04 Rapatronic Shutter

After World War II, the Atomic Energy Commission contracted Edgerton, Germeshausen, and Grier to photograph atomic bombs as they exploded.  How to deal with the blinding light, the need to be miles away from the explosion, and the speed of the nuclear reaction in the bomb were problems the trio were asked to solve.  The solution was the rapatronic (for Rapid Action Electronic) shutter, a shutter with no moving parts that could be opened and closed by turning a magnetic field on and off.  The duration of the exposure was as little as two microseconds.

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