High-speed photography of the first hydrogen-bomb explosion
Obtaining detailed photographs of the early stages of the first hydrogen bomb explosion in 1952 posed a number of problems. First, it was necessary to invent a continuous-access camera which could solve the problem that existing million-picture-per-second cameras were blind most of the time. The solution here was to alter an existing camera design so that two modified cameras could be mounted around a single high-speed rotating mirror. A second problem, acquiring the necessary lenses of precisely specified focal lengths, was solved by obtaining a large number of production lenses from war surplus salvage. A third hurdle to be overcome was to test the new camera at an A-bomb explosion. Finally, it was necessary to solve the almost impossible difficulty of building a safe camera shelter close to a megaton explosion. This paper describes the way these problems were solved. Unfortunately the successful pictures that were taken are sill classified.
- Research Organization:
- Los Alamos National Lab., NM (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE, Washington, DC (United States)
- DOE Contract Number:
- W-7405-ENG-36
- OSTI ID:
- 10174805
- Report Number(s):
- LA-UR-92-2514; CONF-9209188-1; ON: DE92040392
- Resource Relation:
- Conference: 20. international congress on high speed photography and photonics,Victoria (Canada),25-26 Sep 1992; Other Information: PBD: [1992]
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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