Research On The U.S. Peaceful Nuclear Program "Project Chariot"(1958-1962)

Since the discovery of radioactive effects in the physics community in the late 19 th century,the use of nuclear technology for the benefit of mankind has become one of the concerns of the physics academic community.After the beginning of World War II,combatant countries such as the United Kingdom,the United States,and Germany invested heavily in the field of nuclear energy research due to military reasons,which led to the huge development of nuclear technology.After the war,the U.S.nuclear physics community began discussing the peaceful uses of nuclear energy in civilian field,and got the support of the federal government.After U.S.President Eisenhower put forward the slogan "Atoms for Peace" in 1956,the United States Atomic Energy Commission and its scientific research unit,the University of California Radiation Laboratory,Livermore Branch,proposed the "Chariot Project" in 1958,they want to excavated a port by an underground nuclear explosion to excavation a port at Cape Thompson on the northern coast of Alaska.And collect nuclear test data to further promote nuclear energy research.As an early project of nuclear energy transferred from military use to civilian use by the US government after the war,The failure of the Project Chariot was once highly regarded by people.In order to successfully implement the Project Chariot,the Atomic Energy Commission,has sent officers to Alaska to lobby many times,trying to gain the support of the local people for the project.However,publicity to promote the project did not go well because of its limited practical civilian value and the potential for environmental disasters such as nuclear contamination pollution.In order to eliminate resistance,the Atomic Energy Commission tried to cooperate with the University of Alaska,and organized experts to research the environment near Cape Thompson in an attempt to demonstrate the harmlessness and feasibility of the chariot plan.However,as the investigation and research progressed,the potential for nuclear contamination and other environmental disasters became more and more obvious.As a result,the Project chariot has been resisted by the aborigines near the implementation site,conscientious scholars,and environmental protection organizations.Some scholars who opposed the Project chariot had sharp conflicts with the Atomic Energy Commission and the University of Alaska,which led to a huge public outcry.The crisis of public opinion forced Atomic Energy Commission to review the chariot program and consider shelving it.The Project Chariot was not actually implemented in the end,but the project,from its inception to its promotion until its discontinuation,has caused widespread and profound effects in history and in a certain scope.Through this process,Alaska Natives groups have further enhanced their awareness of independent rights protection,and the public has a clearer understanding of the significance of nuclear energy use and its possible negative impact,which has created conditions for the development of the civil rights movement and environmental protection movement in the U.S.At the same time,it also impacted the reputation of the U.S.government,especially the Atomic Energy Commission.and provided useful historical experience for people to correctly view the advantages and disadvantages of technological progress and properly handle various contradictions and problems that inevitably arise in the process of technological progress.After the "Sedan" test in 1962 confirmed the serious radiation risks associated with underground nuclear explosions,the Project chariot was discontinued.