‘Doomsday Clock’ Will Be Set Back
In an apparent reaction to the U.S.-Soviet treaty eliminating most intermediate-range nuclear missiles and thawing relations between the superpowers, the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists announced Thursday that it will turn back its renowned “Doomsday Clock,” a 42-year symbol of the nuclear threat.
The clock, which has appeared at the top of the scientific and political journal since 1945, will be turned back an undisclosed amount next Thursday, said Bulletin Editor Len Ackland.
The clock has stood at three minutes to midnight since January, 1984.
The clock has been as close as 2 minutes to midnight, during the thermonuclear tests of 1953,and as far as 12 minutes, after the first Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty in 1972
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