Research Projects

Fizeau Historic Evaluation

PI: William Johnson

Project Period: January 1999 - November 2004

Funded by: Department of Energy, National Nuclear Security Administration, Nevada Operations Office

Right: Above-ground detonation of the Fizeau nuclear device, Nevada Test Site.

Keywords: Cold War, historic preservation, nuclear weapons testing

Project Description

Fizeau (pronounced Fizz-oh) was a nuclear device detonated on the Nevada Test Site on September 14, 1957. It was named after the French physicist, Armand-Hippolyte-Louis Fizeau — the first scientist to determine experimentally the velocity of light. Instrumentation for the test included numerous data collectors to determine yield and performance. Some of the most sensitive collectors were placed in an underground, concrete bunker with 10-ft thick walls. A 4-6 ton bell-cap, covered by 10 ft of earth, secured its entry. The strength of the shot measured 11 kilotons (which converts roughly to 22 million pounds of TNT). Scientists from Sandia National Laboratory returned to the bunker about a month afterwards. The earth-covering was swept away but the bell-cap was in place as was all the instrumentation inside the bunker (including oscilloscopes, oscillographs, erase-type recorders, etc.). Years later, one of the original members of the Sandia team, Emery Whitlow, returned to the bunker to find that the motor generators were still fully operational and all equipment remained intact. Last year, while writing his memoirs, Whitlow described the condition of the bunker and instrumentation. A coalition formed between the U.S. Department of Energy, National Nuclear Security Administration, Nevada Operations Office (NNSA/NV), Sandia and several contractors (including DRI) to access the bunker and retrieve some of the instrumentation for future display. Initially, there was disappointment. A spate of cleaning (most probably from the 1980s) removed the motor generators, oscilloscopes, oscillographs, erase-type recorders and more. However, one of the instrumentation packages — a spring-loaded, 7-sided construct — remained relatively unscathed. It was retrieved and will be placed on display in the NNSA/NV's new exhibition center in Las Vegas, Nevada. DRI will complete a historic evaluation of the bunker and the retrieved package for eligibility to the National Register of Historic Places.

Read more about this project as featured in the DRI News Spring 2002 edition.

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