount the same thing has been happening in our factories in ten years twice as much electricity will be needed to maintain our increasing rate of productivity already the united states with what six percent of the world's population uses over 40 percent of the world's electric power it's one reason why we enjoy the highest living standard of any nation in the world in the years ahead our electric power consumption will continue to increase more for our homes and more for our factories will bring the nation's total demand to at least four times the present level by 1975. [Music] right now most electric power is made by burning coal oil or gas but although supplies of these fuels are adequate to meet demands for years to come they are not inexhaustible besides these conventional fuels are needed for many other important purposes in addition to the generation of electricity as our power requirements increase a new energy resource atomic energy will be needed to supplement our present fuel reserves fortunately known uranium deposits exceed by at least 20 times the combined power producing potential of all the world's coal oil and gas resources thus the real purpose of atomic power development is to assure a continuing abundance of electricity and already progress is being made this atomic power plant built for the army is generating small amounts of electricity at an important base in virginia originally developed for use by the armed forces in overseas locations this type of station may eventually prove useful in remote areas of this country near los angeles is another of america's early reactor projects built as part of the government's nuclear power development program a california electric utility has installed a power plant to provide electricity from the reactor heat on an experimental basis [Music] near pleasanton california is the nation's first nuclear power plant built entirely with free enterprise funds as with every atomic plant special attention has been given to safety automatic control equipment would shut down the plant instantaneously if for any reason fishing began to take place too rapidly a thick steel and concrete vessel would contain radiation even in the most serious kind of accident imaginable atomic power plants will be good neighbors wherever they are built this is shippingport pennsylvania site of america's first full-scale atomic power station when completed it will be the largest known atomic plant in the world devoted exclusively to peaceful purposes but it won't make free electricity no atomic plant ever will shippingport's complex nuclear apparatus and tons of concrete and steel add up to a multi-million dollar investment jointly shared by government and business on the quiet banks of the ohio river genuine evidence of our nation's atomic progress but for the present at least this progress must be measured more by the nuclear knowledge we gain than by the actual power we generate electric utility executives must choose from hundreds of different designs all of which are theoretically possible the most promising must first be tried out in small-scale reactor experiments then incorporated in actual power plants before their commercial value can be established it's expensive research but important plans are underway this is a model of a 275 000 kilowatt station which will go into operation outside of new york city sometime in 1960 this plant now under construction near detroit will have a different type of reactor capable of actually manufacturing more atomic fuel than it burns by 1960 power from this atomic station will be furnished to a half million homes in the chicago area and in the hills of new england work is already underway on this modern nuclear project during the next 10 years atomic plants will be springing up throughout the nation as america's electrical industry working in the free enterprise tradition invests hundreds of millions of dollars in nuclear development and by 1975 the atom may provide a substantial portion of our total generating capacity the world will have a brand new energy resource one that will be vitally needed to assure an abundance of economical electricity for light for power and for our continuing high standard of living but atomic energy can also be shipped in a can in the form of radio isotopes mysterious products of the atomic age that start out as ordinary elements but become radioactive through exposure to atomic fission their radiations are invisible yet so powerful that just one drop of radioactive water can be detected in a full tank car of ordinary water at the oak ridge national laboratory where most radio isotopes are produced an atomic drugstore is maintained here mechanical hands fill prescriptions for a variety of customers in every corner of the nation radio isotope user may be the hospital in your own town more than 900 medical centers and clinics employ the atom in the fight against disease doctors have discovered that radioisotopes can be extremely useful particularly in the diagnosis of specific ailments [Music] one well-known technique is the atomic cocktail prepared by mixing a few drops of radioactive iodine with ordinary drinking water this simple drink which serves as a tracer is used by physicians who work with patients suspected of having thyroid trouble and incidentally one of its best features is its complete tastelessness if as suspected the patient's thyroid is overactive the iodine will concentrate in the gland in excessive amounts within 48 hours the radioactive iodine can be traced with atomic detecting equipment sensitive instruments measure the thyroid's performance giving the doctor an accurate picture of the gland's condition and helping him decide on the kind of treatment the patient should have several other ailments including some diseases of the liver and blood can be diagnosed in much the same way in larger doses radioisotopes are also used therapeutically to control diseases such as polycythemia and bring relief for certain types of leukemia here at new york's memorial center a cobalt machine is used for deep radiation of cancer this rotational therapy is similar to x-ray treatment but the new equipment using a radio isotope source is more flexible in its ability to reach the malignancy at the new england deaconess hospital in boston a cancer operation is in progress as the diseased tissue is removed a specimen is kept for basic research on the behavior of cancer cells under atomic radiation in the research institute adjacent to the hospital the specimen tissues are quickly processed and then they are incubated in a special fluid medium which supplies nutrition and allows them to continue growing finally the cells are ready for study under a powerful microscope and their behavior is accurately recorded by a motion picture camera these are living cancer cells functioning just as though they were still within the patient they are splitting apart in the process of mitosis the way in which all cells multiply and the way by which the disease spreads in the body medical science is searching for a reliable means of destroying the cells completely through radiation a small amount of radioactive material is placed over the laboratory culture the cells are exposed for a short time to atomic bombardment [Music] here is a cancer cell actually dying after radiation its furious struggle to split is of no avail and its malignant growth is halted if it were still within the patient's body it could no longer threaten his life many hours of painstaking research lie ahead before these laboratory successes can be translated into actual clinical practice but each day medical science moves closer to the complete conquest of this dreaded disease and already through the healing power of the atom we can all look forward to happier healthier lives for ourselves and our families [Music] the atom has come to the farm too with radioisotopes agricultural specialists are learning important new facts about plants and livestock these youngsters may not realize it but they're growing up in a unique laboratory at the university of maryland where their mothers are cooperating in some highly unusual research the ordinary dairy cow is a remarkable factory she is one of nature's few animals capable of converting grass into milk yet how she does it and why some cows give more milk than others has largely remained a mystery now some of the answers are being discovered with radioisotopes various chemicals similar to those the cow might get in her regular food are harmlessly injected into her bloodstream the chemicals have first been tagged with a radioisotope but since the cow doesn't know this she processes them just like any other diet and later she returns them to the professors in the conventional manner [Music] in the laboratory the sample is broken down into its major components to see how much of the radioactive injection was actually converted into first quality milk a geiger counter provides the data with an accuracy never before obtained new clues to cattle nutrition which will mean more milk and better milk on our breakfast tables even the dependable cow is getting health from the atom [Music] here's an event that takes place every autumn in the southland the peanut harvest [Applause] at this experimental farm operated by north carolina state university the peanuts being so carefully classified and tagged were grown from seeds radiated in atomic reactors [Music] radiation upsets normal hereditary characteristics creating new plant families with widely varying qualities plant biologists select only a few for development into permanent streams experimental cultivation of these new varieties has been encouraging there is a good chance of boosting acreage yield by 10 to 15 and the atomic peanuts stronger resistance to blight may eventually save millions of dollars every year these are giants created by radiation we can imagine their future impact on the peanut buying public [Music] but equally significant are the many manufactured products including the family car which are now being developed with atomic energy [Music] radioisotopes are among the more important research tools in detroit in factory laboratories automotive men assemble special engines with operating parts which have been made radioactive as these unique power plants run on the test stands any metal which wears away is collected in the lubricating oil and the oil is circulated through an atomic scintillation counter being radioactive the most minute metal particles can be detected providing an accurate indication of the rate of engine wear this is vital information for the men who are now designing the better cars of the future [Music] the tires on your car also wear longer thanks to the app for nowadays radio isotopes help check quality much of the strength in an automobile tire comes from its nylon core to which just the right amount of rubber coating must be added for maximum safety after the coating has been applied the fabric passes under an atomic thickness gauge this device can tell immediately whether the proper amount of rubber is being added if there's a fraction too much or too little the gauge sends back a signal and the machine is readjusted this is automation a giant rubber mill controlled by invisible atomic rays and it means a safer set of tires on your own family car [Music] even your toothpaste may be a product of the atomic age these teeth which have first been made radioactive at oak ridge are being scrubbed with a new toothpaste containing stannous fluoride a chemical which makes them harder to dissolve after their laboratory brushing the teeth are dunked in acids similar to those which are formed in the mouth and cause tooth decay the acid solution if it does succeed in dissolving any of the tooth enamel must also pick up its radioactivity which can be accurately measured in a geiger counter [Music] the count is low indicating the new toothpaste with stannous fluoride will do its job of preventing cavities [Music] home from a trip you may have been carrying an atomic suitcase at least its tough plastic skin which absorbs the abuse of baggage rooms and luggage racks may have been made in machinery controlled by radioisotopes an atom ray thickness gauge sends a specified amount of radiation through the plastic as it travels between the rollers making sure that thickness stays within prescribed limits already more than 1200 american businesses are using the atom to help manufacture their products from raincoats to razor blades yet it's really just a beginning in the next few years atomic radiation may lead to major changes in several of our most important industries particularly the petroleum industry nowadays only one in nine exploratory wells pays off as oil becomes harder and harder to find the earth still holds plenty of oil hidden within certain types of rock strata but no one can tell ahead of time just where these formations are located drilling operations must be halted while samples of rock at different depths are cored out and brought up for inspection [Music] thousands of feet of pipe are yanked from the well and lassoed to the top of the derrick it's back-breaking time-consuming expensive work at last from a depth of almost a mile the cored-out rock reaches the surface and is quickly rushed to a laboratory for detailed chemical analysis for years oil companies have been searching for a better means of identifying mineral formations below the earth now atomic energy may offer the answer in the research laboratory various types of rock are collected and prepared for testing since every mineral reacts differently to radiation scientists can now identify specific rock strata by their radiation responses a particle accelerator or atom smasher is used to bombard the rock specimens the test is ready the room is evacuated the accelerator is energized as radiation intensity builds up the reaction of the sample is recorded providing definite identification of many of the mineral elements in the rock [Music] now just one additional technique remains to be perfected engineers are experimenting with a portable down hole radiation source with this miniature atom smasher oil men may be able to obtain instrument readings at the site and by comparing them with laboratory data already gathered correctly identify the rock formations below radiation will be the eyes of the geologist allowing him to see literally thousands of feet below the surface of the earth to where our hidden resources lie very but there is yet another way by which atomic energy may revolutionize this same industry eventually radiation may be employed to produce completely new kinds of fuels and lubricants these engineers are preparing an experimental device in which crude oil can be maintained under conditions similar to those in a full-scale refinery [Music] in a few minutes this test apparatus will be exposed to radiation from an atomic reactor built expressly for this type of research the reactor is constructed like a swimming pool half of which can be drained while the operators prepare the experiment after the test device has been firmly anchored to a movable rack it too is covered with water [Music] the experiment is moved into position next to the reactor's uranium core when the chain reaction starts atomic bombardment will literally tear apart the petroleum molecules but this change in molecular structure may lead to better fuels in your automobile everything is in readiness for the test control equipment is switched on and the reactor comes to life we will be watching atomic fission as the speed of the chain reaction increases the core begins to glow it grows brighter and brighter as its penetrating stream of neutrons strike home so no one can foretell the exact results of this particular experiment one fact is clear it is through research such as we see here that our greatest hopes for the atom will be realized and in a free country with a free enterprise economy there are no bounds to what man's creative ingenuity can accomplish already atomic energy can bring us electric power cure disease and relieve suffering help raise our food produce our material goods make our homes more comfortable and our communities more prosperous yes the atom has come to town [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] as always um you know i dabble in the soapboxing of you know talking about different things but you know we're talking about history here so you know lots of people have different opinions about atomic energy um i think personally that if it was done right it's great but unfortunately it's been used as a money sink by some power companies who build them just to make money um and some of them have taken forever to be built and they're just it'll be interesting to see what the next generation of power plants will bring so much as i am also a big fan of technology too uh so anyways i hope everybody had a great uh day watching these films and i look forward to seeing you again tomorrow on tuesday um everybody have a great rest of your day if you like what you saw you can buy me a coffee at buy me a coffee.com av geeks you can also visit uh avgeeks.com and see other shows that we put online and buy dvds if you're interested uh you can hit the like subscribe or the notifications button um to tell the world that you like av geeks thanks again so much for tuning in and we hope to see you tomorrow at one o'clock everybody take care bye