New Evidence Found in Blast

Preliminary Atomic Energy Commission investigations of Monday's shattering explosion at the Cambridge Electron Accelerator (CEA) indicate that the 95 gallons of liquid hydrogen contained in the bubble chamber were expelled safely by an emergency venting system and ignited harmlessly.

According to Dr. M. Stanley Livingston, director of the CEA, it now appears from external observations that the main force of the explosion was generated by the hydrogen in the filling system of the chamber rather than that in the chamber itself.

Had the 95 gallons of hydrogen-far more than contained in the famous blimp Von Hindenberg-exploded, the force of the blast would have been much more powerful.

It is still unknown what first kindled the explosion.

The dangerous liquid within the chamber was released as a gas by an ingenious venting system. Pressure on the liquid forced it down into a trap underneath the truncated conical chamber onto a mass of small copper pellets. Heat from the pellets quickly and safely changed the liquid to a gas, which flowed up a chimney, where it was harmlessly ignited.

The roof of the experimental hall, scene of the blast, is now being removed by a crane. 300-lb. cement blocks presently dangling threateningly from the ceiling make it impossible for investigators to begin examining the hall from within.