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Library Exhibit
By Lesley Wolf
An exhibit, entitled ‘In the Shadow of the
Bomb’ is now on display at the SLAC Library. This exhibit features a
prototype of the shockwave gauge that was used to measure the yields
of the nuclear explosions of the A-bomb, first over Almogordo, New
Mexico (Trinity), then over Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
The shockwave gauge on display is on loan from
W.K.H. Panofsky (DO). He was one of the principals on the shockwave
gauge project and was present at the Trinity explosion. A letter was
attached to the battery case of the shockwave gauge, imploring
physics professor Ryokichi Sagane to convey to the Japanese high
command the destruction that was to follow if Japan’s aggression
continued. A copy of this letter is also on display.
The title of the exhibit is taken from the book
by former SLAC deputy director, Sid Drell, which gives an insider’s
view of the nuclear threat.
The ‘In the Shadow of the Bomb’ exhibit will
run in the SLAC Library through January 30, 2006.
(Photo courtesy of Lesley Wolf)
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