News Magazine of the Screen: Atomic Energy (1950s)

the news magazine of the screen one of a series of educational records of our time tributed as a public service by the Detroit News the home newspaper the sandy wastes a joker flat nevada a new series of atomic explosions are set off tanks are among the obsolete pieces of army equipment being tested in the exercises called Operation teapot more than 9,000 service men have been assembling grounds ready to take their places in forward trenches in a grim new age of warfare today's fighting men must be taught survival on an atomic battlefield while the troops take cover the Army's giant new 100-inch camera is pointed toward the blast our men tensely I the control booth as the seconds tick off familiar mushroom cloud snakes skyward hurling the atoms deadly radiation high into the heavens the sound and shock waves roll over the men huddled in the trenches never before have we had such a close up view lighting up the desert skies from miles around the fierce fireball flare is the signal for instant action quickly the men are ordered to leave their positions the explosions radioactive fallout is almost as dangerous as the blast itself in the vitally important precaution of dusting each other off the lowly broom becomes an item of military significance next Geiger counters are used to check the troops for signs of radioactivity marching out of the shadow of the atoms awesome might come fighting men symbolizing America's determination to keep strong in our Restless work nearing completion in a shipyard at Groton Connecticut is the world's first atomic powered submarine the SS Nautilus surrounded by scaffolding the vessel has been under construction for more than a year now workmen put the finishing touches on the hull of the submarine slated to hit the water this year an undersea giant built to circle the globe without refueling the SS Nautilus launches a new era in the history of subsurface vessels oops in Nevada prepare for an underground like explosion the first-ever photograph as powerful as a thousand tons of TNT this weapon reportedly can be carried by one man radioactive debris flies skyward from another underground explosion as a new weapon the atomic satchel joins america's arsenal the novelist first atomic submarine launches a new era in naval history mrs. Dwight Eisenhower arrives for the ceremonies the first lady momentarily distracted must swing quickly to christen the underseas giant majestically the fabulous submarine slides down the ways bill to the cost 250 million dollars she will be able to circle the globe in 29 days without resurfacing on a few nuggets of uranium their torpedoes can be mounted with atomic warheads and she can operate at depths which would crush the conventional submarine the 300-foot three thousand ton Nautilus will also have a speed of better than 20 knots underwater the age of atomic navies is born the tower on which written will explode her second atom bomb rises stark above the Australian desert cameramen at the testing site wait tensely then photographed from 13 miles away the familiar atomic mushroom pours its deadly cloud of radioactive vapor toward the sky scientists turned the test a complete success another milestone in the Atomic Age within the last two years more than 20 of these awesome blasts of echoed across the desolate nevada desert interwoven throughout the story of the tests of Yucca Flats is a second story the role played by the United States Air Force to Air Force nipper planes of all the assignment of invading the atomic cloud to gather specimens of radioactive particles for analysis by nuclear scientists the slippers carry filter traps mounted on the wings and fuselage during their cloud sampling missions their crews do a job considered impossible a few years ago today advanced techniques permit the men to stay inside the radioactive cloud for a time without harm other Air Force experiments probably effects of the blinding atomic light on the eyes of aircraft crewmen many types of goggles and protective lenses are tested the volunteers will look directly at the fierce fireball flare of the atomic burst quickly the men turn to instruments which record the effects of the searing flash the tests go on aircraft some obsolete some new are staked out at various angles from the blast for we must learn how to protect our fighters and bombers special cameras in slow motion record each fraction of a second as the aircraft disintegrate onto the shattering impact of this powerful force for destruction from these films the Air Force adds new pages to its knowledge and mastery of atomic warfare now at a closely-guarded airstrip the most dangerous mission of all is about to begin Abby 50 waits to be loaded for security reasons the screen must be partially blacked out as an atom bomb is raised into position under the eyes of the supervising engineer in the plane codenamed rosebud three men share a heavy responsibility the pilot the radar navigator and the Bombardier the target is that X 6 miles below you're about to see the closest shot of an atom bomb blast yet released for public view this is the story of America's ever expanding atomic weapons program this with insecurities limits is the role played by the Air Force now for civil defense another realistic test is held in a two-story house on main and elm streets a mannequin family waits 3,500 feet from atomic destruction they're lifeless dummies but to the civil defense officials testing bomb shelters they could help save lives a second home stands a mile away America is seeking through these drills to strengthen home front defenses for their strength means our safety dozens of cars are on the streets of the ghost hamlet in nevada and marching to within two miles of the blast Center 1500 g eyes take cover in slit trenches closer to an atomic explosion than any human being since Hiroshima and Nagasaki the blasts blinding flash silhouettes observers 7 miles away then it's ugly mushroom cloud swirled skyward within an hour the dirt cake troops all safe have abandoned their foxholes into pushing through a veil of dust as G is pointing Geiger counters lead the way the closest house is leveled by the blast equal to 15,000 tons of TNT but small as a bombs go the second building 7,500 feet from the explosion still stands although protected by every device known to atomic scientists troops are able to penetrate to the blast Center for many hours because of the deadly radioactive contamination shrouding the area well Peterson civil defense director warns us to prepare for this could be your house and your window here again the atomic blast 3,500 feet away a split second later past one of the cars exposed to the atomic fury a civil defense official finally is able to reach the rubble of the two-story house we just saw topple almost unbelievably mannequins in the basement bomb shelter are found to be unharmed the second house seems to have suffered comparatively minor damage windows have been blown in all Americans must work together for the stronger our home front defenses the less the chance an atomic attack will come this is atomic energy this is the force of 20th century man a powerful force for destruction a force that may be preventing a new world war this too is atomic energy honest by American scientific genius to benefit all mankind through dramatic new discoveries in industry and agriculture biology and medicine ten thousand scientists and engineers are at work to prove that atomic energy does not mean only the atomic bomb the master-slave manipulator at the Argonne National Laboratory for example makes possible important industrial research behind glass and concrete walls three feet thick the operator is protected as he removes from its lead shielded cask a container with a dangerously radioactive metal inside the manipulator imitates the human hands and grasping lifting moving and turning objects here the container is placed below a saw a switch is thrown and the saw bites into the metal intently now the scientist watches the end of the container drop off next the slave hands remove the tube and carefully shake out the radioactive metal for testing the manipulator grasps the hot material and directed by the scientists places it under a hardness tester a dial records the intensity of pressure a microscope attachment enables study for industrial purposes of the effects of radioactivity on the hardness of metals strictest security safeguards America's atomic secrets every person working on a new pure research project is intensively screened by the Atomic Energy Commission's protective force and in the rugged areas where even the versatile Jeep cannot travel mounted patrols ring atomic energy sites at Los Alamos amidst the wild picturesque mountains of New Mexico horses are of great value the mounted patrolman through the use of radio are regularly in contact with protective force headquarters in Los Alamos should a call for help be received reinforcements could be dispatched by land or air in a matter of seconds day and night they ride alert against spies and saboteurs giant anti-aircraft guns protect the Hanford Washington atomic energy plant man by carefully trained G eyes they guard against attack from the skies at Hanford biologists study the effects of radioactivity on fish since Columbia River water is pumped through the plant to safeguard Washington's flourishing fish industry 25,000 trout and salmon are hatched each year and exposed to water contaminated with radioactivity this is only one example of precautions that go on endlessly in this case there is not enough radioactivity to harm the fish or persons eating them hanford biologists are conducting similar experiments on sheep feeding them pellets with radioactive ingredients the pairs of these substances are traced through the sheep's body these experiments could be of tremendous importance to biologists and dr. increasing their understanding of the processes of human life in the field of Agriculture and isotope hothouse has been built at the Argonne laboratory radioactive forms of plants are grown and examined under controlled safety conditions here a study is made of radioactive drugs which have been taken from the harvested plants these drugs which must be handled with gloves under a protective hood undergo special analysis to determine how they can be most effectively employed by doctors in medical research at the Oak Ridge National Laboratories medical division radioactive liquids are used by Atomic Energy Commission doctors in the fight against cancer one of the dread diseases of mankind shielded by LED bricks this solution gallium 72 is an important tool in cancer research you're a patient at Oak Ridge drinks and atomic cocktail of radioactive iodine in solution and then is placed on an examination table next a radiation counter with a pen attached is lowered into place the radioactivity in the drink which are settled in the patient's thyroid gland puts the pen in motion drawing a picture of a diseased area the light and dark pattern of the drawing reveals healthy and cancerous tissues a milestone in cancer research these are but a few of the countless peacetime uses of atomic energy in the years ahead the infinite power of the atom they provide the force to drive ships and planes light our homes and turn the wheels of American industry and in the fields of agriculture medicine and biology its future is unlimited with the atomic bomb american scientists unlocked the devastating might of the atom today they are engaged in the task of releasing atomic energy slowly gradually in ways of lasting benefit to a world at peace in the Atomic Age Navy ship steamed in late nineteen fifty two toward any we talk at all on a momentous mission the world's first hydrogen bomb housed in this barn like building was to be exploded on a tiny target island named de lujo lab strange secret testing devices had been set up to measure mankind's most fearsome weapon while the task force cruised 50 miles from the doomed Island the second closer and closer to the first hydrogen blast on earth minus 15 seconds minus ten seconds nine eight seven six watch the shockwave as it rolls toward the flagship the fixed end boiling cloud surges to a height of 40,000 feet two minutes after 0 10 minutes later at a snake skyward 10 miles observers fly toward the target center the islands surrounding a lucha lab have been swept almost clean by the fireball flare which enveloped an area three miles wide in the twinkling of an eye oluchi lamp is gone nothing there but a deep crater and water bro an island that once was but is no more out of an ugly mushroom cloud mankind enters the hydrogen age an era of danger of challenge of opportunity Bible town Adam test measured a model village in the Nevada desert against the awesome power of nuclear energy buildings of various materials went up a million dollars worth of equipment was installed including life like mannequins and tons of food to measure the contamination caused by radiation the big dolls were survival towns sole inhabitants Thanks took part in their first atomic maneuvers some less than a mile away the closest yet in any test nearly six thousand persons participated including poop sheltered by trenches many cameras in many locations filmed the single blast the wreckage in the desert held vital information on how to survive an enemy attack with Geiger counters to check the radiation experts assess the damage an aluminum building was left to gaming rank concrete or cinder block houses weathered the blast best this one was less than a mile away survival towns electric wires have become a twisted tangled mass demonstrating the importance of civil defense preparedness the elaborate exercises proved survival is possible offering new hope to all who live in the shadow of the Atomic Age this is one in a series of hrs by the Detroit News a whole newspaper