Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1951-01-29
Atomic Blast No. Il
Arouses Speculation
On Weapons Tested
By the Associated Press

LAS VEGAS, New, Jan. o.
What was the Government testing
in the two atomic explosions near
here over the week end, and why
was the second blast so much
greater than the first?
The fact that the Atomic Energy
Commission would disclose no de-
tails on history's 10th and 18th
major atomic outbursts has in
tensif1ed speculation.
The first explosion Saturday
morning at the new Acc testing
range 40 miles north of here
didn't attract much attention.
Most citizens slept through it.
But yesterday mornings thunder
GUS sunburst was heard and felt
as far away as Cedar City, Utah,
It's miles from the testing area.
Las Vegas Awakened.
AS to what the Acc was up to,
many persons said that probably
the Government would not again
test the same types of atomic
weapons used or tested in previous
blasts. Others reasoned that the
difference in intensity of blasts
10 and II means that different
types OF weapons, possibly such
as atomic warheads or atomic
Shells. were being studied.
Yesterday hundreds of rudely-
awakened witnesses saw a ire
mendous white flash in the sky.
followed closely by a DINNER
orange one. The Civil Aeronauticsl
Administration had ordered all
planes out of the air. for seven
hours in Southwest Nevada area
One citizen said lit looked like
noon even though it was predawn.
Found No Radioactivity.
All the Acc would say immedi-
ately was that this was atomic
explosion No. II, and that sur
vey by its technicians indicated
no radioactivity within a 15O-mile
radius Of blast No. 10 on Saturday.
The other nine nuclear blasts
listed by the Acc:
| l. The Alamagordo, IN. Mex.)
explosion on July 16, 1945.
2. Hiroshima, August 6, 1945.
3. Nagasaki. August 9, 1945.
! 4 and 5. Bikini lagoon in the
spring and summer of 1916.
6, 7 and 8. EniWetok, announced
May II, 1913.
| 9. Somewhere in Russia. An
nounced by President Truman
September %, 1949.
The Acc said less than three
weeks ago it was getting ready
Ito tickle the dragons tail" on
the new Nevada range, and more
experiments are probably in the
offing.
Seismograph Recorded Blasts.
Before the weekend blasting,
the atomic scientists had put on a
dry run" test last Wednesday
which didn't cause too much COM
motion. Both the Saturday and
Sunday punches were recorded on
the California Institute of Tech
nology seismograph at Pasadena.
Calf, 800 miles away.
Burglar alarms in North Las
Vegas were set off by yesterdays
detonation, but no property dam
age was reported. Citizens gen.
orally were not pleased. The
police department got four calls
per minute for a half hour.
An Acc spokesman said that
the experimenters are all quite
happy" with results of their tests,
He denied that the hydrogen
bomb was being tried out, but
that still left other possibilities
for speculation.
Variety of Weapons.
On January %, Senator Nc
Mahon, Democrat. of Connecticut,
chairman of the Senate-House
Atomic Committee. said progress
is being made in developing a
variety of atomic weapons. It
was disclosed last year that the
United States has baby atomic
bombs small enough to be car
ried by jet fighter bombers, and
that the Army has developed
atomic Warheads for guided mis-
slles and atomic shells which
could be fired by artillery.
In a report to Congress, Louis
johnson, then Secretary of De-
Tense, put it:
Atomic weapons are no longer
a small number of bombs of a
single size and type to be used
only strategically on a carefully
selected target.
"A variety of weapons is under
development which may in the
near future have military sig
nificance both tactically and
strategically."
| Whatever it is being tested.
Las Vegans agree, it's pretty
tough to take before breakfast.