Desert Research Institute and Nuclear Testing

by: Josephine Ong and TJ Atalig for SJS APUSH, 2011

The Cold War• What is Nuclear Testing?

• It is basically experiments that would test for nuclear weapon, like the atomic bomb. (A-bomb)

• Would test how the weapons work, reactions under different conditions, and also the effect of the weapon on the people or objects exposed to it.

The Cold War

United States vs. Russia

United States:

• Did not want to share nuclear secrets because if gave them power. Russia may have had the Red Army but the Americans had the most destructive weapon in the world.

• Had more nuclear weapons

• Had already shown the world through japan.

The Cold War

Russia:

• Had the second most nuclear weapons behind America.

• Have not yet shown the world their weapons.

• Believed that the Americans were practicing atomic diplomacy. Which is maintaining nuclear monopoly to scare the soviets into diplomatic concessions.

The Cold War

Effects of Nuclear Testing

Human Body:

Shock waves from the explosion cause pressure waves through the tissues. They can damage the skin, tissue and bones. Lungs and the abdominal cavity are injured because of the little particles tat can enter through the nose. The damage causes severe hemorrhaging or air embolisms, either of which can be rapidly fatal. The overpressure estimated to damage lungs is about 70 kPa. Some eardrums would probably rupture around 22 kPa (0.2 atm) and half would rupture between 90 and 130 kPa (0.9 to 1.2 atm).

The Cold War

USA:

The world greatly changed when USA exploded the H-bomb in 1952. This one bomb was smaller in size than the Hiroshima atomic bomb but 2500 times more powerful

USA produced a bomber - the B52 - that could fly 6,000 miles and deliver a nuclear pay-load. Such a development required massive financial backing from the government

http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/nuclear_arms_race.htm

The Cold War

Russia:

The Russians produced an H-bomb in 1953

Russia could not. Russia concentrated on producing bigger bombs - a far more cost effective procedure. 

The Nevada testing siteWhere nuclear history happened

About the SiteFirst called Nevada Proving Grounds

1951= first tests approved

Created and tested nuclear weapons

Whole communities built up around nuclear industry

Communities

Nuclear testing provided many with jobs they needed

Many communities sprung up near site

Japanese village onsite at Yucca Flats

Nuclear reactor “tested” for radiation for Hiroshima and Nagasaki

Results collected from exposure of village’s people

Timeline of Site, 1945-1965from the nevada testing site oral history project

Timeline of Site, 1968-1990from the nevada testing site oral history project

Nevada Test Site Pictures of Nevada Test Site

Nevada Testing Site Today

Department of Energy and Desert Research Institute are researching this former atomic bomb testing site

“A snapshot of the destructive power of these weapons”

“The more damage, the greater its integrity...” Bill Johnson, archaeological team leader from DRI

Desert research instituteAbout the desert research institute, or DRI

DRI’s History“In 1959, the Nevada State Legislature passed NRS396.7951, creating a division of the University of Nevada specifically devoted to conducting research. From this, a small group of farsighted scientists, academic leaders, and entrepreneurs created the Desert Research Institute, a unique organization that combined the classic academic tradition of high quality basic research with the productive focus of applied interdisciplinary research...Through its studies to understand basic environmental processes, DRI also has served its earliest mission—the management and understanding of Nevada's arid land resources. DRI also has proven to be extremely responsive to the world's changing priorities. It has shifted the emphasis of much of its research to address environmental issues on a global scale and conducts studies on every continent in the world.”

What to Consider1951= First testing at Nevada Proving Grounds, 1959= DRI founded

Connection exists- but DRI’s site doesn’t mention

Nevada is mostly desert and dry land= isolated

Suitable area for testing atomic bombs

About 1981= DRI created Community Environmental Monitoring Program

Trivia= DRI has responded to the nuclear reactors in Japan by setting up radiation monitors and filtering the air

Atomic Testing Museum

DRI and Department of Energy created this museum about the Cold War and atomic bombs

Partnership with Smithsonian

Click: http://www.atomictestingmuseum.org/pid12museum.html for Tour and video

Sourceshttp://digital.library.unlv.edu/ntsohp/index.php?view=landscapes&subview=surrounding

http://www.atomictestingmuseum.org/pid12museum.html

http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/home/51517609-76/radiation-utah-iodine-131.html.csp

http://www.dri.edu/

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2002/07/0708_020710_TVnucleararchae.html