Photography of Nuclear Detonations
HEE-FV-187

Date:
1950s
Location:
n.a.
Image(s):
Color
Sound(s):
Silent
Maker:
Edgerton, Germeshausen & Grier (for the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission)
Film type:
16mm; Kodachrome
Run time:
11:58
People:
Harold E. Edgerton, Herbert E. Grier, Kenneth J. Germeshausen
A series of nuclear detonations filmed by Edgerton, Germeshausen and Grier, Inc. under contract to the Atomic Energy Commission are presented filmed from a range of angles, distances and speeds. Ground conditions, shock waves and wind effects are clearly documented. The project was conducted under the supervision of the Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory and the Armed Forces Special Weapons Project, likely during the early 1950s.

Tagged: atomic bomb, Atomic Energy Commission, detonation, EG&G, high speed photography, Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory, Nuclear, Rapatronic

TIME CODEDESCRIPTION
00:00:01 Introductory information: film title, synopsis, date, run time.
00:00:08 Film begins.
00:00:10 [Title card] “Photography of NUCLEAR DETONATIONS”
00:00:17 [Title card] “Filmed under contract to the ATOMIC ENERGY COMMISSION by EDGERTON, GERMESHAUSEN & GRIER, INC.”
00:00:21 [Title card] “These pictures were taken under the supervision of the LOS ALAMOS SCIENTIFIC LABORATORY and the ARMED FORCES SPECIAL WEAPONS PROJECT”
00:00:27 Aerial top view of ground criss-crossed with lines, slow pan. A bright white explosion at 00:00:52 is followed by a growing cloud from the detonation.
00:01:03 Side view, hills in background: explosion, parallel series of smaller plumes on left, ground swells up, and smoke slowly rises.
00:01:19 Blue sky, and then a sudden bright flash clears to show a mushroom cloud rising on the horizon.
00:01:48 Post-explosion view of a mushroom cloud rising (side view)
00:01:57 Post-explosion view of a mushroom cloud rising (side view)
00:02:08 View from roadside: a sudden bright light of detonation, a smoke cloud, side plumes, becoming an iconic mushroom cloud.
00:02:23 View from roadside: a sudden bright light of detonation, a smoke cloud, side plumes, lots of smoke on the ground, becoming an iconic mushroom cloud, with wind blowing wisps of smoke around.
00:02:47 Explosion seen from above: the top of a mushroom cloud slowly expands.
00:03:00 Slow-motion view of the instant of detonation of a nuclear explosion, seen from the side. Two images: a white bubble on the left and a red bubble on the right (possibly the same explosion represented simultaneously in two different types of film?)
00:03:16 Six thin white plumes shoot up from ground, and another two shorter plumes appear, followed by a blinding white blast.
00:03:24 Slow motion detail of the periphery of a blast (?): a series of thin vertical plumes are slowly pushed over from the moving earth and encroaching smoke at right.
00:03:44 White and black smoke float above the ground surface. Blinding light of the blast (at 00:03:55) becomes a mushroom cloud on the horizon.
00:04:33 Night-time (?) blast appears as a white circle that devolves into a mushroom cloud.
00:05:03 Short white steam-like plumes appear from the ground; a blinding explosion (at 05:24) fades to show plumes being shoved sideways by the force of the blast (a seismic shift) / shock wave from right. Ripples of smoke along ground (seen in slow motion)
00:05:46 Night-time slow motion footage: blast appears as a white circle that expands slowly.
00:06:11 Slow motion of a white steam-like plume being shifted over by the force of the blast / shock wave coming from the right.
00:06:25 The pattern of a shock wave is reflected in a vertical white plume: it descends its length to the ground and is reflected back up again.
00:06:45 V-shaped pattern of a shock wave can be discerned as it traverses air and smoke from right to left.
00:06:54 V-shaped pattern of a shock wave can be discerned as it traverses air and smoke from right to left.
00:07:09 Close-up of device from which steam-like plume is emitted (?); an explosion occurs off-screen and causes smoke to shift over.
00:07:18 Close-up of device (pole) emitting plumes of smoke, shown with after-effects of blast off-screen.
00:07:39 Close-up of device (pole) emitting plumes of smoke, shown with after-effects of blast off-screen.
00:07:54 Nuclear blast seen from distance across ocean; multiple shock waves.
00:08:08 Nuclear blast seen in slow motion detail, from a distance across the ocean.
00:08:25 Nuclear blast seen in slow motion detail, from a distance across a coastline.
00:08:43 Nuclear blast seen in slow motion detail, with an expanding cloud crossed by several vertical stripes of smoke.
00:09:02 Nuclear blast seen in detail, from distance across ocean; shock waves race across water.
00:09:20 Nuclear blast seen in detail, from a distance across the ocean; shock waves race across water and vertical smoke plumes around the blast area.
00:09:27 Nuclear blast seen in detail, from a distance across the ocean; shock waves race across water and vertical smoke plumes around blast area.
00:09:41 Nuclear blast seen in slow-motion detail, from a distance across the ocean.
00:10:06 Nuclear blast seen in slow-motion detail, showing internal movements within the blast cloud.
00:10:14 Nuclear blast seen in slow-motion detail, from a distance across the ocean; eventually gradations within the blast cloud are revealed.
00:10:48 Detail of shock wave racing from left side across the water to land, in slow motion (poor visibility).
00:11:07 Nuclear blast, with long twisted plume.
00:11:25 Nuclear blast, with long twisted plume; very fast-moving clouds in sky.
00:11:35 [Title card] “THE END”
00:11:44 Film fades to black and ends.
00:11:58 © 2010 MIT credits.

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