Skip to main content

Katsuko Saruhashi - Katsuko Saruhashi turned radioactive fallout into a scientific legacy

Katsuko Saruhashi turned radioactive fallout into a scientific legacy

Today’s Google Doodle celebrates Japanese geochemist Katsuko Saruhashi, whose research helped reveal the insidious spread of radioactive fallout from the US nuclear testing ground in the Pacific. If she were still alive, today would have been her 98th birthday.
In 1957, Saruhashi became the first woman to receive a PhD in chemistry in Japan. Her work focused on measuring the molecules in seawater — like carbon dioxide, oxygen, and also radioactive molecules like cesium-137. Just twelve years before she received her PhD, the United States dropped atomic bombs that devastated the cities of Hiroshima and Nagaski, and the US continued to unleash a torrent of radioactive fallout in the Pacific as it tested bigger and bigger bombs. By 1958, the US had exploded 67 nuclear devicesaround the Marshall Islands — leaving a long legacy of contamination behind.
Saruhashi worked at the Central Meteorological Observatory in Tokyo to develop more sensitive methods of measuring radioactive fallout. It was a challenging task, says Toshihiro Higuchi, a historian at Georgetown University and expert on Cold War science. “The amount of fallout that we are talking about is really tiny, and then we are talking about the vast ocean,” he says.
                                                                                                       Read more...
Labels:
Location: United Kingdom

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Good Friday message - Global Scenes

Good Friday message reflects the beliefs of Grandmothers Against Detention of Refugee Children It’s Good Friday . Which is good because most people get a day off. Except us. But we had a day off on Wednesday, so we’re not complaining. As most people know, Good Friday is a Christian holiday that marks the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. The Wikipedia entry on Jesus kicks off by saying he was a first-century Jewish preacher and religious leader. It goes on to say that Jesus is the central figure of  Christianity and that some people believe him to be the  son of God and the  messiah, as written in the Old Testament. But for the purposes of this article, let’s call him an ancient philosopher. That’s not because we think he is or isn’t the messiah. It’s just that we’re not too keen to start a religious debate in the Topics column. Who knows where that might end. It might never end. Anyhow, our reason for writing about Jesus on Good Friday is that he
Post a Comment
Read more

Adele - Global Scenes

Adele Hello, it’s me. I was wondering if after all these years you’d like to get married? Whoa . . . What are you on about? Sorry, I couldn’t resist. But you won’t believe this. Adele’s been ordained. Adele as in Adele? Yep, Adele as in Adele. She can now marry people. Crikey. Career change, or just not enough to do? Don’t these celebrities have albums to promote or reality television gigs to be getting on with? Well, she has only married one couple as far as I know. The whole ordination thing was for Alan Carr, the comedian, and his groom, Paul Drayton. She was planning their wedding ceremony (in her garden in Los Angeles, darling) and was going to sing too, so decided to do everything. Everything?                                                                           Read more...
Post a Comment
Read more

Alton Sterling - Global Scenes

No charges against officers in Alton Sterling death; other videos are coming No charges will be filed against two Baton Rouge police officers in the 2016 shooting death of Alton Sterling, after an investigation determined that the shooting was justified, Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry said Tuesday. Police shootings: Trials, convictions are rare for officers "We have concluded that the officers in question acted as reasonable officers under existing law and were justified in their use of force," Landry's   written report on the investigation   reads. But his decision is not the last chapter of the case, as the police department plans to hold hearings on whether to discipline the officers, and says it intends to release four videos that have yet to be made public.                                                                                           Read more...
Post a Comment
Read more