in the picture we are about to say we must remember that the explosive power of atomic bombs used in this test was in the kiloton range the explosive power of today's hydrogen bomb is measured in terms of mega what does that mean to us it's a matter of practical application it takes one thousand tons to equal one megaton and by applying the scaling laws the proportionate comparative the twenty megaton bomb therefore would be six hundred sixty seven times as strong as a thirty kiloton bomb the relationship between distance for any given pressure and the size of nuclear weapons follows the cube root scaling law so theoretically hydrogen bomb of twenty megatons at approximately eight and a half miles would have about the same destructive power as an atomic bomb or thirty kill tonge at one mile in this test many of the structures were approximately one mile from ground zero in the case of a twenty megaton h bomb explosion most of these structures undoubtedly would be obliterated and actually at a distance of eight and a half to nine miles from ground zero with the longer duration of blast pressure we could expect to find conditions even more severe than those that run a mile from ground zero in this fashion that's atomic test although detecting the surveyor effect of a nuclear weapon does not reflect the extent and severity of destruction that would but as a reporter through the eyes of the average american man and woman i arrived a civil defense headquarters the day before the explosion with scheduled to take place and checked in at one with the official who was to brief me about the  to give me a perspective of the entire layout a member of the civil defense staff showed me a carefully prepared model of the site that scope of the test and the detailed care with which it had been planned and made me as i listen to the explanation we begin with the question of shelter or shelter might save our lives if we were far enough away from ground zero if so what kinds of shelter are effective several kinds are to be tested from elaborate industrial shelters to the box type shelter in the corner room of the basement this type would give more room for a family especially if it were necessary to remain there for several days in this frame house without a basement at the forty seven hundred foot line we will test a bathroom shelter built of reinforced concrete the entrance door and outside window covering are designed to resist blast i asked about the p transformers and complete substations are to be tested by the edison institute how will they withstand this blast how long will it take to make repairs how soon can service be reestablished these are things we hope to learn from the p one complete transformer substation has been erected relatively close to the shock tower a second substation and power lines have been placed at a much greater distance from the towers thinking about you during an atomic attack i asked about radio towers two kinds are to be tested one tower is self supporting without guy wires the other has supporting cables both types are very common nearby a complete radio transmitter will actually broadcast from tape before the shock to be picked up by radios in the test houses most liquefied petroleum and natural gas facilities will be tested when the fittings and connections stand the test will there be fires all equipment is in stone and checked by technical experts from lp gas association and the american gas association an eighteen thousand gallon supply slab second a two storey masonry with basement constructed of brick backed with four inch cinder blocks fired a house of eight inch concrete blocks reinforced with steel the fourth type is a single storey ramble made of precast lightweight concrete walls and roof panels were joined by welding steel luggage that protest the five hundred foot line is a redesigned house similar to one previously tested this new design provides additional strength at a cost increase of approximately ten percent that's the real purpose of testing these houses to find their weak points through the cooperation of the furniture and appliances industries in packaged food that to be tested as a mother and housewife this appealed to me i had several question to ask would food in the average home be safe to eat after a black food testing in operation q is planned to answer this and other vital questions some votes are to be tested in the house stored in the usual way other foods including fresh meat spotter and similar perishables are to be tested just below the level of the ground at three positions along the main test line this will expose the food to high intensity radiation without risking destruction of the containers test items include sterilized foods packaged in cartons metal and glass all will be exposed according to plan to give us the most viable information the night of the actual explosion are rather early in the morning came at last on media hill television equipment was ready to bring the test into home from coast to coast reporters commentators military and civil defen observers all had a purpose to study the result of this explosion at a position a mile forward for media hill is civil defense field exercise group had assembled with their equipment this is the house constructed of reinforced concrete blocks after the explosion although the redesigned two story frame house was severely damaged the structural improvements that strengthen this resistance  considerably as seen here although basement shelters offered some degree of protection they cannot be depended upon completely in potential blast areas the reinforced bathroom shell there was standing intact beneath the ruins of the house so this type also offered some degree of protection equipment had been shaken up but as soon as power was restarted the transmitter resumed broadcasting the eighteen thousand gallon tank of liquefied petroleum gas was undamaged tests show that even the connections  intact the weighing them storage house was scattered across the desert but the consumer power lines and transformers suffered some damage but most of the power poles were still standing or could be repaired and the power substation was not seriously high and edison institute personnel tested the food and cases of canned goods were taken away for laboratory i watched the people eating and realized that mass beating is an important job in civil defense i took a last look at the debris and devastation this time it would only attack a well planned lessons were learned from this task that affect civil defense planning and it must be borne in mind that multi megaton weapons would result in much greater damage over a larger area all these factors must be considered as we