Always/Never: The Quest for Safety, Control, and Survivability - Part 2

Early nuclear safety - 0:00
The wooden bomb - 10:44
A catalyst for change - 21:15
Modern nuclear detonation safety - 31:33
Accidents will happen - 41:36
Always/Never: The Quest for Safety, Control & Survivability is a first-person documentary film about the use, control, detonation safety, and survivability of US nuclear weapons with an emphasis on the contributions of the DOE/NNSA nuclear weapon laboratories from 1945 to 1991. The historical interaction between technology, military operations, and national policy has never before been told in this detail.
Learn more at 1.usa.gov/1Bijsh8.
2014-17473 V

[@joshjones3408]

Great video 👍👍👍

[@2006gtobob]

What documentaries like this teach and confirm is that I had every right to be terrified as a teenager. I was born in 1971 and was totally unaware until I saw the TV movie The Day After. From that point forward, until a fateful day in late 1991, I lived in utter fear wondering when nuclear annihilation was coming. My teenage years always in the shadow of wonder and "why bother?" Pure luck, some decent engineering, and literally the Grace of God kept most of us safe from the pure stupidity of the politicians of both sides, and the incompetence of others. There is no such thing as a limited strike.

[@iitzfizz]

I remember watching Threads in English clash and though I wasn't born till 90 that fear was always still there.

[@bedeckt]

born in 2000. its there.

[@VesproDBA]

what happened in 1991?

[@colinstewart1432]

Yeah but it gave life an edge...🤣

[@dielaughing73]

Very brief view of the rolamite accelerometer shown at 19:25 for anyone interested.

[@D-yan1992]

the failures before the succes...the people involve in this study until it perfected is just🤯..the dedication of everyone envolved that new generation of youth should have...

[@kyndjal3118]

imagine this kind of commitment invested in more benign pursuits...

[@codebasher1]

Like the Apollo program.... :D

[@kyndjal3118]

@@codebasher1 Apollo was shutdown.glaring lack of commitment there. Unless they continued in secret,so public opinion and oversight would't interfere with the project if something questionable happened and/or was executed...Which,given the history of the US,wouldn't surprise me at all...

[@anotherone3666]

So who can explain me what does Always Never mean? I still don't get it somehow. Is it simply that the bomb use will be authorized by the president and nobody else? How can we give so much power to one person? Could someone please explain what is it that Im not understanding?

[@colinstewart1432]

Simply this principle means that the weapons will ALWAYS work when needed, but NEVER when unintended.

[@anotherone3666]

@@colinstewart1432 thanks for your answer

[@nickpn23]

Interesting that it took them so long to spot the danger from carbonised circuit insulation. A very interesting documentary.

[@TarmanTheChampion]

I love the background music!

[@badpharma461]

It's fascinating just how intelligent and reasonable the designers are. I remember reading that when the cores were reshaped rather than compressed (using flying air lenses), the complexity of the maths went up by an order of magnitude. I bet working out the maths for the prolate W88 warhead. Lest we forget, Ted Taylor had sketched out an atomic weapon that would fit into a 105mm shell. I know it was inefficient because there was no space for the beryllium reflectors (although possibly the alloy making up the casing could be made with a boron-containing alloy (25, M25 AND 165) but I feel that the backpack nukes we have seen are not the smallest. I don't know how long these shells would be but it strikes me that they represent the sought after suitcase nuke. I mean, it would still be possible to add deuterium & tritium within the hollow U233/U235/Pu239 primary. That said - nobody wants tactical nuclear weapons. It would be too easy for a local commander to institute a flobal thermonuclear war.

[@Laotzu.Goldbug]

Interesting that the B61 (albeit in mod-12 form) is still in service today. Really was a good design.

[@brandonl6196]

Silver bullet, great aerodynamic, supersonic profile, small packaging and decent yield. PAL enabled so good for keeping in other countries

[@user-ru8ko8kn5u]

ขอบคุณครับตา

[@victorbloom8286]

I was with Pershing 1A in Germany 1980-82 . Glad they were nb ever Used .

[@mrjones7222]

Thank u

[@robinwells8879]

Frequent flashes of true inspiration. I am going to take much from this into my civilian field FMEA work. Thanks.

[@martiro7]

Thirty incidents where the safety switches were operated incorrectly? Clearly a serious training shortcoming! It doesn't matter how well the company producing them knows their product - in the end, it comes down to young men and women of the military knowing how to keep everybody safe.

[@rickevans3959]

We decided we can't live without these highways to he'll so eventually we will run off the rails right next to gotterdammerung. The Ukraine is close.

[@andrewvida3829]

I guess I grew up differently. I assume everything will fail and that none of my assumptions regarding function are actually correct. That is what made me a very good tester. But I can understand that times were different in those days and certain truths were taken as pretty well being absolute and immutable. Excellent presentation.

[@rockydubois2418]

The dealer ALWAYS has 21

[@mwbright]

Hand made, with love.

[@MrSpasticdancer]

didnt know bird person was doing narration work

[@Z0DI4C]

What's that contraption at 20:02? It looks like a set of telephoto lenses and cameras, but I wonder if it has a name.

[@Tadesan]

Zerim if you happen to see my reply, the following link will answer your every need, want, and desire: kzbin.info/www/bejne/eJ2zl3uMaJt6Y8k

[@allandavis8201]

Ross K, if you ever see this, Thanks, I often wondered what those things were called, learnt something new today, 2019. 👍🇬🇧🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿

[@genebohannon8820]

The device you.guess are discussing pre dates.The Kineto. It was made by an astronomer on a WWII quad fifty mount and the called it Bright-eyes

[@scarakus]

@12:26 'Didn't matter what we made, they wanted it. They were very good customers' ...for a non-profit organization...

[@thomass4471]

It was sarcasm the military was their ONLY customer. It was a government agency working for another government agency

[@numnut1516]

That joke didn’t let you in on it did it?

[@allandavis8201]

Num nut, no, not knowing who or what those “agencies” are/were meant it was a sarcastic comment that only an American or someone in “the know” would get straight away, and I don’t fall into either of those “pigeonholes”, but now it’s been explained it still isn’t amusing sarcasm.

[@allandavis8201]

Thomas S nope, didn’t get it, I am not American or in the know about those agencies, so how would I get it? Please remember that it’s not just Americans or nuclear weapons experts watching this documentary.

[@elianaallbuquerque5189]

B-54, d-w?

[@brianbelton3605]

Is that a Pan-Am Clipper at 21:58?

[@genebohannon8820]

Looks like a guppy B29 with a huge fuselage

[@matthewrowe1192]

Excellent series shame about the music

[@ztyy8185]

How this was declassified??

[@californiaslastgasp6847]

It never was classified. Because safety isn’t secret. The USA actually offered to share PAL with Pakistan.

[@joshjones3408]

Just like the cell phone.... every body just had to have one ....the what ..my iPhone is big an better then your android..a um who's fishing pole is bigger kinda thing....👍👍👍👌👌

[@scarakus]

Lol, 'Woodeness', not like a piece of Pine, but more like 'Up & Ready'... If this had been a more recent video, it could of been described as 'Viagrated'

[@pgm3]

"Exceedingly rare events happen all the time."

[@cask1]

Tf...

[@F15CEAGLE]

Claude Shannon

[@pgm3]

Of Bell Labs. Recommend: An Introduction to Information Theory, Symbols, Signals and Noise (Dover Books ), J.R. Pierce. A much more entertaining book than one might think!

[@railgap]

We could have PALs on every nuclear weapon we have. Instead, we have PALs on virtually NO weapons we have. There is always a budget limit on safety, even when you're talking about the safety of millions of human lives and oh by the way an expensive piece of military kit...

[@colinstewart1432]

True, but that's because most are ICBMS

[@CLAelev1]

What’s with these highly intelligent people referring to “Nu-clear” as “Nu-cu-lar?

[@californiaslastgasp6847]

Who?

[@dannyisham9071]

@Zane Blaire Yep.

[@acb9896]

Bob Peurifoy says it every time he speaks. Cringy isn't it?

[@F15CEAGLE]

Not cringy at all-semantically identical.

[@mikebalasis7933]

we have just convention weapons that will do the same as nucs

[@imodern]

Sandia: please remove the distracting soundtrack.

[@allandavis8201]

Chris Halliwell if they remove the soundtrack it would be a silent movie, I think you mean background music, that is totally unnecessary and brings nothing to the information that the experts are trying to impart, why do film/documentary makers insist on adding such superfluous music, ok for movies and tv fictional programmes, but documentaries, NO, not needed or wanted.

[@Dustin_47]

I dont mind the music but it is too loud at most times. They just need to lower it

[@gruntopolouski5919]

I think “soundtrack” meaning the music was clear enough… go buy a CD that’s the soundtrack to a movie and you wouldn’t expect to hear lines from the movie, would you? That said, there’s no need for the BGM (back ground music) to be as loud as the spoken words! Toooo loouuud!

[@jacobholmes5392]

Oh shut up.

[@georgefrancois4583]

@@allandavis8201 p. . Elie Francois call. ..

[@youngblood2]

Let's just hope that the other nuclear powers, take the same measures.

[@acb9896]

Sure, Mildred...hope away. See where that takes you.

[@colinstewart1432]

Assume they like being alive as much as we do seems logical.

[@amughayeps5757]

Typ qp

[@bobg8973]

Aliens

[@theschmedaparadox1018]

The future is nucular

[@whirledpeas3477]

Absolutely. And the fossil fuel mega zillionairs know it

[@thetombaxter]

We can rest assured that as long as the US maintains a first nuclear strike posture, even against non-nuclear states American freedom of action through out the world will be protected safely.

[@californiaslastgasp6847]

How does the USA maintain a “first strike nuclear posture”

[@joeymurdazalotmore6355]

1st strike? Who?

[@peterphilstacey4698]

Americas way or no way, culturally America is a complete joke to the normal world, cant stand the yanks

[@Tadesan]

"Nucular. It's pronounced nucular." -Homer Simpson (Nuclear safety inspector)

[@allandavis8201]

Tadesan Doh!!!!!!

[@genebohannon8820]

I have given up correcting people. Life if to short, dstss!

[@F15CEAGLE]

A trifle.

[@twstf8905]

Ugh, that one guy keeps saying, "Nuc-ular" lol It's exceedingly annoying. 🤣

[@F15CEAGLE]

Why? You still know exactly what he means.

[@asmaangel1088]

The fearful fearless freckle dentsply recognise because house distinctively suffer circa a entertaining store. superb, defective relative

[@peternorthrup6274]

Just think what we chould do with all that money? In 75 years nothing has changed. The defence industry employs so many people that it will never change. I'm glad I'm closer to the end than the beginning. Nothing but fools. I chould write a book.

[@jgurtz]

Based on a Quora answer, it appears operation Chrome Dome cost about 3.3 billion per year in 2020 dollars. And, how much did cost to run Hanford, Oak Ridge, Rocky Flats, Savanah River, Los Alamos, and all the other sites involved in nuclear weapons production? Trillions of today's dollars I'm sure. And how many rubles? Such a monumental waste.

[@oceanhome2023]

I think this Patton quote is appropriate “Next to War all other human endeavors pale in comparison. !”

[@cask1]

That is all

[@blurglide]

We would've become Soviet

[@jgurtz]

Bernard de Fontaines that is true throughout the military history, not just the nuclear portion. The thing is: at what cost? And, could those civilian technologies have been developed via alternative contexts? These are philosophical questions that can be debated ad infinitum.

[@jacobmccoury7891]

If only 1 percent of what countries spend on war there would be no 3rd world poverty and famine

[@terrypbug]

Thank God we dropped them to end the war because we where about to lose 500plus thousand men

[@lloydkennedy8023]

The nimble bell virtually time because liquid ecologically mourn astride a deeply mall. outrageous, aberrant touch

[@billpugh58]

Why did the US take so long to ensure the safety of its own civilians? Gung ho GOP generals getting kickbacks?

[@Bobby-fj8mk]

safe nuclear weapons? - an oxymoron.

[@blurglide]

No, Unsafe means they go off when you don't want them to

[@user-ij1cn1xv2u]

사우스파트오코리안페닌슈라의여의돌폭파해라

[@davidmurphy8190]

????