From nuclear transmutation to nuclear fission, 1932-1939 / Per F. Dahl.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Dahl, Per F., 1932-2011.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Nuclear fission--History.

Nuclear fission.

Nuclear reactions--History.

Nuclear reactions.

History.

Physical Description:

xii, 304 pages : illustrations ; 24 cm

Place of Publication:

Bristol [England] ; Philadelphia [Pennsylvania] : Institute of Physics Publishing, [2002]

Summary:

This volume focuses on the race among four laboratory teams to be the first to achieve the transmutation of atomic nuclei with artificially accelerated nuclear projectiles (protons) in high-voltage discharge tubes. It covers the development of particle accelerators in the 1920s, the growth of the laboratories and their teams, the race itself, and its aftermath. The book explores the history of nuclear physics, from Ernest Rutherford's nuclear atom of 1911 to nuclear fission on the eve of World War II. It also details various laboratories' reactions to the discovery of nuclear fission, their wartime roles, and the later careers of the principal personalities.

Contents:

1.1 1932: Wings over Europe, and other upheavals 1

2 The English Stage is Set 5

2.1 Manchester, 1919 5

2.2 From Manchester to Cambridge: off to a poor start 9

2.3 Provocations in Vienna 14

2.4 A million volts or more? 17

3 American Beginnings 25

3.1 South Dakota pals 25

3.2 Geophysics, or smash the atom? 27

3.3 Research above all else 31

4 How Many Volts? 36

4.1 New physics, with consequences for smashing atoms 36

4.2 The Three Musketeers of DTM 43

4.3 Berkeley, and an evening in the library 49

4.4 Wideroe and Van de Graaff: accelerator virtuosos 52

5 Protons, Electrons, and Gamma-Rays 58

5.1 Protons in Cambridge, and [gamma]-rays? 58

5.2 Protons in Berkeley 61

5.3 Electrons in Washington, DC 69

6 Protons East and West 75

6.1 One million volt protons 75

6.2 Protons at DTM 79

7 Giants of Electricity 86

7.1 X-rays in Pasadena 86

7.2 Megavolts on Round Hill 90

8 Difficult Years 96

8.1 Depression and other scientific ailments 96

9 1932 100

9.1 More particles, expected and unexpected 100

9.2 Cockcroft and Walton strike 108

10 Runners Up 119

10.1 Disintegrations at Berkeley, if with difficulty 119

10.2 Disintegrations in Washington as well 125

11 Deuterium 138

11.1 Deutons on target 138

11.2 A controversy erupts 144

11.3 The controversy is resolved 150

11.4 Mopping up the heavy water 156

12 The Americans Forge Ahead 160

12.1 Slowdown at the Cavendish; Rutherford's death 160

12.2 Another dispute gives way to American success 168

12.3 The Rad Lab in action 178

13 Fission: Return of Lightfoot 186

13.1 Slow neutrons in Rome; nuclear fission in Berlin 186

13.2 News of fission reaches America 194

13.3 Fission in Berkeley, and Cockcroft again in action 204

14.1 Later years 215

14.2 Mostly Cockcroft 223.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 266-274) and indexes.

ISBN:

0750308656

OCLC:

50812954