In the first decades of the 20th century, physics was revolutionised with developments in the understanding of the nature of atoms. Starting with scientific breakthroughs of the the 1930s, the Americans put togther an international team was dispatched to help work to counter the assumed Nazi development of Nuclear weapons. In August 1945 two bombs with enormous destructive potential were dropped on Japan. The U.S.S.R started development shortly thereafter with their own and not long after that both countries developed even more powerful fusion weapons called "hydrogen bombs." There have been (at least) four major false alarms, the most recent in 1995, that resulted in the activation of either the US's or Russia's nuclear attack early warning protocols. The notion of using a fission weapon to ignite a process of fusion can be dated back to 1942. At the first major theoretical conference on the development of an atomic bomb directed the majority of the discussion towards the idea of a "Super" bomb that would use the same reactions that powered the Sun itself.
Japanese artist Isao Hashimoto has created a compelling insight into the history of humanity's greatest destructive force. His series of video works began in 2003, with the aim of showing, in his own words, "the fear and folly of nuclear weapons". Hashimoto's undeniably scary time-lapse map of the 2053 nuclear explosions which have taken place between 1945 and 1998, begins with the Manhattan Project’s “Trinity” test near Los Alamos and concluding with Pakistan’s nuclear tests in May of 1998. As the timescale on the animation only reaches 1998, it doesn't include North Korea's two nuclear tests in October 2006 and May 2009 (the legitimacy of both is not 100% clear).
Born in the Kumamoto prefecture, Japan in 1959, Hashimoto worked in the financial industry for 17 years before studying in Tokyo in the department of Arts, Policy and Management, and then getting a job as a curator at the Lalique museum in Hakone, Japan.Hashimoto says: " I created this work for the means of an interface to the people who are yet to know of the extremely grave, but present problem of the world."
One is titled "1945-1998" and shows a history of the world's nuclear explosions. Over the course of fourteen and a half minutes, every single one of the 2053 nuclear tests and explosions that took place between 1945 and 1998 are is plotted on a map. A metronomic beep every second represents months passing, and a different tone indicates explosions from different countries. It starts out slowly, with the Manhattan Project's single test in the US and the two terrible bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki that ended World War II. After a couple of minutes or so, however, once the USSR and Britain entered the nuclear club, the tests really start to build up, reaching a peak of nearly 140 in 1962, and remaining well over 40 each year until the mid-80s. Only two nuclear explosions have ever been detonated offensively, both in 1945. Since then, despite more than 2,000 other tests and billions of dollars having been spent on their development, no nuclear warheads have been used in anger.
Born in the Kumamoto prefecture, Japan in 1959, Hashimoto worked in the financial industry for 17 years before studying in Tokyo in the department of Arts, Policy and Management, and then getting a job as a curator at the Lalique museum in Hakone, Japan.Hashimoto says: " I created this work for the means of an interface to the people who are yet to know of the extremely grave, but present problem of the world."
One is titled "1945-1998" and shows a history of the world's nuclear explosions. Over the course of fourteen and a half minutes, every single one of the 2053 nuclear tests and explosions that took place between 1945 and 1998 are is plotted on a map. A metronomic beep every second represents months passing, and a different tone indicates explosions from different countries. It starts out slowly, with the Manhattan Project's single test in the US and the two terrible bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki that ended World War II. After a couple of minutes or so, however, once the USSR and Britain entered the nuclear club, the tests really start to build up, reaching a peak of nearly 140 in 1962, and remaining well over 40 each year until the mid-80s. Only two nuclear explosions have ever been detonated offensively, both in 1945. Since then, despite more than 2,000 other tests and billions of dollars having been spent on their development, no nuclear warheads have been used in anger.