220
OTHER MAJOR ACTIVITIES
plosion, it crushes the cable progressively. The point of crushingis
measured continuously by an electronic circuit in a small canister and
this information is sent to a remote recording station.
The development of instruments to measure the characteristics of
strong shock uses such equipment as an air gun that fires a 3-inchdiameter flat-ended aluminum projectile into a target of similar
shape. The impact causes a shock wave to pass into the target.
Instruments to be tested can be installed in the target and their response to the shock wave recorded electronically.
One result of this program has been the adaptation of the instru-
mentation and calculational procedure for early determination of the
yield of many underground detonations.
Gnome
A 29-minute film on Project Gnome, the first nuclear detonation
exclusively for peaceful purposes, was made available for public
showing during the fall of 1963 (see Appendix 8 for description).
Project Gnome was carried out on December 10, 1961, at a site about
28 miles southeast of Carlsbad, N. Mex. A nuclear explosive produc+
ing energy equivalent to about 3,100 tons of TNT was detonatedat
the end of a tunnel bored into a rock salt formation 1,200 feet under-
ground. The wealth of scientific data derived from Project Gnome
to date is contained in 22 technical reports which are available from
the Office of Technical Services, U.S. Department of Commerce, Washington, D.C., 20230.
On December 10, 1962, the first anniversary of Gnome detonation,
28 news media representatives toured and photographed the multicolored Gnome cavity. The cavity temperature was about 120° F.
with relative humidity of about 60 percent.
Coach
On August 1, the Commission postponed the conduct of the Project
Coach detonation at Carlsbad, N. Mex.
This detonation was origi-
nally planned for 1963. It involves using a nuclear device to produce
neutron-rich isotopes of known transplutonium elements andpossibly
to produce elements heavier than those yet discovered. Postponement
—
of the Carlsbad detonation was caused by technical difficulties related
to developing a suitable neutron-producing nuclear device. Further
work on the device is underway at the Lawrence Radiation Laboratory
at Livermore, Calif.
Preparation for the Carlsbad detonation has been underwaysince
the completion of work on Project Gnome. In October 1963 thesite
and facilities near Carlsbad were placed on a standby basis, with a
or