Nuclear Soundscapes: Exploring Sound in Radioactive Environments

Maria Pantsidou; Jade  J. Li

doi:10.25038/am.v0i25.458

Authors

Maria Pantsidou
Jade J. Li

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.25038/am.v0i25.458

Keywords:

affect theory, nuclear soundscapes, sonic representations, ecological degradation, radioactive terrains, nuclear music projects

Abstract

Just after World War II, mounting evidence marked the dawn of the geological epoch dubbed the Anthropocene. Nuclear explosions deposited radioactive debris in the geological strata, combined with an acceleration in resource extraction, population growth and energy consumption. In this light, this paper aims to explore the affective dimensions of the multiplicities of sounds that are interconnected to nuclear materialities. We argue that mediations of nuclear sounds in these forms of audio instances render nuclear sounds comprehensible and challenge existing representations of nuclear power. This paper will bring into conversation an archive of soundscapes of the nuclear epoch – for example the sound of beeping in a nuclear power plant that produces electricity, the Geiger-Müller counters that civilians used following the Fukushima-Daichii plant explosion, and the music composition by JLiat of the sonic representation of atomic testing on Bikini Atoll in 1946.

Engaging with these sounds serves to make sense of the nuclear sublime and offer a possibility of connecting with the “otherness” of nuclear materials. These sonic instances also bind people in collective ecological experiences, whilst making us more attuned to voicing the modalities of a damaged planet. Sound can serve as an articulation of affects that emerge between human and non-human materialities in a damaged planet. These conceptualizations of sound are used to articulate the ways individuals or groups embody their relationships to ecological environments. Through an interdisciplinary lens, the paper aims to explore the mechanics of sound in nuclear infrastructures and devices to challenge common metaphors about nuclear energy. Through the analysis of these soundscapes, we demonstrate that exposing these entanglements between human and nuclear materialities can help us make sense of the sociocultural dimensions of living in a radioactive planet.

Article received: April 15, 2021; Article accepted: June 21, 2021; Published online: September 15, 2021; Original scholarly paper

Author Biographies

Maria Pantsidou

Department of Languages and Cultures, Lancaster University
United Kingdom

Maria Pantsidou is a 3rd year Ph.D. researcher at Lancaster University at the Department of Languages and Cultures. Her research focuses on energy materialities and the attachments that emerge between human and non-human actors. She explores energy-related climate change looking at a range of narratives, including speculative design and fiction. She is also part of the Leverhulme-funded Material Social Futures Doctoral Training Centre, which brings together a wide range of interdisciplinary researchers combining material and social sciences. She holds a BA (Hons) in Literary Studies, as well as an MA in English Literature, from Staffordshire and Salford University respectively. She also works for Nottingham University as an academic tutor in the Department of Education. She was born in Alexandroupolis, Greece in 1979.

Jade J. Li

Department of Engineering, Lancaster University
United Kingdom

Jade J. Li is a 3rd year Ph.D. researcher in the Department of Engineering at Lancaster University. She researches accident-tolerant nuclear fuels whilst exploring perspectives surrounding nuclear power in the Leverhulme-funded Material Social Futures Doctoral Training Centre. She primarily examines nuclear fuel properties through atomistic simulation to ascertain their behavior during normal reactor operation. She holds an MSci in Physics from University College London.

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DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.25038/am.v0i25.458 DOI: https://doi.org/10.25038/am.v0i25.458