# " THE ATOM UNDERGROUND " NUCLEAR FRACKING OF NATURAL GAS ATOMIC ENERGY COMMISSION 32212

Produced by Handel Film Corporation, “The Atom…Underground” is a 1960s color documentary film profiling Project Gasbuggy and Project Plowshare, which were ill-fated attempts to demonstrate the use of nuclear detonations for peaceful purposes, in this case extracting more oil and natural gas from underground through nuclear fracking. Plowshare was the overall United States term for the development of techniques to use nuclear explosives for peaceful construction purposes. It was the US portion of what are called Peaceful Nuclear Explosions (PNE). Pumpjacks in oil field (0:25). Apparatus for mining resources underground (0:42). Title page (0:57). Montage everyday uses of natural gas: Stove burner turned on in restaurant, at home (1:06). Animated demo showing strata diagram, how natural gasses are retrieved from reservoir (1:21). Illustrated view of gas in rock reservoir under microscope; Demo continues to show how gas is extracted through well; Old method of detonating nitroglycerin (2:06). Search for new more efficient methods: Exterior of United States Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) building, new research program for peaceful uses of nuclear explosions called “Plowshare” (1957) (3:07). “Let Us Beat Swords Into Ploughshares” bronze sculpture by Yevgeny Vuchetich in United Nations garden (3:32). Engineers rollout easily transportable device for underground nuclear explosions (3:55). Animated portion to illustrate how new device will accomplish things never before possible;…

- Kind: Film
- Genres: Industrial and advertising
- Archive: [Internet Archive](https://archive.org/details/32212AtomUnderground)
- Licence or status: none stated by the archive
- Who can watch: Teens profiles and older (the archive gives no rating; placed by Invisible Network from its collection and subjects)

[Watch now](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/watch/archive/ia/32212AtomUnderground?play=1)