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 site
Where nuclear history happened
About the Site
First 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, 1945-1965
from the nevada testing site oral history project
Timeline of Site, 1968-1990
from 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 institute
About 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 Consider
1951= 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/pid12museu
m.html for Tour and video
Sources
http://digital.library.unlv.edu/ntsohp/index.php?view=landsc
apes&subview=surrounding
http://www.atomictestingmuseum.org/pid12museum.html
http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/home/51517609-76/radiationutah-iodine-131.html.csp
http://www.dri.edu/
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2002/07/0708_0
20710_TVnucleararchae.html