Operation Crossroads nuclear bomb test "Able" at Bikini Atoll, Marshall Islands in the Pacific Ocean. Aerial view of atoll. White light spreads due to blast. Shock waves in the lagoon. Ships grouped together at anchor. Blast goes off amid ships as it throws out a huge shock wave in all directions. Mushroom cloud forms immediately over the ships.
Preparation for Operation Crossroads at Bikini Atoll in the Marshall Islands. A U.S. Air Base on the Island. Planes parked in a row at the base. Buildings and hangar in the background.
USS Shangri La (CV-8) for Operation crossroads at Bikini Atoll in the Marshall Isalnds. A small boat with a U.S. flag leaves from the side of USS Shangri La. The name Shangri La written on the ship.
USS Shangri La (CV-38) for Operation crossroads at Bikini Atoll in the Marshall Islands. Landing Signal Officer (LSO) signals with paddles. A man looks with binoculars. 20 mm gun mounted in the foreground. Landing Signal Officer gives the plane a wave-off. U.S. Navy F6F Hellcat aircraft gets signal and lands. LSO signals with paddles to F6F. It lands on the flight deck in the background. F6Fs make landings on the flight deck of the Shangri La.
Buildings of the Chicago University, Chicago. Metallurgical Laboratory in the university campus. Eckhart Hall in the foreground. Ryerson Hall Physical Laboratory in the background. A man comes out from the entrance to Ekhart Hall. Lettering 'Eckhart Hall' above the entrance.
Men walking towards the West Stands of Stagg Field, where the Institute for the Study of Metals, occupies the southern half of the abandoned stands. To the North, where the center of the building protrudes toward Ellis Avenue, is the squash court area in which the famous Chicago Pile number 1 was built, and achieved controlled, sustained nuclear fission, on December 2, 1942. Scene shifts to different area where a sign reads: "5655, Institute for the Study of Metals, Delivery Entrance." Scene shifts again, to Dr. Enrico Fermi and two assistants in front of a facsimile of the Chicago Pile 1. One assistant holds a simulated "control rod" that he "withdraws" from from the pile, while Dr. Fermi glances at a geiger counter and makes notes in a book. This is repeated for several takes, including one taken much closer. Dr.Fermi and his assistant smile as they take these actions. The second assistant, sits at a desk, where a slide rule is visible, and makes notes in a book. A large geiger counter is seen with lights flashing. Above the lights the counter is labeled "Interpolation," and the numbers: 1,2,4,16, and 32 appear above the lights, respectively. Dr. Fermi is then seen in another part of the lab, where he is making adjustments on some unseen device and annotating a book. Piping of various sizes is seen in background. He repeats these actions a number of times for the camera.