Atomic Bomb Explosion

In 1947, Edgerton was hired to develop technology to photograph nuclear explosions for the Atomic Energy Commission. By 1952, he constructed a rapatronic camera that could capture images at shutter speeds of up to 1/100,000,000 of a second, using electrical current to quickly rotate polarized lenses. Edgerton traveled to Enewetak Atoll in the Pacific Ocean to take this photograph for the United States government. The images of the explosion were not declassified until much later because they revealed the cellular structure of the fireball, which was a matter of national security at the time.