AV Geeks Lunch 11-16-2023

hi everybody I'm skip Alzheimer and I'm just noticing that the uh the sky is changing uh compared to when I first set up to do this so I'm going to maybe turn a little bit I don't does that do better lighting I don't know anyways the Sun is going down behind me um and uh but I'm skip Alzheimer welcome to the a Geeks lunchtime streaming show where we watch old 16 mm films and I'm on the road today and so I try to do theme shows and it's been a while since I kind of dedicated something to Fallout but yeah radioactive fallout I have quite a few films that deal with that subject um and so I was going to show you a couple films that I haven't seen before the first one is one called unlocking the atom which basically talks about the atomic uh fision process and how uh the Chain Reaction happens and how things go boom and then the results of what come off of it uh so it is a educational film that ends with does it end with an explosion I'm looking uh no it just talks about well there is an explosion in it of course um you know Cold War films all talk about uh Atomic explosions uh but it does talk about the benefits of uh using radiation uh for different things of course uh next is a film uh by the Department of Civil Defense called about Fallout which basically talks about after there is an atomic Blast how um dirt is sucked up into the blast and is irradiated it combines with uh particles from the uh the uh atomic explosion and so then it all rains back down to the Earth and that's when trouble happens um that's residual as far as people having to deal with uh suddenly now everything around them is radiated they survived the atomic blast but now it's in their water it's in their food it's where they sleep it's they breathed it in uh and now that's where cancer uh and burns happen so uh this talks about how to deal with that and the time frame takes for uh after a blast for the atomic uh The Fallout to uh subside and that's what the deal with Fallout shelters are is that they literally are a place to to to be um while you're waiting for the most of the Fallout to eventually subside um and the last film that I have is one that I found from the National Archives it's called Walt build a family fallout shelter and it is almost like uh it really was like a TV show and it shows this guy doing a do-it-yourself project and like today we're going to build a fallout shelter and goes through the whole process and shows how to do it it's it's kind of fascinating uh it and it was this attempt to say like hey uh America like here's what's coming up identify in your house uh if there is an atomic attack identify in your house that uh your family can hold up in for 2 weeks or or so and uh we'll show you how to do it and so that's what this is it's it's really interesting um there's so many other aspects to what would happen if there was an atomic attack um that are not addressed in this film but it is a a stab at trying to give some sort of sense of you can protect yourself uh and it's certainly uh better than the uh duct tape that the uh Department of Homeland Security was saying like use duct tape uh it just seemed it seemed weird I know what they were trying to do but it it did seem kind of strange uh given we the vast amount of information we have in the past that civil defense uh put out anyhow uh thanks for tuning in today uh I'm still on the road at a film conference in Tulsa Oklahoma and uh me lots of interesting people and uh hope you're having a great day a great week if you like what you saw hit the Thumbs Up Button the like button you can also go uh to kfi.com avgeeks and buy me coffee I'm stating at a conference hotel and the coffee is very expensive here so that can help uh also you can use the super thanks button um but everybody have a great rest of your day and we will see you tomorrow take care bye [Music] for when the awful power of the atom was first released as a bomb a startled World asked itself what is this great new Force what terrible secret has science uncovered actually knowledge of atomic forces is not new and although the work being done on the atomic bomb is subject to strict security precautions there is basically no secret now as for thousands of years scientists are seeking an understanding of the ultimate structure of matter a search which began to crystallize early in the 19th century with the work of men like John dalon Dalton held that each element was made up of atoms which were all alike and differed from those of other elements he invented a system of symbols to represent the atoms of different elements by 1869 melath fitted together a fairly complete picture of the elements the properties and places of unknown elements were predicted the discoveries of later years proved the accuracy of the forecasts with the discovery of electrons the realization of the nature of positive rays and the study of the properties of x-rays a revolution occurred in the conception of the nature of matter and of the atom itself the study of radioactivity first investigated by by Beckel and Men by the curries reveal the complex nature of the Rays that are constantly emitted by these substances these Rays behave in a peculiar way in a magnetic field a fairly weak magnetic field produces a deflection of light charged particles called beta Rays a strong field causes further deflection of beta rays and a deflection in the opposite direction of heavier charged particles I Alpha Rays there remains a penetrating radiation not affected by the magnetic field the gamma rays Alpha Rays consist of positively charged helium atoms beta Rays consist of electrons gamma rays are electromagnetic waves similar to x-rays furthermore radioactive elements undergo spontaneous changes uranium for example gives rise to a series of unstable elements the rate of change from one element to another may vary from a fraction of a second to millions of years but finally uranium becomes completely transformed into the stable element lead thus some elements can change their identity this fact LED Lord Rutherford to make a great advance in atomic theory he suggested that the atom is composed of a small nucleus around which we involved electrons by 1932 scientists could say with certainty that the atom contained electrons carrying unit negative charges and a nucleus built up of protons carrying unit positive charges and of neutrons uncharged particles equal in Mass to the proton to understand what happens when the structure of the nucleus is changed it is necessary NE to recall that in 195 as part of his theory of relativity Einstein made the startling statement that mass and energy are different forms of the same thing and expressed this idea in his famous Formula E equals mc^ s in this Formula E is energy m is mass and C is the velocity of light it says in effect that a small amount of mass can be converted into a tremendous amount of energy energy in 1932 cockroft and Walton found it actually possible by bombarding atoms with particles at high speed to split their nuclei when the lithium nucleus was struck by a proton it split into two helium nuclei when this occurs a small amount of mass actually is lost with the release of a great amount of energy great machines have been constructed to produce streams of high speed particles to bombard and smash the atom one of the most famous of these is the cyclotron invented by Professor Lawrence of the University of California in a vacuum tank which is placed between the poles of an electromagnet are two Hollow d-shaped electrodes to which a high frequency alternating voltage is fed minute quanti ities of gas furnish the bombarding particles electrons emitted from the center of the tank by a small Arc or filament ionize the bombarding particles the particles are sucked into either one of the two DS by the powerful electric field since this movement takes place between the poles of a huge electromagnet the particles travel in circular paths the alternating volage accelerates them each time they cross the Gap from One D to the other they have Whirled around faster and faster until finally they are LED off at tremendous speeds by a Charged deflector plate here an element is being set up in the Target chamber ready for bombardment it is now known that almost all elements if bomb barded by neutrons can be made radioactive the scientist must operate the cyclotron from behind a screen of water several feet thick to protect himself from the intense and dangerous radiations through the observation window the pulsations of the particles can be seen around the glowing Ark some idea of the Neutron's effect on the nucleus can be given by this simple demonstration imagine that the saucer is the nucleus of an atom one might think that the neutron would go straight in and out the other side like this now the saucer is filled with marbles to represent the particles of the nucleus if the neutron marble rolls down into the nucleus it jles the others but remains in the saucer it becomes unstable and gives off its excess energy as beta and gamma radiation if the neutron marble enters the saucer with more energy one or more marbles will be knocked out thus Neutron capture can eject particles from the nucleus causing dis integration uranium is unstable as shown by its ability to emit an alpha particle when the uranium nucleus captures a neutron it becomes even more unstable then fishing occurs the nucleus splitting into two nearly equal fragments great amounts of energy are released in the process and the fishing fragments are hurled apart with tremendous veloc velocity if each fishing has to be produced by elaborate apparatus such as this there would be no hope of deriving useful energy from the process but each fishion is accompanied by the release of a few neutrons one Neutron started the fishing the fishing itself produces more than one Neutron and is thus itself capable of causing more than one fishion and so on the result is a self- sustaining Chain Reaction even the first fishing provoking Neutron does not have to be supplied from outside since a few fishings are always taking place spontaneously these Supply the necessary neutrons such a fast chain reaction is the basis of an atomic bomb bomb there are two isotopes which make up the bulk of natural uranium the atomic weight of one is 238 the other 235 over 99% of natural uranium is u238 u238 undergoes fishing only with very fast neutrons many neutrons are scattered by uranium atoms and lose the speed necessary to cause fishing therefore a chain reaction will not take place in uranium which is predominantly u238 u235 on the other hand undergoes fishing with neutrons of any velocity but is most likely to capture slow ones a controllable chain reaction is obtained by using slow neutrons to cause fishing in u235 to achieve this controlled Chain Reaction a pile is built pure uranium rods containing both Isotopes are are embedded in a mass of pure carbon in the form of graphite neutrons produced in the uranium are slowed down by collisions with the light atoms of the carbon the moderator as it is called these slow neutrons are captured by u235 which then splits the first control chain reaction was achieved in 1942 at the University of Chicago if natural uranium and a moderator are replaced by a small amount of u235 slow neutrons instead of fast ones are produced fishs take place but so many neutrons Escape without hitting a nucleus that no chain reaction is built up but if the amount of u235 is larger than a certain critical size a fast chain reaction takes place in less than a millionth of a second this results in a violent explosion in principle therefore an atomic bomb works like this take two pieces of u235 each smaller than the critical size but which together exceed that size dry them together and thus u235 is a key material for the atomic bomb the behavior of u238 in a pile is also of great importance slow neutrons are sometimes captured by u238 no fishing occurs but this nucleus becomes u239 this is unstable a beta particle is emitted a new element is formed neptunium 239 this new element is also unstable another beta particle is given off forming another new element plutonium 239 now plutonium has fishing properties similar to u235 and is built up by this process throughout the uranium in the pile since it is a different element it can be separated from the uranium and used also for a bomb so plutonium is the second key material for an atomic bomb the actual processes involved in obtaining materials and constructing a bomb are done under strictest security regulations it is costly work and dangerous work elaborate precautions must be taken by workers on the atomic pile and in the Laboratories because of the danger of the Dead radiation danger signs and warning signals lead and concrete Shields remote controls detectors protective clothing these are common place to the men who make material for the bomb in the desert of New Mexico the first atomic bomb was set off thousands of calculations years of work reached their climax in this moment of deadly splendor within a few weeks the bomb burst over Japan and the news of it upon a startled world since then this weapon has been made even more powerful the knowledge of how to unlock the atom is a grave responsibility Another War and civilization might die just as Hiroshima died a city destroyed in an instant many tens of thousands killed this destruction makes us fervently hope that atomic power will never again have to be used as a destructive force although work on the bomb continues because of world tensions constructive uses of atomic energy are also being developed one way of harnessing atomic energy will be to turn the atomic pile into an efficient heat engine the release of energy in a pile results in the generation of heat if the reaction is allowed to run fairly fast a cooling system is necessary to control the rate of the reaction rods of cadmium or some such substance must be introduced which can absorb neutrons if lowered into the pile now if a cooling substance possibly helium gas were passed through a heat exchanger containing water tubes the water could be heated and turned into steam most of this part of the installation would have to be screened off by heavy concrete or water Shields and operated by remote control the steam could be used to drive turbo generators to provide electricity in a Powerhouse or in a large ship this adaptation of the atomic pile as a source of heat energy is now being tackled many important uses of radioactive byproducts from the pile have already been made medical research is now employing new Tracer techniques based on radioactive elements in this test a radioactive sodium salt is being used to check blood circulation time the Geer counter picks up the radioactivity from the sodium now the doctor prepares to inject the sodium into a vein in the patient's foot the radioactivity will be picked up by the counter as the sodium in the blood reaches the patient's groin the injection is made and the scientist starts his is stopwatch absorbed in the bloodstream the radio sodium travels up the leg the counter is shielded from outside radiation by the lead block with a slot beneath now 10 seconds have passed and the counter reveals the arrival of the radio sodium from such experiments come many useful facts which add to our knowledge of the body's behavior in health and disease for many years scientists have been studying the vast amounts of energy produced by atomic explosion in our sun and in the stars under conditions of tremendous heat and pressure complicated nuclear reactions occur resulting in the building up of helium nuclei from hydrogen in this process which is the reverse of nuclear fishion Mass also disappears this results in the release of even larger amounts of energy this power from nuclear fusion is the basis of the hydrogen bomb the energies now within our grasp are tremendous mend us but we must learn to control not only these physical forces but also the human forces of greed and hate which bring about wars only then can we use our power wisely and realize a future of great promise [Music] for these are particles of radioactive fallout and this is how a single particle looks magnified several hundred times a radioactive piece of matter from a nuclear explosion these few particles can't do us any significant harm but should there be a nuclear attack many billions of them would fall from the sky and settle to Earth releasing radiation that could cause sickness or death in the area where they fall [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] I [Music] n [Music] [Music] to begin with it may be surprising to know that radi is something we live with every [Music] day far back in time back before there was an earth there were flaming Fireballs in space we call them stars and there are millions upon millions of them each star like our own sun is a raging nuclear furnace that shoots out Showers of particles too tiny to be matter as we conceive it along with invisible forces that we call radiation this radiation and these particles travel through space at Fantastic speeds until they strike some other matter which may make new flares of radioactivity they strike wandering asteroids moons and planets such as our own everything in space Earth included receives this radiation Sky partly cloudy this afternoon clearing [Music] but background radiation is all around us in tiny quantities nature even planted unstable atoms deep inside the Earth itself they Decay one by one here and there in a barrage of inconceivably small and Silent explosions each explosion is another spark of radiation all life on Earth has reached its present form in company with radiation from this naturally occurring radioactivity extremely thin with extremely lowlevel intensity it has always been with us it is nothing [Music] new we don't worry about the small amounts of natural background radiation safely handle larger [Music] amounts we must keep our distance and shield ourselves for as the amounts increase so do the dangers the amount of energy generated by a nuclear explosion is enormous near the crater area There is almost total Destruction from blast and heat and now large amounts of pulverized debris and molten Earth are pulled up into the mushroom cloud this is where where radioactive fallout is formed the radioactive atoms produced in the explosion join with the particles of Earth and debris the mushroom shaped cloud forms and climbs higher it now contains billions of Highly radioactive particles of matter that we call Fallout the Strong Winds of the upper altit udes go to work on the cloud blowing it off in one or more directions gravity tugs on the particles the larger and heavier ones sink toward the ground while the lighter particles continue to drift With the Wind some of the lightest particles remain suspended in the upper atmosphere as time passes their radioactivity grows weaker so that the longer they Remain aoft the less dangerous they are but the heavier particles spread by high altitude winds fall to the ground within 24 hours several miles from the explosion they are about the size of table salt or fine sand these are the most dangerous because they carry the greatest number of radioactive atoms and so emit the largest amount of nuclear radiation which brings us to an all important fact deadly as radiation can be it has a fortunate weakness a rapid rate of Decay and this gives us an invaluable Ally time suppose a nuclear explosion takes place at 12:00 noon by 1:00 the total force of the residual radiation is at a high level by 7:00 it's down to 1110th in 2 days although still dangerous it's only one 100th but in 2 weeks it's only 1 1 1000th with this Decay rate in mind consider radioactive fallout conditions which might confront us after a massive attack within an hour Fallout would be a serious problem in the vicinity of explosions which occur on or near the ground by 7 hours after the attack the fallout area covers more more and more of the country as the prevailing winds expand the Fallout in a downwind pattern 24 hours 48 hours without shelter Millions would face death a few days later those who have taken shelter will survive in many areas people can even leave shelter for brief periods of time to carry out important tasks Within weeks most people can leave their shelters for longer periods as the radioactivity decays to lower levels the lesson is obvious we must Shield ourselves from radiation through the dangerous period to do this we need more than time fortunately we have another Ally distance the greater our distance from The Fallout particles the less radiation we receive you would receive less radiation in the middle of a tall building than you would receive on the top or bottom floors because there would be more distance and partitions between you and the source of the radiation The Fallout particles which would cover the roof and the ground around the building only an ins significant amount would get inside and finally along with Decay rate and distance we have still another and very important Ally Mass when highly radioactive fallout covers our immediate area we can Shield ourselves through the most dangerous period by using the sheer weight of any material but the protecting material must be heavy to Shield out some 99% of the radiation you would need about 5 1/2 ft of wood or 2 ft of Earth or 1 and A3 ft of concrete or a/t of Steel even though the thickness of these materials varies they all weigh the [Music] same taking a house as an example it offers a small amount of mass and distance from radiation but not enough protection in an area of heavy Fallout the solution is plain Fallout shelters are the best defense against nuclear radiation whether in a home for a single family or a large community type in an apartment building they offer the kind of protection from radiation you would probably need in case of a nuclear [Music] attack but the best shelter would be worthless unless it was used most people find it hard to understand how silent invisible rays which cannot even be felt could be so damaging let's see what happens when radiation penetrates the body and attacks the cells what is a cell and what happens when it is attacked it's a simple organism which reproduces Itself by dividing our bodies are made up of millions of cells they're the building blocks of our blood and tissues now powerful radiation strikes and cells are injured or destroyed if radiation stops before the accumulated dose is too great almost all of the damage eventually will be repaired if radiation continues there are some cells less able to function the top efficiency should the body fall behind in its recovery severe illness or death could result the key then is the amount the total dose of radiation received we measure radiation the same way speed is measured by a speedometer only instead of a speedometer we have a rate meter and instead of miles per hour we measure the rate in Renkin per hour we need another device called a dosimeter to record how much radiation a person has accumulated over a period of time in the same way we record a accumulated distance in miles the dosimeter records accumulated dose in Renkin with this in mind let's return to background radiation in an average lifetime a person might expect to accumulate about 10 renkins from his natural environment not enough to affect his health this same healthy person would need medical care if he receiv received more than 200 renkins within a few days 300 renkins in the same period would cause severe radiation sickness or possibly death and as we go beyond 300 renkins the danger of death increases rapidly so now we see why shelter is vital the difference between accumulating a large dose because of little or no shielding and a small dose because of adequate shielding is the difference between death and life no clothing of course could possibly provide enough shielding however if you were to be in the open during Fallout conditions clothing would keep the particles from touching your skin there is no such thing as a Fallout suit but ordinary clothing would help until you could reach the safety of a shelter then the Fallout particles can be brushed off and outer clothing removed if Fallout settles on your food the food itself is not hared since radiation damages only living tissue and you can easily decontaminate it using almost the same methods you use in everyday food preparation actually even if you actually accidentally swallowed some Fallout particles it wouldn't kill you the effects if any probably wouldn't show up for years still since there is a possibility of long-term effects such as shortened lifespan cancer or hereditary damage it's wise to remove the radioactive particles by simply washing wiping or peeling but it's vital to remember this neither water nor C chemicals can destroy radioactivity The Fallout particles can only be moved or washed away only time can reduce their potency and what of water well here again the same rules apply if necessary you could drink water containing Fallout particles without worry or immediate harm the chances are you wouldn't have to for long for water helps to wash itself through the natural processes of sedimentation and filtration and swiftly moving Rivers like this would carry most Fallout particles [Music] Downstream in Still Waters most particles would settle quickly to the bottom others might remain suspended in the water for a long time while a small percent of the radioactivity would dissolve [Music] the normal processing of a water treatment plant would make it safe to drink and water coming from a covered well would be safe from radioactive contamination there is no problem with breathing for air is not contaminated once the Fallout is on the ground Fallout is not a poison gas if ventilation is needed in a shelter a simple inverted U fitting on a ventilating pipe would keep Fallout particles from entering the pipe and getting inside of course surviving a nuclear attack means more than just waiting in a shelter for radioactivity to Decay to safe levels survival reconstruction and Recovery would involve decontamination in many areas a very difficult job Unit 8 at Elman Morse dose rate 15 rkin per hour okay unit8 Fallout would have to be removed from important areas by street [Music] sweepers and the remaining particles could be flushed out of the [Music] way [Music] food would be a problem after a nuclear attack we would first use existing Food Supplies from shelters markets and surplus food storage when Fallout had decayed to safe levels people could begin to work in the fields for limited periods of time in a few areas the land would not be suitable for food but such crops as cotton could be grown crops for human consumption would be grown in areas that had received the least Fallout the reason we would be able to grow and eat food planted in this land is that the transfer of radioactivity from soil to plants is extremely low and so if nuclear attack should ever come in spite of every effort to avoid it we must be able to survive and rebuild for the future but survival can only come through knowledge the basic facts we must all know are relatively simple first there is nothing new about radiation it has always been with us what is new is the vast amount we would be exposed to as a result of nuclear explosions much of this danger would come to us in the form of Fallout but we are not without personal weapons or defense one of these is time radiation decays and so we would not have to take maximum precautions indefinitely another defense is distance radiating particles 50 ft away for instance would not affect us as much as partic a few feet away and our third defense is mass any material with enough weight will keep the penetrating Rays from hurting us the greater the weight of the material between us and the particles the safer we would be the best way we can use all three weapons of defense is with an adequate shelter thick enough to Shield off a good part of the radiation until it has decayed to safer levels when radiation attacks the cells of our body are damaged most of them can repair themselves if the total dose over a period of time is not too high even though the rays penetrate our bodies causing damage they do not infect us and make us or anything else radioactive that's why food remains good no matter how much radiation has passed through it Fallout accidentally swallowed with water or food will do you no immediate harm but for long-term safety it's best to wash wipe or peel the food and filter the water even if you were caught outside under Fallout conditions ordinary clothing would keep the radioactive particles from touching your skin but you would still need to find shelter quickly if if we remember these facts if we act on them intelligently we can increase our chances of surviving nuclear attack and the key to survival is adequate shelter that is why the federal government has a nationwide fallout shelter program the goal is adequate fallout shelter space for every man woman and child and this goal can be reached for with knowledge of radiation we can face the facts about Fallout take action to protect ourselves and learn how to live in the nuclear [Music] age [Applause] [Music] oh [Music] [Music] go [Music] [Music] well folks I'm glad you could come down to see my fallout shelter just finished painting it last night looks like a nice job W you know this shelter is a real good idea if we should ever have a nuclear war we could get a heavy Fallout even though we were not anywhere near the target area so Ruth and I got to thinking about it and we figured we'd rather be prepared than sorry you know Walt this gives me an idea remember I was thinking about building a dark room in my basement there's no reason why I couldn't use it for that too what this would me make a perfect dark room as well as a Fallout sh come on in and see the inside hey isn't this nice well I certainly can live in here very comfortably for at least 2 weeks and you know this room can be put to other uses as well yes was you could use this as an extra bedroom for company yeah and when those grandchildren come it be a great place to put them you certainly have this well stocked radio extra batteries fire extinguisher yeah that's right and you know besides being a fallout shelter it's a good place to be during a tornado well you've done a real good job Walt how long did it take you to build your shelter not so long oh I spent a few evenings and a couple of weekends it's really not so hard to build anybody who isn't all fums can do it I'd like to know how you went about it wouldn't you Helen we'll listen go ahead L well here's a way anybody can do just what I have done to begin with the best way to build anything is the right way so I got this bulletin it's the official bulletin put out by the office of civil and defense mobilization called the family fallout shelter another booklet is available from the national concrete masonry Association both can be obtained from your local civil defense office or the local concrete block producer now my first suggestion to you would be to get these bulletins get these bulletins and study them because in it there are various types of Fallout shelters not only the basement fallout shelter but also others now once you have that and then I would suggest that you and the family go down into the basement and decide on just where you're going to build that basement uh fallout Shel now I decided to put it in this corner once that is decided then the next thing I did I drew these lines on the floor because these lines show me exactly where the walls are to be before laying the blocks of a wall along these lines that I have laid out here it's necessary that we check the floor to see where it's level the seat may be higher in one end or the other make or get a straight edge now a straight edge we must have one Inge absolutely straight and the other Edge must be parallel to this Edge that is it must be just as wide all the way along now this can be a 1x4 or a 1x6 just so that it's perfectly straight and the sides parallel now lay the straight edge along the place where you're going to have the wall now if it should rock that means that it's high in the center now if it is high in the center you really can't make a good check so take two blocks they must be of the same thickness though but one under this end and the other one under the other end now you can put your level on or straight at any place along the way now if it isn't level that means that you have to raise up one end or the other end until it is perfectly level then you can see what the difference might these now if that difference isn't too great you can make up that difference with a first layer of mortar under the first course of concrete blocks this is a heavyweight 4 by 8 by 16 solid concrete blocks and they're readily available thick heavy walls and ceiling protect against radiation the thicker the better concrete blocks therefore are very well suited for this type of construction now in laying a wall you know the Mason always starts by laying one block over here and the other Block in other words he builds up the corners first in order that we know just exactly where to place this first block since we must start here we will have to uh we'll have to lay out this wall dry that is without mortar now you may wonder why we have scored this well I'll tell you we have removed the paint so that when we bring this wall up against it there would be a good Bond and the scoring helps to make a good bom you have to have a piece of wood that's 38 of in thick because you see 38 is the exact thickness of the mortar joint between the blocks put the block down put the board in there take another block put the board in between but be careful when you slide it up you don't bang because if you do you know you're going to move the block and then by the time you get over there you're going to be way out now this is the block we were looking for to know exactly where this block is to come now when we laid out this wall you'll notice that we are supposed to stop here why cuz we have a doorway coming in now this last portion of it is only a part of a block now we laid the wall out so that we would have a half a block that makes it simpler you see in laying a half a block here the next block will be a full Block in other words you see we'll be breaking joint that's the proper way to lay a wall now if you have to cut a block the thing to do is to square a line all the way around and then score it like I have scored it here but in scoring it the first time or maybe even the second time be sure that you do it very lightly cuz if you do it if you hit too hard you may find it'll crack the Block in the wrong place now if you wear glasses like I do that may be all right but if you don't I would advise that you get some safety glasses or the goggles to wear because when these particles uh spit out you know they may injure your eyes now we can hit it a little see all nice that broke now we put this in here and we should have the smooth side out the Rough Side against the joint and then we'll space it here now we're all ready that completes are wall on this in I'm using this story pool to Mark the height of each course of the wall that we're going to build where it meets the main hall now story PO is a one by and you notice I've Drawn Lines on here now these lines represent the thickness of the mortar the thickness of the block mortar block and so on all the way up in preparing the mortar to lay the blocks I'm using a prepared mortar mix it has everything in it including the sand you notice I have a nice little Mor Bo which is very easy to make but you can also mix it in the wheelbarrow in adding the water be sure that you don't add too much to begin with cuz if you aren't careful you'll get too sloppy a mix after the mortar is mixed it's well to put it on a Mortar Board it's so much easier to pick it up now here's a little trick that I learned from a Mason friend shape your Mort like this bring the tow underneath and then slowly turn it and that way you can lay a nice ribbon see now it's well for you to practice it just a little so that you can lay a ribbon of mortar down that way when you start laying the blocks the first block we want to lay would be the one in the corner we must lay these side now be sure that you put plenty of mortar down for the first course and as far as that's concerned for every course for the simple reason that it's very important that we fill these joints well with mortar and you L the block right on top you notice this line extending over here this line extending there now I can't see the line here but I made this extension so I can line up my block and you see I settle it down and squeeze out the mortar be sure to make a full mortar joint for every course so that the wall will be as dense as possible to protect you from radiation now you see the story pole comes into play now it's still a little high and I can lower it with a TR and I level it with a level now it's it's still a little high out [Music] here now try and get this first one perfectly level [Applause] then pick up this motar then we want to have a little morar on the end of the block because again here we want to be sure that we get a full mortar joint now try to squeeze it down a little otherwise it's have to drop when we set it down now set this block about it inch away from this other block settle it down a little and then push see by pushing it this way you're filling that joint now let's get it down to where we want it see with all this mortar oozing out we're sure to get a nice tight well filed [Applause] to check to see whether we're we got to go down a little here also check at this see that we're in line all the way along and of course watch this line see again that line is ahead of our block so that we know just where we should lay the Block in order that is in the line now we have to squeeze this a little more so we can bring that right up to the 3/8 in [Music] joint now our next block will be on the corner and that will then bridge over uh this joint here good Pro jump and we'll take this back lay it on here very carefully and here's where we're going to use that story for bringing it down to the line and checking it with our TR you see or with our level I should say so that it's plum Plum this way and level level both [Music] ways with this block laid in position in a full bit of mortar tight against the basement wall and along the line that we have laid out we're now ready to complete this first course but first we should put up a line now this line serves two purposes one purpose is to keep the blocks in straight lines also to keep it of the same height that is level be sure that you pull the line reasonably tight and have it right along the edge of the block here as well as over on that side so we begin laying our blocks here continue down to the other end when I laid the second C I left these openings now these openings are made by using a half a block and laying it directly over the joint below now when I laid the third course you see it'll leave an opening here which is a vent just as described in The Fallout Shelter booklet after building up a section of the wall and the water begins to firm up then it's time to tul the joints now tooling the joints serves two purposes one is to make a nice looking job and the other is to firm the mortar tight against the blocks now I made a tool out of a piece of / in conduit you notice the end is bent up slightly here also Bend up here and then down to make a handle since we need protection from radiation from overhead as well as from the sides I'm now going to build the supports for the ceiling of the shelter now the ceiling is supported by Joy and these joists in turn are supported by post bolted to the wall I have already Drawn Lines around the wall to show exactly what the height of these posts would be now you will notice that the line on this side is about 4 in lower than on the side in other words we're going to have a 4x4 beam over the top of these posts but we will not need it on this side since this is a um Hollow concrete block wall I'm going to use a tarle the post should be divided along this wall the spacing of the post and I'm going to put one bolt about here and another one about here then I'm going to B holes for the B I have already drill the hole in the wall for the toggle Bol to locate that hole you put the Bol through the post set the post in the exact location where you want the hold and then tap it lightly not too high because it may spoil the thread on The Bard then you use the star drill to drill a hole through and possibly open it up a little large enough for the toggle to pass through put the toggle onto the bolt and run the bolt just through the tarle just so it comes out on the other side see then you bring it in position squeeze it together and let it go through pull it back now before you tighten this put the toggle into the bottom L same way and then you start tightening yourself pulling the post back just a little so that the wings back there will flip around now that I have all the posts securely in place I'll place this Beam on top of these posts it will support the joist on this end and the shelter wall will support the joist on the other end one KN from that side and two from underneath don't forget to make a shove joint so that you have a full joint of Mor now here's another trick that will be of help to you this straighted that I used at the beginning will be a great help to you to line up these blocks so that they'll be perfectly straight I'm getting along real well with my fallout shelter wall but if you feel that you need some help why don't you get a Mason to assist you I'm in the process of putting up the joist and it's necessary to put bracing between the joist to keep them from tipping now it's also necessary to toenail the Joys into the beam on both sides now that the ceiling DS are in place I can put up the ceiling boards it's well not to put up too many boards because you have to lay these concrete blocks in place you see you need two layers of concrete block one laid in this direction and the other laid in the opposite direction you don't need Mor for this just lay them up dry and as tightly together as you can get them before completing the walls it's necessary to lay all of the uh ceiling blocks otherwise afterward you you wouldn't be able to get in well this finishes my fallout shelter notice this baffle wall which covers the opening now it'd be a good thing you know if you would get your larger pieces of furniture such as the bunks and possibly table in there before you Build That Wall otherwise you may have a hard time to get him in afterwards now you don't really have to paint the walls but my wife thought it would be nice if I did so maybe I better get busy and finish it right now folks here is a message from The Honorable Leo a ho director of The Office of civil and defense mobilization you''ve just seen how Walt has built a family fallout shelter in his own home I have a shelter in my home it offers my family good protection in case of a nuclear attack it also serves a dual purpose a spare bedroom we know from tests and from study and from research that the single best action for the protection of the greatest number of people in case of a nuclear attack is a family fall out shelter may I therefore urge that you build a shelter in your home by doing so you not only protect your family but also you contribute to the nation's security you add to another strong deterrent to war we recognize that you need additional information and for that reason may I ask that you contact your local civil defense office and obtain additional information information or contact your local concrete block manufacturer for plans and information no home in America is modern without a family fallout shelter this is the nuclear [Music] age a [Music]