"A BEGINNING WITHOUT END" 1968 LAWRENCE RADIATION LABORATORY PROMO FILM 51684

A Beginning Without End is a 1968 educational film, produced by the Atomic Energy Commission’s Lawrence Radiation Laboratory, that gives viewers a look at the latest in nuclear research as well as a brief history of atomic development by the agency. The film features topics such as converting matter into energy, the nuclear research conducted at the AEC’s Berkeley and Livermore sites, particle accelerators, the discovery of new elements, and the uses and effects of radiation. The film opens with images of space, footage of mountains, a watch being built, and scientists using microscopes. Viewers are taken to the University of California Berkley campus where the Lawrence Radiation Laboratory looks out over the city (03:30). Inside the facility, scientists research atomic energy and nuclear capabilities (04:00). The film shows viewers an image of the first cyclotron (04:37). Photographs show scientists developing cyclotrons for atomic research. Professor Ernest Lawrence explains how a cyclotron works on a national educational program (05:46). The program shows photographs of different cyclotrons, including the massive cyclotron used for the Manhattan Project (07:50). Operators work on radioactive elements using a water cage (08:55). A heavy ion linear accelerator is used to produce new atoms (09:28). Tests are conducted in a biodynamics laboratory (10:35). A patient receives a dose of radiation from a cyclotron, which directs the dose into the patient’s pituitary gland (12:40). Members of the Inorganic Materials Research Division study atomic developments in a nuclear reactor core. Researchers study superconductivity (14:25), leading to new more powerful magnets. Livermore Director Dr. Michael May sits at a table with other men. A high-speed computer helps physicists with possible outcomes of nuclear tests (15:27). Footage from the Plowshare Program shows the underground detonation of a thermonuclear device in Sudan (16:35); the program is testing using nuclear bombs to move large-scale amounts of earth. Biomedical scientists study the effects of radiation from materials collected at the Sudan site. Men machine parts from radioactive materials for new prototypes (20:00). A machine shapes a powerful explosive by remote control at Site 300, a test center for explosives (21:00). Several people test the detonating of nitromethane (21:37). Nuclear debris is collected from a detonation site and shipped to Livermore for analysis (22:56). Members of the Sherwood Group work to recreate miniature suns. The film shows some of the support people behind each scientist, as well as part-time employees, like graduate students, who help with nuclear research. Dr. Edwin McMillan looks at blueprints for the Bevatron (25:58); the film shows viewers the completed Bevatron. The film ends with a montage of shots of various scientists working with animals, chemicals, and computers as they continue their nuclear research.
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) is a federal research facility in Livermore, California, United States, founded by the University of California, Berkeley in 1952. A Federally Funded Research and Development Center (FFRDC), it is primarily funded by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and managed and operated by Lawrence Livermore National Security, LLC (LLNS), a partnership of the University of California, Bechtel, BWX Technologies, AECOM, and Battelle Memorial Institute in affiliation with the Texas A&M University System. In 2012, the laboratory had the synthetic chemical element livermorium named after it.
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[@normkirk65]

This is awesome !!! Documentaries like this got me extremely interested in the nuclear and astrophysical sciences. Thank you ! 😃

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