It has been shown that the time of burst of exploding wires can be predicted from known thermodynamic and electrical properties of the wire materials under some conditions. The mathematical relationships are a set of integrals (transformation time integrals) similar in form to the empirical "action integrals" sometimes used in exploding wire work. This paper discusses the use of the transformation time integrals to calculate the resistance and temperature of a wire as a function of time up to the time of burst and to investigate the effects of environment of the wire on the temperature, resistance, and time of burst.

Nuclear excavation is the name given to the concept of using large scale nuclear explosion craters for useful projects, such as harbors, canals, and roadway cuts. It is one of the principal applications of the Plowshare Program for industrial, or peaceful, uses of nuclear explosives. Plowshare is sponsored by the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission and is under the technical direction of the Lawrence Radiation Laboratory at Livermore, California. The purpose of this paper is to describe cratering concepts and the present state of nuclear excavation technology. The general nature of the safety hazards associated with nuclear excavation are also discussed.

The calibration of mercury vapor detectors has always posed a problem because of the difficulty of generating known concentrations of mercury vapor in air. The purpose of this study was to design an apparatus that would generate and chemically measure known concentrations of mercury vapor in air for calibration work.

Late in 1962, a group in the Computation Division at Lawrence Radiation Laboratory, Livermore, began a study of compiler languages and techniques, the culmination of which was a machine independent FORTRAN written in FORTRAN. The impetus behind this study was a local need to move rapidly and efficiently from one machine to another. A secondary incentive was the need to be able to implement language extensions without the customarily long gestation period. Because of a large inventory of FORTRAN codes at this installation, FORTRAN source language was chosen as standard. Some effort was also expended on a syntax directed compiler written in FORTRAN for FORTRAN. With the knowledge of FORTRAN techniques gained from writing the syntax compiler and translators for other machines, the writing of FORTRAN in FORTRAN was begun.