The Atom: A Love Affair

An account of the mining and refining of uranium showing how the development of energy from uranium is providing much of the world’s current needs. The film looks at the manufacturing of the uranium fuel used in CANDU lead reactors and explains the fission process, the fueling of reactors and the management of radioactive waste.

Click for full movie details & trailers.

It all started with a simple question: Is it possible to travel to the oldest and newest places on Earth? YouTuber, author and filmmaker Joe Scott looked into it, and it turned into the trip of a lifetime. It's a journey across 4 billion years of geologic history that explores the past and present of our remarkable planet, the absurd immensity of deep time, and our tiny but important place in it.

The focus of this film is on Canada's nuclear research centre at Chalk River, Ontario. Key to atomic progress are the radioactive isotopes. The insertion and handling of these isotopes in the deadly interior of the reactor are shown in detail. Also shown are the applications of radioactive isotopes in various fields of endeavor, particularly medicine, agriculture, and manufacturing industries. Co-produced by the NFB and Crawley Films Ltd. with the assistance of Atomic Energy of Canada Limited.

The Canadian program for nuclear fuel waste management is explained through interviews with people working inside and outside the nuclear industry and by a visit to the Whiteshell Nuclear Research Establishment, where a long-range used-fuel disposal program is being developed. Revised version from the film Nuclear Fuel Waste Management (106C 0179 542). Produced for the NFB by Crawley Films Ltd. for Atomic Energy Canada, Whiteshell Nuclear Research Establishment.

A new uranium mill -- the first in the U.S. in 30 years -- would re-connect the economically devastated rural mining community of Naturita, Colorado, to its proud history supplying the material for the first atomic bomb. Some view it as a greener energy source freeing America from its dependence on foreign oil, while others worry about the severe health and environmental consequences of the last uranium boom.

The success of this first full-scale nuclear power station on the shores of Lake Huron has shown the way for the economic large-scale production of electricity from uranium. This film describes the plant at Douglas Point, Ontario, and the process by which the uranium atom is split, employing heavy water with a special property, deuterium, giving the name CANDU (Canada Deuterium Uranium) to the Canadian system of atomic energy production. Produced for the NFB by Crawley Films Ltd. for Atomic Energy of Canada Limited.

East of Toronto on the shore of Lake Ontario, is the Pickering Generating Station, one of the world's largest nuclear power stations. Here it is used to explain how a nuclear power station works, showing the fuel bundles, calandria, fuelling machines, boilers, control room, turbine-generator and spent fuel bay. Part of the multimedia kit The Energy Crisis?. Produced by the NFB for Energy, Mines and Resources Canada.

Nuclear power plants are not exactly sold on the same scale as wheat, but that they can be manufactured as an exportable commodity is well illustrated in this film. For those familiar with nuclear power generation, and even for the lay audience, this is a lucid exposition of how a nuclear power plant is put together. The film shows the machining and assembly of principal components, and the "on power" operation of the Canadian plant at Pickering, Ontario. Produced by the NFB for Atomic Energy of Canada Limited.

Filmed at the Pickering, Ontario, nuclear power plant, showing also the earlier Douglas Point station and Québec's new Gentilly plant, this film offers audiences a clear illustration of how an atomic reactor produces electricity. Special features of the Canadian (CANDU) (Canada Deuterium Uranium) system are explained: on-power refueling; the use of natural uranium; the use of heavy water as moderator. CANDU is recognized internationally as a leader in man's search for new sources of energy. Produced for the NFB by Crawley Films Ltd. for Atomic Energy of Canada Limited.

A two-part study of nuclear power with Larry Henderson, skilled observer, analyst and commentator on public affairs as guide. Part 1 shows civilian applications outside Canada. Part 2 shows the history of atomic energy development in Canada, from the outset of World War II to the installations at Chalk River.

This film shows the exacting procedures used during the 1970 replacement of the calandria in the NRX nuclear reactor at Chalk River. Produced by the NFB for Atomic Energy of Canada Ltd.

A new system devised by Canadians whereby the dryout process in fuel bundles for a nuclear reactor can be completely checked, thereby preventing uneconomical burnup. Produced by the NFB for Atomic Energy of Canada.

A look at what has been happening of late in Canada's nuclear laboratories where new uses of atomic energy are being pioneered. The film shows the earlier reactors at Chalk River and the reactions that take place between heavy water and natural uranium. Here, too, is seen the production of radioactive isotopes for use in medicine, agriculture, industry. At the Douglas Point prototype power station, the film explains how nuclear energy makes electricity. A film for science student or layman. Produced by Crawley Films Ltd. for Atomic Energy of Canada Limited.

Short educational film of our solar system

Dr. Helen Caldicott is the most prominent anti-nuclear activist in the world. She's been featured on CNN, 60 Minutes, CBC and Democracy Now. In the 80s, Helen Caldicott campaigned against nuclear weapons testing in the pacific (still responsible today for the majority of tritium we're exposed to), and against the notion of a winnable nuclear war. She was nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize for her efforts. She has always made inaccurate statements regarding civilian nuclear power. But, since the Fukushima-Diachii radiation release has caused (and is projected to cause) zero fatalities... http://www.unis.unvienna.org/unis/en/... ...her tone has changed when speaking to supporters. This has not been acknowledged by prime-time media, as they continue to use her as a source. Any person or media outlet should check Caldicott's history of statements (on any subject) against a domain expert before using her as a source.

Through interspersed conversation and prose, this experimental documentary follows a poet and a neuroscientist as they explore the definition of love, what it means, and why it matters.

Who knows about springtails? And among those for whom this name rings a bell, how many have already seen them? Yet, these small animals, similar to insects, are present in all terrestrial ecosystems. Springtails are undisputed soil regulators. Scientists recognize them today as absolutely essential, especially in the search for pollutants, disruptors, and all the variations that affect our soils, but this little animal is almost unknown. Thanks to extremely precise cameras, as close as possible to these microscopic animals, a teeming life is revealed before our eyes. According to the seasons, the film invites us to get into the intimacy of the springtails, to discover their morphology, their role and their usefulness in the ecosystems of the planet while rubbing shoulders with other organisms in the same environments.

At Arcata, California, testing technology for landing planes in fog. Also: a high-tech barber shop in Westwood Village, California; manufacture of precision steel gauge blocks in Eskilstuna, Sweden.

Deep in Mexico’s mushroom-rich forests, two women from indigenous communities have become mycologists. This immersive sci-fi documentary follows their unusual, fungi-driven paths as they seek to reconcile the past and present while reimagining the future for themselves and the changing world they inhabit.