AV Geeks 16mm Lunch 6-15-2026

Hello everybody. Welcome to the AV Geeks 16 mm streaming lunch, whatever. Uh so Jeremy, uh who's often in the in the uh comments, he was like, "What do you call your show?" and I was like, "I don't know. It kind of depends on the day and what is rolling off my tongue at the moment. It is certainly this a 16 mm lunch, but sometimes I say it's a streaming show. I don't know. A lot of different things. All right. Uh today we are going to be watching some films um from different sources. Our friend old friend Greg Pierce is back from Orgone Cinema. And um so he's going to be scanning some stuff and I'll be showing some things that he's been scanning. He's also donating a bunch of films to us. So Iana is going through and cataloging that stuff. So there'll be lots of films that just showed up today uh that we'll be going through this week. Anyhoo uh happy birthday Rick. Um here's just for you. Here's a film about underground cables. Enjoy. >> [music] [music] [music] >> The scene here is San Francisco Harbor. [music] The ship has just arrived from Baltimore through the Panama Canal bringing in its cargo the six reels of submarine telephone cable that we see being transferred to a waiting barge. The end of the long journey from the eastern [music] factories near for the final resting place of these cable circuits is to be the floor of San Francisco [music] Bay. In fact these are the actual circuits that were planned to serve the artificial island that was made to rise from these historic waters as a home for the Golden Gate International Exposition. And after serving the crowds thronging this appealing panorama of foreign and domestic attractions, these same circuits will be part of [music] a great new cable library. This library will join the others already winding beneath the surface of the bay to bring the voice of America to this busy port on our western shore. There's an interesting engineering story in this sequence of pictures, but I see in them another and a special significance and that is the extraordinary skill and technique that is mobilized in this modern day to combat a small but deadly peril to set circuits as these, a single drop of water. Yes, it is of vital importance to prevent the entry of a single drop for if one drop can enter so can another and another and another until the electrical transmission of speech is impossible. So underwater circuits must be provided by the cable makers with unusual protection both against leakage and against accident. >> [music] [music] [music] >> The camera's lens gives us a close look at this protection as it pictures two cable lengths being spliced together. The splicing job itself is no small task. The engineers have anticipated the needs of the coming years and called for 1,056 wires, each wire separately insulated. There's a boiling out process with petrolatum to remove every trace of moisture and then the lead sleeve is pulled over the splice and there's some mighty hot lead to handle as the sleeve is made part of the cable's smooth and pliable metal coat. This looks like a workmanlike job. But these cable men aren't yet satisfied that the splices are tight. They're going to conduct a most important testing investigation. A hole is made in the lead. Nitrogen gas at 20 lbs pressure per square inch is forced through the hole to surround the wires just placed. And then an extremely unromantic substance comes into use, plain everyday soap suds. But the soap suds are most effective here. For if gas is escaping, there will be soap bubbles to mark the spot. The job we are watching is pronounced good. The double armoring is the vitally essential precaution. Nothing on the bottom like a dragging anchor for example can scrape or break the sheeting of the circuits and let the water in. And since the corrosive effect of salt water on metal is a peril to be guarded against, the armor gets two final overcoats of tar treated jute to make corrosion very, very slow. Finally, about 2 miles of armored cable is coiled [music] on the big drum ready for its underwater resting place on the floor of the bay. One of the piers of the Bay Bridge that stretches more than 8 miles over land and water to link San Francisco and Oakland is the midway point for uniting two long underwater sections. A diver first goes overboard to make sure that all goes well in placing the pier end of the cable. And when he's back [music] on board with his report, there's nothing more to do except head for the terminal on the distant shore while the cable disappears in the churning waters the barge is awake. So look out Father Neptune down there in your underwater kingdom. >> [music] >> Here come 1056 wires. There's no use trying to get them wet for I don't think it [music] can be done. >> [music] >> Pictured here is a telephone truck parked in the field. That's not unusual in itself. But here's an activity that does seem a bit out of the ordinary. Can it be that we are seeing the sections of an oversized fishing pole being joined together? Yes, that's just what it is, an oversized fishing pole, but not of the kind popularized with that famous old angler Isaac Walton. This particular pole is in reality a radio antenna that will fish telephone messages out of the air, and it will also cast them into the air. What we're watching is a routine test of a portable transmitting and receiving radio unit that makes it possible to combine radio and wire telephony for communication purposes. An important use of the apparatus might be in such emergencies as when a hurricane or a flood, for example, has brought about a gap in the wire facilities. Since communication at such times is all important, the engineers set out to develop this radio bridge which will span the gap while the wire lines are being restored. The entire equipment weighs only a few hundred pounds and can obtain power for its operation from the gasoline-driven generator in case other power is not available. There is a combined radio transmitter and receiver of special design that needs only simple adjustments to be ready for service. A third unit for switching and general control completes the compact and portable outfit. In a few minutes after reaching a locality where service has been interrupted, the antenna is in place and connections made with the telephone wires at the point of the break. And then station, well, let's call it station p h o n e, is ready to go on the air, ready to communicate with a similar unit that is waiting for messages across the flooded valley, a storm-swept mountain range, or in some suddenly isolated community, or perhaps at an emergency relief station such as a Red Cross field hospital. The usefulness of portable emergency equipment was abundantly demonstrated in the New England hurricane of 1938. Many towns were completely isolated. But in several instances, telephone engineers with hastily improvised apparatus were able to establish these radio links so that combined radio and wire communication would connect the stricken communities with the world outside. And so again, we find science and engineering in important cooperation to provide a means for getting the message through under unusual emergency conditions. These pictures [music] therefore bring us good news indeed. >> [music] >> Here are scenes reminding us again [music] that the place to learn about the interests of a people is where they gather in large and revealing numbers. For anyone curious about our national enthusiasms, our pleasures, and our relaxations, the obvious and wise procedure is to go where they are spontaneously displayed. To walk with the jostling throngs, to follow the crowd to some stadium for example, where collegiate gladiators battle amid modern football [music] pageantry, or to a ballpark filled with ardent admirers of our national pastime, >> [music] >> or to the scene of exciting water sports like this regatta along Maryland's historic shore, where the breeze is blowing keen and fresh and the skippers have met to match their wits and their skill. And someone is following this crowd. It's the telephone company experimenting with a trailer equipped with telephone booths that can be towed far out in the country where people may assemble for a few hours and then disappear. Here it comes with the installer's car close behind, so that the trailer can quickly be [music] connected with nearby wires. After that is done, and with Miss Maryland presiding, it's all ready for those who may have need for its convenient presence. >> [music] >> As for the great groups of our population to whom agriculture is [music] life's major adventure, there's no better place to become acquainted with them than the fairs which attract thousands from both countryside and town. And since in talkative America, means of communication are essential [music] for such gatherings, some portable telephones in a trailer such as we see here being made ready for an Ohio fair may prove to be just what the visitors require. At any rate, the idea is getting a test in the best of all laboratories, that of actual use. Only a half hour's work is needed to get the wires up. Then, the trailer is an integral part of the country's telephone system, and Miss Ohio can put through calls just as though from a railroad station or hotel. So, here is one more modern note in the scene that inevitably changes [music] with the years, but the carnival spirit still surrounds it, that alluring call that generations have heard and welcomed, that intriguing, inviting summons, "Hi-ho, come to the fair!" Let us be glad that these blithe and lively [music] institutions still offer the traditional and fascinating blend of information, entertainment, amusement, adventure. Who would alter the pleasant panorama that promises to care-worn age or carefree youth so much of surprise and novelty and fun? [music] What more congenial place for horse lovers than the grandstand where they can thrill to the sight of beautiful runners as they round the track [music] in the poetry of a thrilling race. Of course, there are serious and enlightening exhibits to show important developments in agriculture. But important developments in merry-go-rounds need investigation, too, with side shows to spice the dish. Aristocrats of barn and barnyard brought many a mile in the quest of a blue ribbon, passing review before critical judges of pulchritude and pedigree. But everywhere is the constant evidence that the farm's best products are on two legs, not four. Yes, come to the fair, learn about sturdy rural America, Mr. and Mrs., master and miss, on the holiday that reveals so perfectly their friendliness, >> [music] >> their accomplishments, their hopes. I thank you. >> [music] >> Wow, that was a lot of things. It wasn't just about under uh ground cables. It was about uh all sorts of interesting telecommunication things. This next film, I I think I I was like, "Yeah, I think I know what this film is." And so I never We scanned it like last year and I never showed it. But it it's a little crazy. I mean, I still think the subject matter is probably boring, but it it's a little crazy. So, here's uh periodic functions. Enjoy. >> demonstration. Proof that they un forces of the universe can be made to respond to the will of man. And now I cover the queen's favorite. I concentrate. Presto. Change. Ah, but that is nothing. I will now demonstrate the superiority of mind over matter. Mere science can be bent to the will of man. I will now produce an electric generator. Presto. Change. And over here another generator. Presto. Change. Now I will bring them both to life. First one here. And the second here. And here I will produce a voltmeter. Presto. Change. For the benefit of skeptics, I will show you the voltage they produce. This one 60. And this one 60. I will now connect both generators to the voltmeter. And of course you will expect to read 130 V. >> You're wrong. >> Huh? >> You mean 120 V. >> So, it's 120 V. >> I'm a 10-V liar. >> I will now connect both generators. I now concentrate on the voltmeter. It cannot read 120 now because I wish it to read 85. >> What a phony. You're a hell of a seer. What makes you think you can get away with stuff like that? That isn't magic. That's a simple scientific fact. Didn't you ever hear of a periodic function? >> What's that? >> Here, let me show you a thing or two. Where's your crystal ball? >> Simple. Very simple. Presto. Change. >> Very good. Very good. >> Just one moment, please. Where is your membership card in the Magicians' Union? >> I don't need one. This stuff isn't magic. Now, hold on to your turban, Swami. We're going for a ride into the strange world of fact. But first, I need a paper and a pencil. >> Here, let me do that. It's one of my best tricks. How about black paper? Okay? And a pencil that makes white lines? >> Fine. Now, let me show you what a periodic function is. First, a point. Next, a vector. Now, using the vector as a radius, draw a circle. Here we are back at the starting point, which we will call zero. Now, we'll turn the vector and form an angle, say one of 30°. Next, we draw a line from the point of the vector perpendicular to the zero line. Notice that this perpendicular line changes in length as the angle of the vector changes. Since the length of the line depends upon the size of the angle, we can say that its length is a function of the angle. If we call the angle at the center of the circle A, then the sine of the angle A is equal to BC divided by AB. We will call the length of the vector AB one. Then we can say that this line BC is the sine of the angle. Any sine measured in the upper half of the circle is positive. Any sine measured in the lower half is negative. As the vector makes a complete revolution, the sine increases, then decreases to zero. Then begins to increase in a negative direction, and finally decreases to zero again. All this in one revolution. If the vector makes another turn, the same values of the sine are repeated. A function which repeats itself again and again as the sign does is called a periodic function. Like the waves of the sea that occur time and time again. Each one is pretty much like the other. So even waves of the sea are periodic. >> And now that we know what periodic functions are let me ask you one. What are they good for? >> I'll show you by going back to our rotating vector. That functions which repeat themselves time after time can be diagrammed or plotted to show their values throughout these periods of time. To simplify the job of plotting we'll attach a writer to the vector. When the vector turns the writer moves up and down. If we place a scale alongside the arm of the writer we can use the scale to read the sign of any angle. The center of the scale is marked zero. Measurements above the zero are positive. Those below negative. When the vector is at zero the sign is zero as shown on the scale. When the vector is at 90 degrees the sign is plus one. When the vector is at 180 degrees the sign is again zero. And when the vector is at 270, the sign is minus one. With this scale, we can read off the sign of any angle. Let's turn the vector to 30°. And here's the sign of 30°. .5. We can read the values of the signs of other angles just as well. The sign of 60° is about .87. Now, let's put a pencil on the arm, then some graph paper under the pencil. The graph paper is scaled off in degrees just as the circle made by the rotating vector. Now, we can plot the values of the signs of the angles on paper. In order to do this, we must move the paper at a constant speed. In this way, time is measured along the horizontal axis. Now, let's continue. We'll turn the vector to 30° and stop a moment. If we take the sign of the angle and move it up to the graph, it fits. >> [snorts] >> We can do the same with 60°. And 90°. And so on all the way round. We see that the shape of the wave is determined by the signs of the angles. Why we call it a sine wave. Well, >> What's this sign business got to do with me? A peaceful man trying to make an honest dollar. >> It's got something to do with your generator. Let's take a look at a wide open one instead of a closed up secret generator like yours. Notice that the rotor of the generator turns like our vector. Now we need an oscilloscope. >> Oscillo who? >> Oscilloscope. This instrument will show the waves made by the generator. We'll connect the generator to it. And then start up the generator and we get a sine wave. >> How come? >> Take a look in your crystal ball again. The lines of force run from one field magnet to the other. So that when the rotor is turning through this part of the field, it's cutting across only a few lines and producing a small voltage. But when it reaches this part of the field, it cuts across many lines and produces a higher voltage. This scale will show the variations in voltage as the generator makes one revolution. We can plot these variations by marking them on a moving paper. And they turn out to be a sine wave. As you know, all generators are not alike. They may differ in the voltages they produce. Let's compare this generator with a larger one. If we turn both rotors at the same speed, we get a difference in voltage, which is shown by a difference in amplitude of the sine waves. Generators may also differ in frequency. Here are two generators that produce the same voltage, but one must turn twice as fast as the other to do it. Each complete wave is called a cycle. Since the lower generator completes two cycles, while the upper generator completes only one cycle, we say that the frequency of the lower generator is twice that of the upper one. Now there's a third difference between generators. And that's the one you didn't reckon with, Swami. You had two generators producing the same voltage and having the same frequency. If we run the rotors of these two generators in phase, that is, if we start them at the same place and run them at the same speed, we will get identical sine waves. We can add the voltages of these two generators. First, let's put in on the lower wave the signs that determine its shape. To get the combined voltages of the two generators, we'll add the signs of the lower wave to the top wave. We get a resultant that is twice as high as either one. So, if this wave represents 60 V and this one another 60 V, >> [snorts] >> then the resultant must represent 120 V because it's twice as high. But, if we start one rotor 180° ahead of the other and run them at the same speed, we get waves like this. Now, look what happens when we add them. The two waves, >> [snorts] >> each representing 60 V, cancel each other out. And the result is no voltage at all. When one rotor is ahead of the other, the angle between them is called the phase angle. In this case, the phase angle is 90°. If the rotors are always 90° apart as they turn, the sine waves will be 90° out of phase. Now, when we add these waves, we get a resultant like this. So, if this wave represents 60 V and this one represents 60 V, the resultant isn't twice as high. It actually represents 85 V. And that's what occurred with you, my friend. One of your generators was 90° out of phase with the other. So, that when you added them, you didn't get 120 V. You got 85 V. And your mental powers had nothing to do with it. >> It is a good trick, but I can't use it. >> Well, why can't you use it? >> Because it ain't mysterious. >> All right. So, the you know, you take something that is uh a little dry. And then we're like, how can we spice this up for all the soldiers who are going to be watching this? Uh I don't know. We'll add a magician and you know, we'll have a little uh assistant that shows up, too, uh get people's interest. Um >> [laughter] >> Pretty hilarious. Okay. Um I mentioned that uh Greg Pierce is here from the Oregon Cinema Archives. And he just uh scanned this film earlier today. It is uh part of the series um This is the life. So, it's a 30-minute episode. And this one is it comes with notes. Um And it looks pretty cool. I like it. I mean, it's going to, you know, become a religious thing, but um at some point. But uh yeah, I think it's going to be great. Um Anyways, here is uh this is life. Death is our destiny. Enjoy. >> I'm a research scientist. But never in my life have I faced a problem like this one. I'm on the verge of an important new discovery. But one which I know could easily be misused. Made into a horrible weapon. Perhaps even mean the end of the world. I can't stop my work now, but I can't bring myself to go on. >> [music] [music] [music] [music] >> Sit down. Sit down. How are your nerves this morning? >> Oh, mine are but you seem a bit jumpy. >> Excited? It's the work. Neil, this is the biggest thing that's ever happened to us. >> What's up? >> Guided missiles, satellites, moon rockets. A lot of people in Washington feel that we haven't got nearly enough. They're positively space-whacky. >> Judging from the newspapers, I'd say Buck Rogers has become a national hero. >> This isn't fantasy. It's real, to the tune of several hundred million dollars. >> How's that affect us? >> We're in it, with both feet. We're part of a team made up of some of the largest outfits in this country, and some of the smallest, like ours. >> Well, where do we fit in? >> Well, that's up to us. They want basic research. You could call it and it's right up your alley. >> What's the objective? >> Right now, the major focus is on missiles and satellites, but basically it's the same long-range project we've always had, putting atomic energy to work. >> Nuclear fission? >> No, fusion. Hydrogen fusion. Of course, it's still in the experimental stage, but there's a lot of official interest in it. >> Yeah, I've read about it. The British have had some spectacular results. So have we, but there are still a lot of problems. >> That's why Washington started this new project. They feel that while fusion looks promising, nobody knows how long it will take to get practical results. So, they want to branch out and research and explore new areas. They believe that we should re-examine some of the older scientific concepts and see if they can be applied to our present knowledge. >> Of course, you're talking about primary power. >> That's right. Power for the rockets we're planning to build. Power that will carry us to the moon, perhaps beyond. Now, you'll get a better picture of the overall project when you read this. It's top secret. We're the only two in the entire organization that have been cleared to see it. So, keep it locked up. >> The race to outer space. Some people call it another kind of race. A race for survival. >> [music] >> I spent the rest of the day going over the material he had given me. It was as he had said. An all-out program designed to give our country supremacy in a scientific race that might decide the fate of nations. At the time I didn't realize that my research would lead to something greater. Like any scientist, I knew that locked within the molecules of matter are forces beyond the comprehension [music] of man. But I never suspected that destiny had chosen me to be the instrument which would unlock that power. A power that could destroy the earth and every living [clears throat] thing upon it. >> [music] [music] [music] >> LAST WARNING FROM MARS. YOU ARE DEAD, EARTH MAN. >> I am not. I GOT YOU FIRST. >> UH-UH. YOU COULDN'T EVEN SEE me in MY INVISIBLE SUIT. >> I COULD, TOO. >> COULD NOT. >> I could, too. >> Could not. >> I could, too. >> Could not. >> I could, too. >> Could not. >> All right, Jeff. Come on, you and Ronnie get ready for bed now. >> Aw, Mom, can't we play a little while longer? >> Spacemen have to sleep like anyone else. >> But I'm not sleeping, Mom. >> Come along now. >> Uncle Steve, will you tell us a story tonight? >> Well, we'll see, Ronnie. Now, run along with your mother. Don't keep her waiting. Beats me the way kids play nowadays. Atomic guns, space helmets, invisible suits. >> Ah, it doesn't seem to be doing him any harm. >> I'm not so sure. I wonder what effect all this playing at war is going to have on them. >> Oh, about the same as our mowing down gangsters with machine guns had on us when we were their age. >> I guess it is part of growing up. Every generation seems to go through a violent stage. >> Yeah, only the weapons and the villains change. When dad was a youngster, he played cowboys and Indians. Your kids are looking for enemies from outer space. >> You know, maybe that's what's wrong with the world. We keep looking for enemies instead of friends. >> What's the matter, Neil? Something wrong at the lab? >> No. Just that sometimes I wonder where it's all going to end. We keep looking for new worlds to conquer and we haven't learned to live with the one we've got. >> Well, cheer up. Before long, you may be able to get away from it all. Uh, on Mars or maybe even Jupiter. >> There is still a lot of places here I want to see first. You know, if my kids, God willing, grow up to manhood, I wonder what kind of toys their sons are going to play with. >> In the weeks that followed, I concentrated on my new assignment. There were hundreds of reports to [music] digest and endless notes to make before I could even begin to think about where I would start. And then experiments, which kept me in the lab night after night. Tests to prove this and disprove that. All in the hope that somewhere in a test tube or a microscope or a mathematical equation, I might stumble on a clue. A clue to something that could make man stronger or destroy them. >> These just came in. Thought you might like to look at them. >> I read so many reports they're coming out of my ears. >> I can imagine. >> Well, we'll have to make a report the first of the week, a progress report. Will you have anything? >> Afraid not, Lee. To be frank, I haven't even made a start. >> I'm not pressing you, Neil. I understand how these things are. >> You know, the more I read about scientific progress, the more I realize how ignorant we really are. >> Ignorant? >> Yeah. Ignorant of the basic things. I'll show you what I mean. Here's the force of gravity illustrated in a child's toy. Now, every schoolboy understands its principles. And yet science, with all its vast knowledge, has only been able to scratch the surface of its tremendous power. Gravity. The force that keeps us earthbound. It might be the force that could set us free. >> Yeah, I guess that's >> That's occurred to many a scientist, but nobody's been able to do anything about it. It's an intriguing thought, though. Control gravity, and you solve all the problems of space travel. >> Say, maybe that's the direction your research should take. After all, magnetism is one of the key factors in these new fusion experiments. >> Yeah, I've been thinking about it. >> You put magnetism to work for us, Neil, and you'll be the biggest man in science. See you later. >> [music] >> It's been the loveliest spring we've had in years, and it's just a pity that all of you couldn't be here to enjoy it. What fun Jeff and Ronnie would have. Baby chicks, ducks, and rabbits. Why, they'd be on the go every minute. Can't you just see them there? >> Hm? See who? >> Why, you haven't been paying a bit of attention. >> I'm sorry. >> Mother was just saying what a wonderful time the boys would have on the farm. >> Yeah, I expect they would. >> And she goes on to say, um, "Your father and I would love it if you and the children could spend the whole summer here on the farm, and Neil could join you during his vacation." Think we could? >> Well, I can't think of a place I'd rather have you and the kids all summer. Do you world of good. >> I'm thinking of you, too. You need a change. >> Well, don't count on me. The way things are going, I don't think I'll get a vacation this year. >> But you're entitled to one. You can't keep on like this night and day. >> Yeah, Lee's depending on me. Besides, this is a mighty important project. >> More important than your health? >> Now, there's nothing the matter with my health. The point is, honey, I'm starting a series of experiments that'll go on for months. I can't possibly leave them. But that's no reason for you and the kids to lose out. >> Maybe you could get away weekends. It's so restful up there. Remember? Remember that that first summer we spent, the year after we were married? >> Your father almost convinced me that farming was the only sensible way of life. >> And the the moon always seemed so big and warm and close. Nothing like our cold little city moon. >> Yeah. Too bad about the moon. >> Mhm? >> Well, it used to be regarded as a symbol of romance. Now they're talking about it as a military outpost, a stepping stone out of space. >> Yeah. It's inconceivable. >> I believe it'll come sooner than we expect. I'd feel a lot better if I knew who was going to get there first. Our side or theirs? Looking back on it, it was ironic that a simple gadget, a magnetic toy, should have been the spark that set fire to my imagination. It set me probing new frontiers of science, seeking answers to questions that had baffled man for generations. >> [music] >> Passing weeks brought moments of success when I saw proof of what had been only theory before. [music] When I reported my progress to Lee, he was convinced we were on the trail of something so big that it staggered the imagination. I'd had a glimpse [music] of a tremendous new source of power. If I could tap it and control it, man could be master of the gravity [music] which bound him to the earth. And these nuclei, having positive [music] charges, naturally repel each other. Do you have any idea what I'm talking about? >> Sorry, you lost me 10 minutes ago. Come to think of it, should you be telling me all this? I thought you were working on top secret stuff. >> No. If you'd studied more in college and played less football, you'd know that all this stuff is in every textbook on physics. Let me put it another way. What we're trying to do is to control basic energy. Get nuclear power without the explosion. You might liken it to radio where we take a signal from the air so weak it can hardly be measured. We amplify it a million times until it's converted into physical energy in the form of sound waves. >> Well, do you think you'll ever be able to control atomic power that way? >> Well, our experiments are very encouraging. We'll know more when we get our new equipment. >> Boy, it'd be a tremendous thing. Might change our entire way of life. >> That's all right. I worry about it sometimes. >> Why? >> Well, because of the moral aspects. These things have a way of getting out of hand. We might find ourselves facing something even worse than the H-bomb. >> Could anything be worse? >> You never can tell. It's getting so that the future of the world can be decided by a handful of men. The winner of the next war if there is a winner will be the side with the most technical know-how. >> Well, they say a little learning is a dangerous thing. Perhaps too much could be fatal. >> I'm not worried about knowledge of itself. It's It's what we do with it. I don't think the good Lord would have given us brains if he hadn't wanted us to use them. At the same time, I think he's going to hold us strictly accountable for how we use them. That's why I worry about this research of mine. >> I don't see why you should. You wouldn't be responsible for what other people did with it. >> It's a comforting thought, but I can't buy it. >> Now, look, Neil. If you don't go on with whatever it is you're working on, somebody else will. And if it turns out to be as sensational as you think it might, wouldn't it be better if it was in the right hands, meaning ours? >> There's no doubt about that. If it's something that'll make our country stronger, it's your duty to go on. >> [music] >> For the next few weeks, I concentrated on my work and tried to forget the disturbing things Steve and I had talked about. Sometimes I couldn't quite forget. I wondered if [music] the same questions had troubled the men who experimented with nuclear fission and began to see the terrible reality of the atomic [music] bomb. But gradually, my fears faded as I became more and more absorbed in my work. I was tasting [music] the first fruits of success now. And each succeeding experiment increased my appetite for more. >> Hi there. >> Good morning. >> Say, what did you do? Spend the night here again? >> Not so bad once you get used to it. Have some coffee? >> No, thanks. I just had breakfast. Good thing for you your family's away or you'd never get away with all this night work. >> Bang off. Look at this. 36 hour test without a breakdown. >> Oh. Looks like you'll be ready for the next step by the time Morgan gets the new equipment set up. >> I'm ready now. >> Say, as long as you're caught up, why don't you take a breather? We don't want a dead genius on our hands. >> Maybe I will. >> Oh, that's fine, Neil. You know, I'm looking forward to the day when we can present this to the big brains who said it couldn't be done. >> Norton. Yeah. All right. Franklin's in your office. >> Oh. >> [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] >> I probably wouldn't have given it another thought if it hadn't been for something that struck me when I glanced at the control panel. Could there be any relationship between the dead plant and the instruments [music] behind the panel? It was obvious that the plant was in a direct line with the apparatus I'd been testing. I told myself it was inconceivable. [music] And yet why had one plant died and the other remained alive and healthy? Was it because one was in the path of the rays sent out by the apparatus [music] and the other wasn't? I had to convince myself. And there was only one way to do it. >> [music] [music] [music] >> There was no question now. I had invented something more than a new source of power. I'd invented [music] a death ray. I thought about it for days and nights. More I kept it bottled up inside of me, the worse it got. I couldn't sleep. Work was out of the question. I had to talk to somebody about it, but who? Something kept me from telling the people down at the lab. I haven't even told my wife. It's that big and that terrible. It's a decision no one man should have to make, and yet that's exactly what I have to do. And that's why I came to see you, pastor, because of all the people I know, it's your counsel I need the most. You see, it all boils down to one question. And I've asked myself that question over and over again. As a Christian, what should I do? >> Neil, you know I'm always willing to help if I can. Why don't you sit down and tell me about it? >> Well, it all started about 6 months ago. As you probably know, our firm does research work for the government. >> A death ray? >> No doubt about it. >> But are you sure it wasn't some some quirk that affected this particular kind of plant? >> No such luck. I made dozens of tests and always with the same results. Something in that ray killed vegetation. Thing like that could mean the end of all life. >> All life, Neil? >> Ultimately. Destroy vegetation and eventually all life must die. There wouldn't be any danger as long as you kept it in the laboratory, but what would happen once it got into the outside world? >> You're convinced it could get out of hand, hm? >> How could you help it? Others got the A-bomb and the H-bomb. Now do you see why I came to see you, pastor? Why I say it's too big for one man to decide? Why I ask what is the Christian thing to do? >> Yes, I do see. >> This is something you should see for yourself. Could you possibly come up to the lab, say tomorrow? >> Well, I'd like to very much, although I doubt if I'd understand. >> I wasn't thinking of the technical aspects. But I am counting on your understanding of the things which must guide me as a Christian. Neil, in all the years of my ministry, I've never been faced with a question of such implications. I can only say, let's go over the problem and try to see it as our Lord Jesus would want us to see it. >> What happened here could spread across the world like a plague. Increase the power of that apparatus sufficiently and you don't destroy one plant in a laboratory. You have a potential weapon that could wipe out millions of acres of growing things. First the vegetation, and the animals that feed on it, and then us. Chain reaction that would end in starvation and death. At least atomic destruction would be quick. This would be slow torture. >> Pastor, I'm so afraid that this would be just one more cloud of fear for the world to live under. >> I don't doubt you're right. But this cloud of fear, is it really as new as you seem to think? >> I don't see what you mean. For I assume the fear you've been talking about is the fear of death. >> Yes, but in terms of mass destruction, the end of the whole human race. >> Neil, I don't want to seem unconcerned. I am concerned. But this cloud, the fear of imminent mass destruction, is something that Christian people have been living with for almost 2,000 years. It's only in the past few years that the rest of the world seems to have become aware of or excited about it. >> You mean the end of the world? Why not? Isn't that what the Christian church has been preaching ever since the days of Christ? Yes, but this is a different thing. >> Maybe and maybe not. Of one thing the Bible tells us we can be certain. The world as we know it and see it and human life as it exists on this planet today will come to an end. Just how or when none of us knows. But when the time comes God will write finish to it all. The day of the Lord, the day of total destruction of our physical world will come as a thief in the night the Bible tells us. And human life as you and I know it today will be no more. In a sense it's not going to make very much difference if we're all called into God's presence together at once by total instantaneous mass destruction or if we're called one at a time. The main thing is whether or not we're prepared to meet him whenever we are called. >> I suppose so. >> And right there is where Christ comes in. The man who has found forgiveness for his sins through faith in the life and death of Jesus Christ is ready for the A-bomb, the H-bomb or or for any death ray that the human mind may discover. And the man who hasn't found that forgiveness will never be ready. >> It's a solemn and a frightening thought. >> Solemn, yes, but frightening, no. At least not for the man who has come to God through faith in the savior. Do you remember the text I preached on just a few Sundays ago? The world passeth away and the lust thereof. But he that doeth the will of God abideth forever. >> Well, pastor, that brings me right back to where I was when I came to see you. As a Christian, do I have the right to go on with my experiments? How am I to know what what is God's will? >> I believe the Bible gives us the answer to that one, too, Neil. When God created man, he put him in charge of his physical creation, the world, and told him to subdue it. That is, to rule it, to make it serve his purposes. Almost every human discovery has its good uses and its evil uses. Can we say that primitive man's use of fire was wrong because fire can destroy? No. I believe that God is concerned only with the use we make of the things he has placed in [music] our hands. >> I see your point, pastor, but this discovery of mine I from what you've told me, it can work for the good of man. And it could destroy him. >> I can only say to you, Neil, go on with your work with a good conscience. If it is the will of God that the end of the world should come through one of man's discoveries, it is not for us to question. We must face life as the early Christians did, knowing it is only a temporary existence, a preliminary step toward a richer and fuller life. And far more important than how we die or when we die is the question that should always be uppermost in every Christian's mind. Am I prepared [music] to die? Am I ready to come face to face with my creator? Have I, a repentant [music] sinner, sought God's forgiveness through faith in Christ, the son he sent into the world to redeem [music] me? >> [music] [music] >> Solemn, yes, but frightening, no. At least not for the man who has come to God through faith in Christ the savior. The world passeth away and the lust thereof. But he that doeth the will of God abideth forever. >> [music] [music] >> Thank you for having invited us into your home for another half hour with This Is the Life. We sincerely hope that you have found our visit spiritually stimulating and helpful. 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This program has been produced by the Lutheran Church, Missouri Synod with congregations throughout the United States and Canada and is dedicated to the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God and Savior of the world. >> [music] [music] [music] [music] [bell] [music] >> So, yeah, he wasn't the the minister wasn't uh anti-death ray. >> [laughter] >> He was like, "Well, you know, God put us in charge. And so, if we end up killing everybody, it's okay. I mean, Christians know that they don't live live forever, so everything's all right." Whoa. That was really nuts. Yeah. Uh Yeah. I I mean, and this is of course soft-pedaling how organized religion felt with United States developing atomic weapons. There's quite a few films I have that talk about the you know, the moral It's it's okay because, you know, atomic energy can be a blessing. It's it's actually okay. Um and, you know, we just have to use it right. It's the godless commies. They don't know how to use it right. So, they're the ones that are evil, not us. Not us. Mhm. Um so, anyways, thanks for watching today. We'll have lot more stuff to watch, brand new stuff that we're scanning, hot off the scanner. Uh although I hope the scanner will not get hot because that will shut it down. Um but yeah, it's great seeing everybody. If you like what you saw, hit the thumbs up, subscribe, donate via the Super Thanks button, or via patreon, or ko-fi.com. Which is if you say it, it's coffee.com. Uh everybody take care, and we will see you soon.