![]() ![]() After the horrors of the Japanese bombings, it was the duty of science to call for peace and awareness of how easily humanity could bring about its own destruction. Robert Oppenheimer who masterminded the creation of the atomic bomb are well known, even being told in the upcoming film Oppenheimer by Christopher Nolan, but it’s less known that a vast quantity of people who worked on the Manhattan Project actually had no idea what they were working on. The Manhattan Project was a pivotal moment in history, not only because it led to the first ever nuclear weapon tests, but also because mass extinction had now become a genuine concern to those who realised the capability of those weapons. The organisation which oversees the Doomsday Clock is the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, created in 1945 as a response to the atomic bombings of Nagasaki and Hiroshima, and founded by former Manhattan Project scientists. Although much of the Doomsday Clock movement has been affected by politics and nuclear technology, it also considers factors such as climate change, intrusive technology such as cryptocurrency and artificial intelligence. Midnight is symbolic of Doomsday, and the closer the Clock reads, the closer the danger. Put simply, the Doomsday Clock represents the imminence of a global catastrophe caused by humans. But the deeper history and importance of the Doomsday Clock is often lost on the general public, as well as its insight to the human relationship with time. The Doomsday Clock is a concept and a symbol which has been referenced across plenty of media forms - from 2 Minutes to Midnight by Iron Maiden to Doctor Who, it’s quite likely you’ve heard of it before. We’ve covered some pretty strange watches here on Time+Tide, even a bunch which don’t tell the time, but it’s rare that we discuss something that doesn’t physically exist. The Bulletin is also concerned about ”cyber-enabled disinformation” and its threat to democracy, as well as infectious diseases and biosecurity.I/trending 7768 IN-DEPTH: The ominous history of the Doomsday Clock Fergus Nash The climate crisis was also a key concern because of the rise in carbon emissions and extreme weather events. and Russia and noted how China, North Korea, Iran and India have all also expanded their nuclear capabilities in recent years. The explanation took into account the risk of nuclear escalation between the U.S. The group was also influenced by the climate crisis and “the breakdown of global norms and institutions” needed to combat the risks of advanced technology and biological threats like COVID-19. ![]() The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists explained in an announcement Tuesday that the decision to move the clock’s hands stems largely from the Russian invasion of Ukraine almost a year ago and the increased risk of nuclear escalation. Decisions to move the clock’s hands rest with the Bulletin’s Science and Security Board who consult with experts across the organization’s scopes of science, technology and risk assessment, including Nobel laureates, scholars and policy analysts. The clock had stayed at 100 seconds in 20. Secretary General, helped unveil it then and added: “Leaders did not heed the Doomsday Clock’s warnings in 2020. The clock’s hands most recently inched close to disaster in 2020, at 100 seconds to midnight, due to geopolitical tensions and climate crises. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |