Martyl Langsdorf, Designer of the Doomsday Clock, R.I.P.
Martyl Langsdorf, die die weltberühmte Apokalypsen-Uhr gestaltet und damit eine eigene Metapher geschaffen hat („5 vor 12“), verstarb vor zwei Wochen im Alter von stolzen 96 Jahren. Das Design entstand für die Juni 1947-Ausgabe des Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, zwei Jahre nach den Atombombenexplosionen von Hiroshima und Nagasaki. Die Uhr wurde seitdem in „echt“ nachgebaut und die Zeiger wurden bislang 18 mal umgestellt, derzeit steht sie wieder auf „5 vor 12“.
Die Dame war die Ehefrau von Alexander Langsdorf Jr., Mitarbeiter des Manhattan Projects, der mit dem ersten Bit tatsächlich nutzbaren Plutoniums für die Einsatzfähigkeit der ersten Atombombe sorgte – und sich danach gegen den Einsatz der Bombe eingesetzt hatte.
Nachruf bei der Washington Post, der Design Observer hatte vor zwei Jahren anlässlich der „Zeitumstellung“ ein längeres Stück zur Uhr:
Martyl had set the minute hand at seven to midnight on that first cover “simply because it looked good.” Two years later, the Soviet Union tested their own nuclear device and the arms race was officially launched. “We do not advise Americans that doomsday is near and that they can expect atomic bombs to start landing on their heads a month or a year from now,” wrote the Bulletin’s editors. “But we think they have reason to be deeply alarmed and to be prepared for grave decisions.” To emphasize the seriousness of the moment, the Clock was moved forward to three minutes to midnight. The static graphic emblem was thus transformed into a sort of political performance art, and the clock has been moved 18 times since, each time signifying an intensification or moderation of nuclear tensions.
With each change, Martyl’s Clock became more deeply entrenched in the public imagination. The Doomsday Clock has been referenced in songs by Iron Maiden, The Who, and Bright Eyes. As a theme it dominates Alan Moore’s graphic novel Watchmen and Senator Tom Harkin’s treatise Five Minutes to Midnight. Over the years, the non-specific simplicity of the symbol was able to accommodate the new threats of climate change and bioterrorism.
Nuke Beer for Science!
Das Restricted Data-Blog postet jede Menge Details zu den Atombomben-Tests der Amerikaner in den 50er Jahren, jetzt haben sie Versuche ausgegraben die während der Operation Teapot stattfanden, das waren jene Atombomben-Versuche, während der sie leere Test-Käffer gebaut und mit Schaufensterpuppen vollgestellt haben. Kennt man aus der Eröffnungsszene von Indiana Jones and the Crystal Skulls.
Als Teil dieser Tests haben sie Atombomben auf Bier geschmissen, um die Versorgung der Überlebenden mit Wasser zu untersuchen, wenn die natürlichen Ressourcen verstrahlt sind. Nuke Beer for Science!
The Atomic Energy Commission did what they did best and dropped a nuke on bottles of beer and soda cans. (They were “exposed,” in the euphemism of the report. I also love the phrasing above, “the needs of humans for water” — it’s like the report was written by extraterrestrials.) […]
The results were somewhat interesting. Even the bottles pretty near the test had a fairly high survival rate — if they didn’t fall off the shelves, or have something else smash into them (a “missile” problem), or get totally crushed by whatever they were being housed in, they had a good chance of not breaking. Not super surprising, in a way: bottles are small, and there’s a lot of stuff in between them and the shockwave to dissipate it. […] As for radiation, only the bottles closest to Ground Zero had much radioactivity, and even that was “well within the permissible limits for emergency use,” which is to say, it won’t hurt you in the short term. The liquid itself was somewhat shielded by the bottles of the containers which picked up some of the radioactivity. But there were, of course, still pressing questions to be resolved… how did it taste?
Examination made immediately upon recovery showed no observable gross changes in the appearance of the beverages. Immediate taste tests indicated that the beverages, both beer and soft drinks, were still of commercial quality, although there was evidence of a slight flavor change in some of the products exposed at 1270 ft from GZ [Ground Zero]. Those farther away showed no change.
Beer and the Apocalypse (via MeFi)
Vintage Vegas Atompilz-Postcards
Retronaut hat ein paar alte Illus und Postkarten aus Vegas, die damals anscheinend ziemlich stolz auf die Atomtests auf der Nevada Test Site ganz in der Nähe waren. Die haben damals sogar Atomtest-Cocktail-Parties geschmissen:
Between 1945 and 1962, about 100 above-ground tests were carried out. The light pulse, shock wave and mushroom cloud could all be seen from Las Vegas. Many times, residents threw cocktail parties and gathered outside while a test was being carried out. The early growth of Las Vegas was due almost entirely to the boost in prosperity it got from the huge numbers of scientists, test ground staff and soldiers that worked on the atomic tests. (BBC)
Ich hab’ ein wenig gegoogelt und die Retronaut-Motive in HighRez gefunden, dazu noch ein paar weitere. Kaboom-Vegas nach dem Klick.
Giger Counter
Jemand namens Steve D vom Mad Art Lab hat einen Tweet von Bad Astronomer Phil Blait in die Tat umgesetzt: Ein H.R.Giger Zähler. Und das Teil funktioniert natürlich. I love it when stuff like this happens!
Shortly after the movie Prometheus hit theaters, Phil posted this on Twitter: “If I ever go to an alien planet, I’m bringing a Giger counter. #ThingsILearnedFomSciFIMovies” …which, of course, made me think, “I need a Giger counter”. And what’s the first thing you do when you want to build something in the style of H. R. Giger? That’s right, go out for some ribs…
So I headed over to a local science shop I frequent. […] I wandered around for a bit, until the proprietor asked me what I was looking for. I told him I needed a 1/2 scale human skeleton. He paused briefly, walked over to a shelf, picked up an unmarked white box and handed it to me. It’s that kind of place. The rib cage and spine looked like they’d make a good base for my H. R. Giger stuff. (Note: H. R. Gigerstuff was by far the creepiest Sid & Marty Krofft show ever. And that’s saying something.)
I figured it’d be nice if the thing contained a Geiger counter, so I picked up this kit from Adafruit. Yes, it’s an actual Geiger counter. It goes “bip” and everything.
GIGER COUNTER (via Bad Astronomy)
Tourists watching Atombombs
Schicke Fotoserie von Clay Lipsky, der Touristen fotografiert und nukleare Explosionen in die Bilder shoppt. Because they are awesome.
This Series recontextualizes a legacy of atomic tests in order to keep the reality of our post-atomic era fresh and omnipresent. It also speaks to the current state of the world and the voyeuristic culture we live in. Imagine if the advent of the atomic era occurred during today’s information age. Tourists would gather to view bomb tests, at the “safe” distances used in the 1950′s, and share the resulting cell phone photos online.
Atomic Overlook (via Petapixel)
Radiation-eating Fungi-Tentacles in a post-nuclear World
Schöner Kurzfilm von Factory Fifteen, gefilmt in der Ukraine und Kasachstan. In einer verstrahlten, post-nuklearen Welt kümmert sich ein Landentwickler um den Wiederaufbau mit strahlungsfressenden Pilztentakeln. Schick!
In a post-nuclear future, when the earth is riddled with radiation, a new urban developer proposes to regenerate the cities back into civilisation. GAMMA sets out to stabilise the atomic mistakes of yesteryear for the re-inhabitation of future generations. Using its patented ‘Nuke-Root’ technology; part fungi, part mollusc, GAMMA intends to soak up the radiation and remove it from the irradiated cities, rebuilding them in the process.
Setting out from Baikonur, Kazakhstan, GAMMA launches its RIG_01 BETA and heads east to the iconic disaster sites of 1980′s USSR. The film follows a group of researchers investigating GAMMA’s practice from launch to deployment. Moving through a trail of unsuccessful ships across the desert, we follow the researchers from Aralsk’s littered sea bed east to the Ukraine.
Auf der Website zum Film gibt’s noch ein Making Of, ein paar Visuals und Stills. (via Creators Project)
Nukemap
Karten, auf denen man Atombombenexplosionen simulieren konnte und die den Radius des Feuerballs und der Strahlung anzeigten, gab’s schon oft. Die neue Version basierend auf Googlemaps von Alex Wellerstein ist bislang die beste, die ich gesehen habe.
- Easily draggable target marker (which has an adorable little atom on it)!
- Bright, stomach-churning colors indicating major negative effects of atomic detonations!
Effects described include zones of 500 rem exposure, major overpressures, and fire! Plus, the legend breaks these down into easy-to-understand descriptions of what they mean for your average person caught inside of them.
- Lots of pre-sets for both places to drop them (I didn’t want to discriminate) and yields of historical weapons! It has never been easier to put a 50Mt H-bomb on the Eiffel Tower.
- Automatically tries to drop the bomb on wherever Google thinks you are accessing the Internet from (based on your IP address)!
Real Life Fallout Boy
PopSci hat einen sehr unterhaltsamen Artikel über Taylor Wilson, ‘nem hochbegabten Schüler mit ner starken Neigung zu chemie und Radioaktivität, der in der Garage zuhause ein Nuklear-Labor eingerichtet hat. So ein bisschen wie Fallout Boy, der Sidekick aus dem Simpsons-Comic Radioactive Man.
Soon Taylor was getting into more esoteric “naughties”—radium quack cures, depleted uranium, radio-luminescent materials—and collecting mysterious machines, such as the mass spectrometer given to him by a former astronaut in Houston. As visions of Chernobyl haunted his parents, Taylor tried to reassure them. “I’m the responsible radioactive boy scout,” he told them. “I know what I’m doing.”
One afternoon, Tiffany ducked her head out of the door to the garage and spotted Taylor, in his canary yellow nuclear-technician’s coveralls, watching a pool of liquid spreading across the concrete floor. “Tay, it’s time for supper.”
“I think I’m going to have to clean this up first.”
“That’s not the stuff you said would kill us if it broke open, is it?”
“I don’t think so,” he said. “Not instantly.”
Geiger-Counter for Android Phones
Youtube Direktsievert, via Interweb3000
Rolf-Dieter Klein hat eine Geigerzähler-App für Android-Handys entwickelt, iPhone soll folgen. Das Ding ist kein Spaßdings und funktioniert, im Video oben wird ein Handy mit App bei 10 Sievert/Stunde (nicht Mikro- oder µ-Sievert) getestet. Hier noch ein ausführlicheres Demo-Video.
The app works by blocking all the light coming into a phone’s camera sensor with a piece of tape or plastic. Because high energy radiation will cause artifacts on the CMOS camera sensor inside the phone, radiation will be captured as tiny specks of white light.
Abandoned Nuclear Exclusion Zone in Japan
The Big Picture hat eine Bilderstrecke von David Guttenfelder, der für National Geographic in die Evakuierungszone um Fukushima gefahren ist.
What does a sudden evacuation look like? After everyone is gone, what happens to the places they’ve abandoned? National Geographic Magazine sent Associated Press photographer David Guttenfelder to the nuclear exclusion zone around Japan’s Fukushima Daiichi power plant to find out. Evacuated shortly after the March 11 earthquake and tsunami led to a nuclear radiation crisis, the area has been largely untouched, with food rotting on store shelves and children’s backpacks waiting in classrooms. The area may face the same fate as the town of Pripyat, Ukraine after the Chernobyl disaster 25 years ago. […] Collected here are Guttenfelder’s haunting images just released of a place abandoned, and of people dealing with the loss.
Greenpeace’ Radioactive Fish-Flyer
Sehr schöne Idee von Greenpeace Japan. Die konnten im dortigen Fisch keine Strahlenwerte messen, die die gesetzlichen Grenzen überschritten, also haben sie eine Fake-Supermarktanzeige gestaltet, die den Fisch statt mit Preisen mit Becquerel anpreisen. Den Flyer konnte ich leider nicht in groß finden, falls da jemand drüber stolpert: Bitte Bescheid sagen. (Danke Suspects!)
They’ve come up with a really great idea on how to publicize the results of some of their radiation tests of fish from Japanese supermarket shelves. A fake advertisement flier, listing the amounts of cesium instead of prices.
And the message it sends is very clear: Greenpeace could not find any fish that contained radiation exceeding legal safety limits. The legal limit for Japan is 500 becquerels per kilogram. The highest amount of radiation they found in one fish was 47.3 Bq/kg, or less than one tenth the limit.
Nuclear Spiderweb-Lifeform found?
Wissenschaftler untersuchen grade eine weiße, spinnennetz-artige Substanz, die auf Fässern voller Atommüll gewachsen ist. Sweet!
The “white, stringlike” material was found among thousands of spent fuel assemblies submerged in deep pools within the site’s L Area, according to a report filed by the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board, a federal oversight panel.
“The growth, which resembles a spider web, has yet to be characterized, but may be biological in nature,” the report said.
Strange nuclear waste lint might be “biological in nature” (via Fefe)
Radioactive Artproject from Tokyo and Berlin
Schönes Projekt von Lucas Buschfeld und Markus Hoffmann: „The work aloop net Tokyo–Berlin consists of two connected boxes. One is located at the Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo, the other one is located at the Institut für Raumexperimente in Berlin. Each Box contains a sensor and a monitor. The sensor measures the sitespecific background radiation of its particular space. Everytime a radioactive event is detected the signal is transmitted via internet and synchronously induces a fade from white to black on the monitor of the associated city. The visitors can become part of the installation by viewing the website aloop.net and spreading the signals. The right side of the page represents decay processes measured in Tokyo, the left side represents Berlin.“ Ansehen kann man sich das Geflacker hier, erstaunlicherweise war, als ich grade nachgesehen habe, mehr Radioaktivität in Berlin als in Tokyo. (Danke Philipp!)
Life Inside a Nuclear Missile Bunker
(Youtube Direktbunker, via Laughing Squid)
Die gestern von Joshua Topolsky (ehem. Engadget) gelaunchte Seite The Verge hat ein nettes Special über Leute, die in alten Raketenbunkern leben: Condo at the End of the World – Life Inside a Nuclear Missile Bunker. Falls Ihr NC schon länger lest, werdet Ihr vielleicht feststellen, dass ich fast alle dort vorgestellten Projekte hier schon verbloggt habe, aber ich bin’s ja langsam gewohnt, dass ich im Netz nichts wirklich neues mehr finde. Wie auch immer, Snip von The Verge:
The Survival Condo Project is a nearly 200 foot deep, nuclear blast-hardened hole in which contractors recently built a steel frame, not unlike that of a skyscraper. Once complete, the facility — located somewhere in the middle of Kansas — will offer half and full-floor residential units designed to withstand floods, electromagnetic pulses, and indirect nuclear strikes (among other things) for $2 million or $4 million, respectively. Features include “redundant infrastructure for power, water, air, and food; as well as ‘shared or common’ facilities for extended off-grid survival.”
Irans Laser Pointers shaped to look like miniature Nuclear Enrichment Centrifuges
Andreas schreibt mir: „Die Iraner verteilen bei den IAEA-Verhandlungen Werbegimmick-Laserpointer in der Form einer Mini-Uranzentrifuge. Außerdem machen sie sich einen Spaß daraus, sich die Sitzplätze der Israelischen Delegation zu ‘leihen’.“
You know how at big conferences, companies sometimes give out pens or calendars or refrigerator magnets to advertise their brand?
Well, it was apparently in that spirit that at the IAEA general conference last month, Lewis reports, the Iranian delegation gave out its own swag–only at this gathering, the Iranians chose to hand out not pens or t-shirts, but laser pointers shaped to look like miniature nuclear enrichment centrifuges.
“Yes, the Islamic Republic of Iran distributed laser pointers in the shape of a centrifuge,” Lewis, a counter-proliferation expert, marveled at his blog, Arms Control Wonk. Lewis posted a photo of Iran’s nuclear-themed swag provided by a colleague who requested anonymity. The laser pointers were emblazoned with the phrase “Nuclear Energy for All, Nuclear Weapon for None”–apparently a dis at Israel among other nuclear powers whom Iran accuses, not entirely incorrectly, of employing a double-standard in their approach to nuclear proliferation. The word “Uranium” circles the bottom of the pointer, as you can see in the photo above.
Atomic swag-ger: Iran’s nuclear conference humor (Danke Andreas!)
