From a global security symbol to some of the most intense moments in human history, here
are 9 facts about the Doomsday Clock
Number 9 What Is It?
The Doomsday Clock is a symbolic representation of how close humanity is to a global catastrophe.
It’s not meant to predict doomsday events but rather to raise worldwide awareness towards
looming threats.
The Doomsday Clock is universally recognized as a metaphor for man-made dangers, in which
“midnight” represents the culmination of a hypothetical doomsday scenario.
Number 8 How Does It Work?
The Doomsday Clock doesn’t work like a conventional time keeping device, as it can be set both
closer and farther away from midnight.
This has happened several times throughout its history, in accordance with global threats
and the political landscape.
The closer the clock is set to midnight, the more significant the threat level is.
The purpose of the setting is to determine the degree of urgency in addressing issues
of global security.
These include unstable political regimes, military conflicts, nuclear weapons, disruptive
technologies or climate change.
Quiz Question Before we move on, answer this question.
The clock’s setting has been changed 23 times since 1947.
Where does it stand at the moment? a.
10 minutes to midnight b. 8 minutes to midnight
c. 5 minutes to midnight d.
2 minutes to midnight Let us know what you think in the comments
section below and stay tuned to find out the right answer.
Number 7 Who Operates It?
Each January the setting of the clock is announced by the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists.
It’s a nonprofit organization that periodically reviews the trends and implications of global
events and how they pertain to matters of security.
The Bulletin’s Science and Security Board meet in person twice a year while various
subcommittees hold meetings more frequently.
The Board is composed of experts, all of whom are recognized as leaders in their fields.
Prior to discussing the clock’s latest setting the Bulletin hosts an annual meeting and a
dinner in Chicago, both of which are open to the public.
Number 6 Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists started
out as a magazine founded by biophysicist Eugene Rabinowitch and fellow physicist Hyman
Goldsmith.
It’s been publishing continuously since 1945, after the atomic bombings of Hiroshima
and Nagasaki.
Its founders wanted to inform the public regarding the “horrendous reality of nuclear weapons”
and how they might shape the future of humanity.
The Bulletin’s objective is also to help people understand the realities of the scientific
age, with an emphasis on nuclear energy and, more recently, climate change and disruptive
technologies.
Additionally, it serves as an international forum for opinions on how to best deal with
any growing global concerns.
The Doomsday Clock is a staple of the Bulletin and the most visited feature on
its website.
Number 5 When Was It Created?
Hyman Goldsmith, one of the Bulletin’s founding fathers, asked artist Myrtle Langsdorf to
design a cover for the June 1947 issue of the magazine.
She chose to represent it as a clock, symbolizing the impending dangers of nuclear weapons.
Similar to a countdown it suggests that destruction will occur naturally unless the proper measures
are taken to stop it.
The clock’s initial setting was 7 minutes to midnight due to the looming nuclear threats
at the dawn of the Cold War.
Two years later, the clock was moved at three minutes to midnight following the Soviet Union
testing its first atomic bomb.
Within this context, the nuclear arms race had officially begun.
Number 4 Farthest Setting The Doomsday Clock’s farthest setting was
17 minutes to midnight, in 1991.
In July of that year the US and the Soviet Union signed the first Strategic Arms Reduction
Treaty, which would later be known as START I.
It remains the largest and most complex arms control treaty in history.
Following a series of protests and revolutions in Soviet-controlled countries, the Soviet
Union dissolved later that year.
The Supreme Soviet, the Union’s highest legal body, voted the USSR out of existence
on December 26, 1991.
The end of the Cold War thus brought about the farthest setting of the Doomsday Clock
hence the lowest threat level in its existence.
Number 3 Manhattan Project Connection A number of people that were behind the Bulletin
and the Doomsday Clock had also been part of the Manhattan Project.
This was the research and development program that produced the first nuclear weapons during
World War II.
Eugene Rabinowitch, the Bulletin’s co-founder, worked in the project’s Metallurgical Laboratory,
in Chicago.
He also co-authored the Franck Report, of June 1945.
It recommended that control of nuclear energy should be civilian rather than military.
The report also suggested that the US should test its atomic bombs before world leaders
prior to using them in combat.
These concerns became the guiding principles behind the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists.
Myrtle Langsdorf, the artist who designed the clock, was married to Alexander Langsdorf
Jr.
He also worked on the Manhattan Project, alongside Enrico Fermi, the “father of the atomic
bomb”.
In 1942, Fermi completed the first sustained nuclear reaction.
Langsdorf was among the designers of the first nuclear reactors.
Langsdorf managed to produce a plutonium sample that was used in Trinity, the first detonation
of a nuclear device.
He urged President Truman not to use it against the Japanese, but, nevertheless, a plutonium-based
bomb was later dropped on Nagasaki.
Quiz Answer So, where does the clock stand as of 2019?
The right answer is d, 2 minutes to midnight.
The setting, which matches that of 1953, is the closest to midnight in the clock’s history.
It reflects a global failure to address issues of climate change and nuclear tensions.
The setting also takes into account the undermining of democracy through information warfare as
well as dangers from technologies like synthetic biology and artificial intelligence.
Number 2 Threats Historically, the most significant swings
in the Doomsday Clock have been largely influenced by nuclear activity.
The most recent setting has been attributed to several major factors, which include some
familiar threats.
In 2019, the US and Russia both formally retreated from the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces
Treaty.
The treaty banned all of the nations’ use of land-based cruise missiles, ballistic missiles
and missile launchers within the ranges of 310 to 3,420 miles.
The Bulletin also claims that nuclear-armed states have been committed to modernizing
their capabilities while the North Korean nuclear issue has remained largely unresolved.
The 2019 Doomsday Clock statement claims that the US has abandoned its efforts of leading
the world in reducing fossil fuel use.
It also notes a rise in recent years of global carbon dioxide emissions.
The statement describes the intentional corruption of the information ecosystem that civilization
depends on.
Within this context, concepts like the truth and fake news have become interchangeable,
thus contributing to an already tense global situation.
Number 1 1953 Setting and the H-Bomb Within Operation Ivy, the US had successfully
tested its first hydrogen bomb, on November 1, 1952.
These second-generation nuclear weapons were much more powerful than their predecessors.
At the primary stage they used a fission reaction, fuelled by plutonium or uranium.
This triggered a secondary stage fusion reaction, fueled by hydrogen isotopes, which gave the
thermonuclear weapon its common name.
Just so you don’t get those mixed up, fission is when the nucleus of an atom is split while
fusion means atomic nuclei are combined.
The bomb used in Ivy Mike, the first successful H-bomb test, had about 500 times the yield
of the one dropped on Nagasaki.
The Soviets wouldn’t test a true hydrogen bomb until 1955.
Nevertheless, in August 1953, they detonated a bomb that was ten times more powerful than
any of the previous Soviet tests.
Among these growing concerns, the clock got its closest setting yet, at 2 minutes to midnight.
It was later matched in 2018 and remains unchanged as of the making of this video.
Thanks for watching!
If the world was about to end tomorrow, would you want to know about it or be kept in the
dark?
Let us know in the comments section below!