Doomsday clock
Meaning
The Doomsday Clock is a symbolic clock maintained by the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, representing how close humanity is to a global catastrophe, with midnight signifying utter disaster.
Origin
In the shadow of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, as the nuclear age dawned, a group of scientists who had worked on the Manhattan Project created the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists in 1945. Two years later, in 1947, they introduced a striking visual metaphor for humanity's perilous situation: the Doomsday Clock. Conceived by artist Martyl Langsdorf for the cover of the Bulletin, the clock was initially set at seven minutes to midnight, symbolizing the world's proximity to nuclear annihilation. Midnight represented global catastrophe. Over the decades, the clock's hands have moved back and forth, reflecting geopolitical stability or escalating threats, including climate change, becoming a chilling, universally recognized symbol of humanity's precarious future.
Examples
- With increasing geopolitical tensions, scientists moved the Doomsday clock closer to midnight.
- Many environmental activists feel the world is always running out of time, metaphorically watching the Doomsday clock tick.