The “Guardian of the Atom” is a 1960s color film sponsored by the United States Atomic Energy Commission, which was created in 1946 after WWII to foster the peacetime development of atomic science and technology. [It was forcibly dissolved in 1975 by the US Congress for improper conduct and was replaced by the US Department of Energy.] This film begins in the Colorado Plateaus, where scientists use equipment to locate and test raw uranium ore (0:09-1:09). Scientists separate U-235 from crude ore, the fissile form of uranium, into a bright green salt and then process it into metal slugs for use in a power plant (1:10-2:05). A technician uses a remote control to process radioactive isotopes (2:06-2:21). Radioactive ore is processed in various ways (2:22-2:43). The Germantown, Maryland headquarters of Atomic Energy Commission is shown (2:52-3:54). Aerial shots of nuclear research facilities Brookhaven National Lab, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Argonne National Laboratory, Los Alamos National Laboratory, and Lawrence Radiation Laboratory are shown (3:55-4:29). Uranium ore is drilled, carried by conveyor belt, fired, mixed, scraped, refined, and enriched (4:44-6:24). Areas of the outside and inside of nuclear reactor testing facilities are shown (6:25-7:00). Workmen within a plutonium production plant work in a control room, and stages of plutonium production are shown, including irradiated slugs being fished out of underwater basins (7:01-7:33). Nuclear weapons go through safety testing (7:34-8:50). Footage of a 100 kiloton nuclear weapon test denoting underground is shown from multiple angles, with the dessert doming upward 290’ and creating a crater more than 1200’ across (8:50-10:04). Miniature models and blueprints of experimental power plants are shown, discussed, and brought to public hearings (10:05-10:37). Various phases of constructing a nuclear power plant are shown, including fueling the reactor with a crane (10:38-12:21). Reactor operators work with control panels (12:22-12:51). Various nuclear power plants and electricity distribution centers are shown (12:52-13:35). A prototype model of nuclear seawater to freshwater plant is shown (13:36-13:52). Nobel Prize winner Glenn T. Seaborg, who discovered plutonium, is shown discussing nuclear power reactors (13:53-15:32). Aerial shots of nuclear powered submarines and combat ships are shown, as is the commercial nuclear-powered ship Savannah (15:33-16:21). A rocket engineering control room and experimental nuclear rocket engine is shown (16:22-17:12). A glowing blue reactor produces radioactive isotopes, and technicians fish the isotopes out of tanks, process them, and ship them in boxes (17:13-18:40). An early radioactive tracer machine is used on a patient (18:41-19:10). A variety of uses for radioactive isotopes include irradiating flies, isotopic gauges in manufacturing, radiated “pastured” fruits for human consumption, merging plastics with woods, and for powering weather stations, lighthouses, offshore oil gas platforms, rockets, and satellites (19:20-23:03). Scientists work with Atom Smashers at national laboratories, utilizing a bubble chamber, a linear accelerator, and a variety of other unnamed nuclear research equipment (23:04-26:19). Members of the public watch technical demonstrations of nuclear science, including a young woman using robotic controlled arms (26:20-27:00). Scientists perform various experiments and study forms of nuclear science (27:43-28:34).

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This film is part of the Periscope Film LLC archive, one of the largest historic military, transportation, and aviation stock footage collections in the USA. Entirely film backed, this material is available for licensing in 24p HD, 2k and 4k. For more information visit http://www.PeriscopeFilm.com