Newsademic British English edition 260

to
 
m id n ig h t
7
In 1947 the 
Bulletin o f the Atomic
Scientists
created a Doomsday 
Clock. Nowadays, this American 
publication is an online magazine, 
or journal. Each year, the 
B u lletin ’s
directors decide if the clock’s minute 
hand should move forwards, back­
wards, or stay the same. On 26th Jan­
uary the directors announced that the 
Doomsday Clock had not changed. 
It’s still three minutes to midnight.
The Doomsday Clock is not a 
real clock. It is a symbol. ‘M id­
night’ is a metaphor for a man-made 
event that destroys the world. This 
‘day’ can be described as doomsday, 
Armageddon or the apocalypse. Ar­
mageddon and the apocalypse are 
mentioned in the Bible, or the holy 
book o f the Christian faith.
In 1947 the clock was set at 
seven minutes to midnight. Then, 
the number o f minutes to midnight 
represented the likelihood o f a nu­
clear war. A group o f American 
nuclear scientists started the 
Bulle­
tin
at the end o f the Second World 
War (1939 - 1945). This was after 
American warplanes dropped two 
atomic bombs on Japan. The bombs 
destroyed the cities o f Hiroshima 
and Nagasaki. Japan’s leaders sur­
rendered soon afterwards.
The destruction o f the Japanese 
cities was the first and only time 
that nuclear weapons have been 
used in war. The scientists who set 
up the 
Bulletin
had helped to create 
them. They believed that everyone 
should be told about the dangers of
nuclear war. The scientists wanted 
to explain that these weapons could 
destroy the world.
In recent years, the 
Bulletin
has 
included other things it believes 
endanger the human race. These in­
clude climate change, diseases and 
certain new technologies. The 
Bul­
letin
thinks that man-made viruses, 
military robots or even computers 
could wipe out mankind. This, they 
argue, might happen if these types of 
technologies became out o f control.
Throughout each year scien­
tists working for the 
Bulletin
meet 
with other experts. They talk about 
different threats and the chances 
o f them happening. The 
Bulletin
then decides whether the Dooms­
day Clock’s hands should change. 
Moving them forwards means that 
the likelihood o f a catastrophic 
event has increased. M oving them 
back shows that the threat is less 
likely. The clock’s minute hand last 
changed 12 months ago. Then, it 
moved forward by two minutes.
Since it was first created, the 
Doomsday Clock has gone back­
wards or forwards 22 times. The 
closest the clock’s minute hand has 
come to midnight was in 1953. At 
that time, it was only two minutes 
away. This was when the USA and 
the Russian-led Soviet Union began

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