You may have seen this item on the calendar for Tuesday, 9 February, at 8 PM.
Last Tuesday I was given a reel of 16 mm cinema film entitled “The Atom — Big Boom”. This was sent to the Dallas Museum of Nature & Science, more than 40 years ago, by the Austral Oil Company, which was one of the participants in the “Gasbuggy” thermonuclear fracking project, and one might reasonably assume that this is the topic of the film, although I’m not 100% sure.
So, what I have to do between now & then is to obtain a working 16 mm sound projector capable of handling the reel. Supposedly DMS used to have one, but it’s nowhere to be found. I’m going to ask around the libraries, & then I may have to resort to Craigslist…
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U-edit will transfer 16mm to DVD at 18 cents per foot.
I’m reasonably certain that my folks used to have a 16mm projector ( Bolex S321 I think); however I haven’t seen it since prior to their move out of the DFW area and the odds they still have it at their home in Arkansas are … slim.
Well, in my distraction whether we had a projector available, I seem to have forgotten to apply for an honorarium, which is too bad, because unless I can borrow one from a library, I’m almost sure to have to pay at least $50 to obtain one. Drat.
I don’t know what regional education service center covers the Dallas area. I think it is over near I-35E and Northwest Highway somewhere. This is the entity that loans films and other equipment to schools and other educational groups. You might contact them to see if they have and if they would let you check out a projector.
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Hmm. Well, in an outburst of exuberance I bought another nuclear science film off eBay. Unexpectedly, all the classrooms are booked on the evening of Tuesday the 23rd. What other date or time makes sense?
OK, I have booked the lecture theatre for 6 to 8 PM on Saturday the 20th. And I am going to apply for honorarium on this one.
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Today I have received “Energy : The Nuclear Alternative”, which appears to be a good long one. I have also ordered a couple of exciter lamps, which should arrive no later than the 19th.
It works! In a flourish of overdramatic orchestral music…
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Hope to see folks there. I’ll be bringing my text materials to support discussion on the topics raised in the films.
I have scheduled a repeat of this class for Tuesday, the 8th of March. This will be in the Purple Classroom, & I will be bringing my own projector.
@Puzzlerf, I hope this is a convenient date.
I have it on my calendar!
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For anyone thinking about coming tonight, as an item of additional interest, I have arranged for a guest speaker. If you want to know more, you’ll have to show up!
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As an interesting sidelight on last night’s discussion, the “Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists”, 1976 September, includes a discussion of plutonium toxicity. Various references are cited, but even the most pessimistic hardly seems to support the idea that 1/20th of a microgram of Pu will cause lung cancer.
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