Cruise on Atomic Sub Nautilus Is Scary, Thrilling, Enlightening, Sen. Gore Says By SEN. ALBERT GORE WASHINGTON (AP) How deep the Nautilus can dive is a secret. But there is no secret that I had nervous twinges as she plunged downward in excess of 300 feet. How fast she will race through the dark, briny depths is also a secret. But it was the thrill of a lifetime to break all previous records in this respect as the midnight hour approached. The fright, which I frankly admit, and the exhilaration, which I shall not forget, were only aspects of an enlightening, enjoyable, and inspiring experience. (Editors note Sen. Albert Gore (D Tenn), one of 12 members of the Senate House Committee on Atomic Energy who made an all night cruise Sunday night aboard the Nautilus, the worlds first atomic powered submarine, describes his impressions in the following account.) The food that we ate was cooked by atomic power. The water that we drank was distilled from ocean water by atomic energy. The submarine was not only driven but lighted, heated, and air conditioned by atomic energy. In fact, all power for all purposes was exclusively nuclear in origin. Though I have been involved in atomic legislation for more than 10 years, this was my initiation into the atomic age. Each of us carefully placed upon the lapel of his coat the instruments to test radioactivity, that had been given us upon boarding the Nautilus. Test Radioactivity Upon entering the reactor room, I noticed Sen. Pastore (D RI) taking a quick glance at his. Of course, I am sure it was entirely out of curiosity. I looked at mine, too, even though I had previously sneaked a glance. The gauge ranged from zero to 300. At no time did my gauge register more than two points. Sen. Andersons (D NM) gauge registered highest after the tour, standing at 10 points. One may easily absorb 200 points on a warm sunshiny day. The atomic reactor was, of course, the center of interest. We were mere inches from lethal, deathly radioactivity. Yet, we could harmlessly place our hands upon this still, warm, but quiet source of enormous power. I could feel its thrust upon the Submarines propeller, as if thousands and thousands of horses were racing and surging in unison. After the reactor, we visited other compartments. The living quarters of the crew are better, we were told, than on any other submarine. After about 2 and one half hours of thorough and detailed inspection, we returned to the central compartment to exchange views, josh each other about our nervousness, and ask more questions of Rear Adm. Hyman G. Rickover, who is entitled to more credit than any other person for the Nautilus. Then, after dinner had been concluded, the real shakedown maneuvers of the Nautilus began. Now that his guests had become thoroughly conditioned for it, as he thought, the captain ordered the Nautilus put through her paces. The throttle was opened. The propeller surged and we excitedly watched the dials as we went faster down, down, down, down. Then up, then down. Straight ahead, full power. Racing Under Water The speedometer needle moved rapidly clockwise, receding only as the Nautilus took sharp banks and turns. Straight ahead again though the deep, and again the speedometer moved clockwise until we were told that we were racing under water at a record breaking speed. Then, up again; then, down again; up again; down again. The crew intensely watched all instruments, tested all valves, watched the performance of every delicate gadget. As for the members of Congress, we sat tensely watching the depth gauge with one eye and the speedometer with the other. He Called a Meeting At the nadir of a deep dive, Sen. Anderson, chairman of the joint Atomic Energy Committee, called a meeting. We gathered around a table large enough to accommodate all 12 of us plus the clerk, Corbin C. Allardice. At first, it was difficult to get committee business under way be cause members were still watching the gauges. Sen. Anderson called Adm. Rickover before us to ask him about the operation, the performance, the cost, and the promise of the Nautilus. The replies of Adm. Rickover soon broke the tenseness and for about two hours there was an enlightening and penetrating discussion of this man made phenomenon. After we had been submerged for hours, I asked Adm. Rickover how many days the Nautilus could proceed under water at full speed. Indefinitely, he answered. Long enough to go the distance around the world and the answer would still be indefinite. The significance of this may be measured by the fact that an orthodox submarine can travel full Speed under water for only about an hour.