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Cambridge University Press 978-0-521-12637-3 - Nuclear Weapons: What You Need to Know Jeremy Bernstein P1:KNPIndex 9780521884082More informatioindn CUNY1152/Bernstein 978 0 521 88408 2 August 1, 2007 13:2

INDEX

Abelson, Philip isotope separation work, 31–32 discovery of neptunium, 100–102 isotope stability detection work, 30–31 finding of first transuranic, 96 Atkinson, Robert, 203–204 Aberdeen Proving Ground (Maryland), 147 Atlantic magazine, 7 active material, of atom bomb, 249–251 atomic bomb Alamogordo bombing range (Jornada del effect on Hiroshima, 4–5 Muerto), 152 German program, 26, 49 allotropism, 108 Urchin type initiator, 248–249 alpha particles, 18, 19 work of Chadwick, 24–25 artificial isotopes of, 43 atomic model, of Thomson, 16, 23 decay of, 193, 198–203 atomic quantum theory formulation, 18, and decay of plutonium, 144 23, 50 description of, 193, 194–195, 198–203 atomic weight, 93 emission by polonium, 133 Gamow’s barrier penetration theory, 203 Bainbridge, Kenneth, 123 and induction of gamma radiation, 26 barium, 50 quantum point of view of, 195 as fission fragment, 71 ALSOS missions, 229, 231, 238, 251 and Hahn’s uranium experiments, 46 Anderson, Carl, 196 isotopes of, 72 Anderson, Herbert, 74 Strassmann’s discovery of, 72, 280 anti-particle. See positrons (anti-particle) Becker, Herbert, 25 Ardenne, Manfred von, 228 Bell, John, 80 invention of form of calutron, 202 Ben-Gurion, David, 275–277 paper on plutonium-239, 202 Bernstein, Jeremy shipped to Soviet Union by Russia, 202, employment at Brookhaven, 177 260 employment at Harvard cyclotron, Argus explosion project, 176, 177 157 Aston, Francis, 199 employment at Institute of Advanced awarding of Nobel Prize, 32 Studies, 158

287

© in this web service Cambridge University Press www.cambridge.org Cambridge University Press 978-0-521-12637-3 - Nuclear Weapons: What You Need to Know Jeremy Bernstein P1:KNPIndex 9780521884082More informatioindn CUNY1152/Bernstein 978 0 521 88408 2 August 1, 2007 13:2

r 288 Index

Bernstein, Jeremy bomb design, 5 Galileo test observation, 168 misunderstandings/misconceptions, 6–7 interaction with Adlai Stevenson, 185–186 Ulam-Teller/Teller-Ulam, of hydrogen internship at Los Alamos, 159 bomb, 218 Smoky test observation, 162–168 bombings beryllium, 26, 65, 215–216 of Hiroshima, 4–5, 55, 83 around uranium sphere, 269 Oklahoma City, 4–5 in initiator, 248 Tokyo, 4–5 Serber’s use of, 151 Bothe, Walter, 230, 231 beta decay alpha-particle element bombardment, 25 of neptunium-239, 102 work on graphite moderator, 110–111 theory of, 33, 196, 204 bound electron-proton model, 27, 49, 50, 199 of uranium-239 isotope, 139 Briggs, Lyman, 88 Bethe, Hans British Atomic Energy Research Establishment, arguments against Teller’s proposal, 122 87 collaboration with Teller, 208–210 Brookhaven Laboratories, 177 German reactor plan meeting, 237–238 Bush, George W., 277–278 nuclear physics review articles, 39 stellar energy work, 205–207, 208–210 calutron. See mass spectrometry work on “classical super,” 210 “Can Terrorists Build Nuclear Weapons?” Bhutto, Benazir, 271 article (Mark and Taylor), 256, Bhutto, Zulifkar Ali, 265–266 257–258 binding energy, 27, 203 carbon, neutron-proton nuclear equality, 71 curve of, 203 cathode rays for helium-3, 57 discovery by Crooks, 13–14 for uranium-239, 57–58 and negatively charged particles, 15 Birmingham University, 79 centrifuge work, of Sochumi detainees, employment of Frisch, 75 261–262. See also Zippe centrifuges employment of Peierls, 78–79 Chadwick, James Oliphant’s department chairmanship, atom bomb work, 24–25 79 awarding of Nobel Prize, 28, 129 Bohr, Aage, 237 discovery of neutron, 25–28, 43 Bohr, Neils World War II German internment, 25 atomic quantum theory formulation, 18, chain reactions, 55–67 23, 50 self-sustaining nature of, 77–78 awarding of Nobel Prize, 129 Chemical Society Annual Report (1913), 28 epiphany of, 56 China German reactor plan meeting, 237–238 and aboveground testing, 4 invitation to Gamow, 191 deal making with Khan, 266 and nucleus liquid-drop model, 47–49, 191 hydrogen bomb explosion, 223 quantitative fission theory, 55 number of nuclear weapons, 274 reaction to uranium nucleus fissioning, Christofilos, Nicholas 39 artificial Van Allen Belt creation, 175–176 Bohr’s orbits, 50 particle acceleration scheme, 175 Bohtlingk,¨ Otto, 94 Christy, Robert, 145–146

r Index 289

Christy gadget, 145–146, 150–151 deuteron “classical super” weapon, 210–211, binding energy of, 51 213–214, 219–221 irradiation of uranium-238, 103 Clusius, Klaus, 76–77, 82 as nucleus of heavy hydrogen, 98 Cockroft, John, 236 pick up process, 99 Columbia University, 73, 75 produced by fusion, 196 compound nucleus reaction with deuteron, 212–221 of uranium-235, 57 size of, 197 of uranium-236, 58 stripping of, 98 of uranium-238, 57 Dickel, Gerhard, 76 Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty, 186 Diebner, Kurt, 229, 230 Compton, Arthur, 105 Dimona reactor (Israel), 269 Conant, James, 114, 124 “Divergent Chain Reactions in Systems Condon, E. U., 123, 193 Composed of Uranium and Carbon” Corbino, Orso, 34 (Szilard), 111 Coster, Dirk, 45 Dr. Strangelove movie, 3–4, 176 aid for Meitner’s escape from Germany, Dyson, Freeman, 7, 80, 157–158 45 Cowpuncher Committee, 151 Eddington, Arthur Critchfield, Charles, 205–207 “Internal Constitution of the Stars” address, critical mass, 77–78. See also supercritical mass 198 Frisch/Peierl’s estimations, 82–87 stellar energy work of, 198–199 for plutonium, 142 Edgerton, Harold Eugene, 170–171, 178– Serber’s calculations, 125–126 179 Crookes, William, 13–14 Einstein, Albert, 61 crude weapons, making of, 258 awarding of Nobel Prize, 30 crystallography, 107–109 gedanken (thought) experiments of, Curie, Irene,` 26, 43 128–129 cyclotron(s) gravitation theory, 27, 171, 198, 200 Abelson/McMillan’s utilization of, 96 letter to Belgian Ambassador, 66–67 Bothe’s building of, 25–26 letters to Roosevelt, 66–67, 234 at Harvard, 99, 157 theory of gravitation (E = mc2), 27, 171, of Joliot, in Paris, 230 198 Lawrence’s involvement with, 96–98 Einsteinium, 218 limitations in, 98 “eka” naming system, 94–96 McMillan’s work with, 98–103 eka-rhenium, 100 and neutron flux, 139 eka-rhenium-neptunium, 104 electron volts, 50–51 Dark Sun (Rhodes), 8 electrons “death rays,” 81 and artificial Van Allen Belt creation, delayed neutrons, 71 173–176 deuterium of beryllium, 215–216 fusion with deuterium, 212 bombardment of Aston’s device, 31 and hydrogen bombs, 208 escape from surface of metals, 193 mixture with tritium, 209, 215, 216–218 in helium atom, 199

r 290 Index

electrons (cont.) of plutonium, 8, 171 and noble gases, 94 research funding by navy, 75 in plum pudding model, 23 spontaneous, of plutonium-240, 139 in Rutherford model, 29 of uranium-235, 58, 65 Thomson’s discovery of, 16 of uranium nucleus, 39 Ellis, Charles Drummond, 25 vs. fusion, 210 Eltenton, George, 239 fission bombs, 122 ENIAC computer, 147 damage description, 182–184 Everett, Cornelius, 219–221 “gun-assembly” fission bomb, 129–130 as hydrogen bomb sine qua non, 122 Farm Hall internment detainees, 232–234 Russia’s testing of, 222–223 Fat Man. See Nagasaki plutonium bomb temperature comparison with Sun, 124–125, Feklisov, Alexander, 250 171–173, 178–179 Fermi, Enrico vs. hydrogen bombs, 211 Anderson/Szilard’s aiding of, 74 fissionable isotopes, 58 awarding of Nobel Prize, 33, 35, 129 43-technetium discovery, 100 beta-decay theory, 204 France graphite moderator development, 110 collaboration on Israel nuclear program, Harvard Loeb Lectures, 32 275–276 “homogeneous” reactor idea, 111–113 hydrogen bomb explosion, 223 Noddack’s disbelief in results of, 40–41 number of nuclear weapons, 274 nuclear fission discovery, 35–36 supply of uranium to Iraq, 268–269 paraffin “moderator” discovery, 34–35 Friedrich-Wilhelm University, 61 work on Manhattan Project, 105–110 Frisch, Otto. See also “Memorandum on the Fermium, 218, 221, 222 Properties of a Radioactive ‘Super Feynman, Richard, 129, 165, 181 Bomb’ ” report; “On the Construction fireball of a ‘Super Bomb’; based on a Nuclear air blasts/surface blasts, 180–181 Chain Reaction in Uranium” report of ground burst tests, 163 association with Meitner, 46–47, 52 origin of, 178–179 critical mass estimations, 82–87 and shock wave creation, 179–180 employment by, 75 size of, 165 experiments with/naming of fission, 48–49, Fischer, Emile, 42 51 fissile explosions, 132 and nucleus liquid-drop model, 47–49 fissile isotopes, 58, 76, 77 fission. See also work for British Atomic Energy Research delayed neutrons; prompt neutrons Establishment, 87 Bohr/Wheeler’s quantitative theory, 55 Fuchs, Klaus, 9, 104 discovery of, 8, 35–36, 66, 73, 75 biographical data, 244–245 fragments of, 71 exposure as Russian spy, 213–214, 239–248 and Frisch/Meitner experiments/naming of, Los Alamos spying activities, 239–248, 257 48–49, 51 work on British nuclear program, 246 McMillan’s experiments with, 99 work on “classical super,” 213–214 navy’s funding of research, 75 Fuchs–von Neumann spark plug patent, 216, and Nazi politics, 41–43 218, 220–221, 257

r Index 291

fusion, 191–223 interrogation of scientists, 231 and deuterium-tritium mixture, 209, knowledge of utility of plutonium, 104 216–218 nuclear energy programs, 227–229 energy produced by, 196–197 nuclear reactor idea, 109–110 hydrogen example, 196–197 Uranium Club of, 227 production of deuterons/positrons/neutrinos, U.S. obsession with, 234 196 Glauber, Roy and transuranics, 218 awarding of Nobel Prize, 32, 123–124 vs. fission, 210 Los Alamos recruitment, 241 gold nucleus estimation (Rutherford), 24 Gadafi, Muammar, 271–272 Goldstine, Herman, 147 gadget, 137–153. See also Christy gadget Goudsmit, Samuel, 229–232 Kistiakowski’s explosives contribution, 150 graphite moderator metallic sphere issue, 143–145 Bothe’s work on, 110–111 Smith’s metallurgy work on, 143–145 Fermi/Szilard collaboration, 110 “Trinity” as test code name, 152–153 gravitation theory (E = mc2), 27, 171, Galileo test, 166, 168 198, 200 gallium, use for gadget, 143–145 Great Britain. See MAUD Committee gamma radiation, 26, 173 Greenglass, David, 239–240 Gamow, George Greenhouse-George thermonuclear test, 216 association with Atkinson/Houtermans, Groves, Leslie, 114, 115, 192, 229, 231 203–204 “gun-assembly” fission bomb, 129–130, 141. barrier penetration theory of alpha-particle See also Hiroshima bomb decay, 203 Gurney, R. W., 193 collaboration with Teller, 192 development of nuclear liquid drop model, Hahn, Otto, 35–36, 228 191 awarding of Nobel Prize, 55 escape from Russia, 192 biographical data, 41–42 quantum theory work of, 193–194 discovery of barium, 46, 72 stellar energy work, 205–207 uranium fissioning experiments, 39 Gaposhkin, Cecilia Payne, 193 work on poison gas, 42 Garwin, Richard, 7 Hall, Theodore gas diffusion work biographical data, 240–244 of Hertz, 261 Los Alamos recruitment, 241 of Steenbeck, 260 as notetaker for Peierls, 244 gedanken (thought) experiment, 128–129 spying activities, 242–243 Geiger, Hans, 19–20 work on “ra-la” method, 242 Geissler, Heinrich, 13 Hanford B reactor, 115, 142 Genter, Wolfgang, 230 Hartek, Paul, 232 German Army Ordinance (Heereswaffenamt), Harvard cyclotron, 99, 157 227 heavy hydrogen, 50–51, 98 Germany heavy-water reactors, 267, 268 discovery of fission, 35–36, 66 Heereswaffenamt (German Army Ordinance), engine reactor production, 233–234 227

r 292 Index

Heisenberg, Werner, 60, 230 India application of quantum mechanics to nuclear partnership with U.S., 271 nucleus, 79 nuclear testing, 5 Peierls’ studies with, 79 number of nuclear weapons, 274 reactor design focus, 227–228, 238, 251 and plutonium production, 279 helium. See also alpha particles refusal to sign Non-Proliferation Treaty, ionized atoms of, 17–18 271 isotopes of, 57 initiator, “Urchin” type, of atom bomb, mass of atom, 199–200 248–249 neutron-proton nuclear equality, 71 Institute for Advanced Study, 51 nucleus of, 71, 199 directorship by Oppenheimer, 138 helium-3, 206 membership by Einstein/Von Neumann, Helmholtz, Hermann, 198 147 Hertz, Gustav, 261 visit by Bohr, 55 Hiroshima bomb, 4–5, 55, 77 “The Internal Constitution of the Stars” damage description, 182–184 address (Eddington), 198 dimensions of, 133 International Atomic Energy Commission efficiency of, 125 (IAEA), 5 Farm Hall detainee reactions to, 233 Iran uranium bullet used in, 130–131 nuclear program mystery, 270 use of calutron, 122 reactor construction in, 270 Holton, Gerald, 157 uranium enrichment claims, 267 “homogeneous” reactor idea, Fermi/Szilard, Iraq 111–113 reactor supplied by Russia, 268 Houtermans, Friederich “Fritz,” 228 uranium supplied by France, 268–269 association with Atkinson/Gamow, isotopes. See also helium-3; plutonium-239; 203–204 plutonium-240; polonium-210; biographical information, 200–202 uranium-235; uranium-236; “How to Get a Nuclear Bomb” uranium-238; uranium-239 (Langewiesche), 7 atomic weight designation, 29 Hoyle, Fred, 193 of barium/krypton, 72 hydrogen bombs, 9 Clusius separation method, 76–77, 82 and deuterium, 208 of helium, 57 fission bomb as sine qua non, 122 of krypton, 72 outer space detonation, 178 magnetic field separation of, 96–97 pros/cons of building, 222–223 with neutron-proton nuclear equality, 71 of Russia, Sakharov’s invention of, 218 separation work of Clusius, 76–77, 82 Teller’s initial proposal, 122 term derivation, 28–29 Ulam-Teller/Teller-Ulam design, 218 of transuranic-93-eka-rhenium, 100 vs. fission bomb, 211 Israel cat and mouse game with U.S., 276 IAEA. See International Atomic Energy development of nuclear program, 275–277 Commission (IAEA) Dimona reactor, 269 implosion bombs. See gadget number of nuclear weapons, 274

r Index 293

Ivanov, Pytor, 239 Latter, Richard, 177 Ivy Mike thermonuclear test, 221–222 Laue, Max von, 61 anti-Nazi activities of, 232 Johnson, Ken, 160 resolution of “Maxwell’s demon” paradox, Joliot, Fred´ eric,´ 26 61–63 artificial isotope production, 43 Laurence, William L., 165, 181 finding of neutrons, 74 Lawrence, Ernest Parisian cyclotron of, 230 cyclotron involvement of, 96–98 Jornada del Muerto (Journey of Death). See uranium isotope separation project, 122 Alamogordo bombing range Lawrence Radiation Laboratory, 137–138 joules, 51 Lee, T. D., 157–158 light-water reactors, 268, 269–270, 278 Kahn, Herman, 176 liquid-drop model, of nucleus, 47–49 Kaiser Wilhelm Institute for Chemistry Gamow’s development of, 191 employment of Hahn/Meitner, 42 Placzek’s complaint against, 56 employment of Strassman, 43 Little Boy. See Hiroshima bomb Kanegisser, Yevgenia. See Peierls, Genia Livermore weapons laboratory, 158–159 Khan, A. Q., 259–260, 262–263 Livingston, M. Stanley, 98 apology speech by, 273 Los Alamos National Laboratory, 61, 87, deal making 158–159 with Benazir Bhutto, 271 lecture series by Serber, 123 with China, 266 and Russian spies, 239–248 with Gadafi, 271–272 spy information about German programs, employment by Ultra Centrifuge Nederland, 236–237 263 Lovell, Bernard, 177 firing by Musharaff, 273 Low, Francis, 161, 162–168 and North Korea uranium enrichment program, 281 Mackey, George, 147, 148 selling of nuclear technology, 259–260, The Making of the Atomic Bomb (Rhodes), 262–263 8 stealing of Zippe centrifuge plans, 265–266 The Man Behind the Rosenbergs (Feklisov), Khrushchev, Nikita, 186 250 Kistemaker, Jacob, 261 Manhattan Project, 104, 114, 247 Kistiakowski, Georg, 150, 165 Mark, J. Carson, 160, 162–168, 256 Klaproth, Martin, 93–94 Marsden, Ernest, 19 krypton, 50, 94 mass spectrometry, 96–97, 122, 199 as fission fragment, 71 Matematische Grundlagen der isotopes of, 72 Quantenmechanik (Von Neumann), Strassmann’s production of, 280 147 Kubrick, Stanley, 3–4, 176 Mauchly, John, 147 Kuczynski, Ursula, 246 MAUD Committee, 71–89 formation of, 87 Langewiesche, William, 7 name derivation, 88 Latter, Albert, 177 report describing nuclear bomb, 88

r 294 Index

Maxwell, James Clerk Neddermeyer, Seth, 140–141 awarding of Nobel Prize, 14–15 negatively charged particles, 13, 14, 15 energy distribution theories, 205 neutrinos, 28, 196, 206 monograph on theory of heat, 62–63 neutron flux “Maxwell’s demon” paradox, 61–63 in cyclotrons, 139 McKibbin, Dorothy, 160 in initiator, 249 McMillan, Edwin neutrons, 23–27, 36, 49. See also delayed discovery of neptunium, 100–102 neutrons; prompt neutrons; slow finding of first transuranic, 96 neutrons fission experiments by, 99 deuteron stripping from, 98 use of deuteron stripping, 98 discovery by Chadwick, 25–28, 43 work with cyclotrons, 98–103 ideas of Szilard, 64–65 McVeigh, Timothy, 4–5, 185 interaction with uranium-235, 84, 86 Meitner, Lise Joliot’s finding of, 74 associations with mass of, 59 Carl Weizsacker,¨ 49 probe of nucleus, 34 Fischer, 42 New Yorker magazine, 63 Frisch, 46–47, 52 Nilson, Lars Frederick, 94 escape from Germany, 45 Nobel Institute for Experimental Physics, 45 move to Cambridge, 87 Nobel Prize award naming of fission, 48–49 to Aston, 32 and nucleus liquid-drop model, 47–49 to Bohr (Aage), 237 personal background, 41 to Bohr (Neils), 129 Rosbaud’s escape assistance to, 236 to Chadwick, 28, 129 study of transuranics, 44 to Compton, 105 visit by Chadwick, 43 to Einstein, 30 visit by Rasetti, 43 to Fermi, 33, 35, 129 work at Nobel Institute for Experimental to Feynman, 129 Physics, 45 to Fred´ eric´ Joliet-Curie, 43 “Memorandum on the Properties of a to Glauber, 32 Radioactive ’Super Bomb’ ” report to Hahn, 55 (Frisch/Peierls), 80–87 to Hertz, 261 Mendeleev, Dimitri to Irene` Curie, 43 element numbering system, 94 to Laue, 61 periodic table development, 93 to Maxwell, 14–15 Mercury, Nevada tests, 8, 162–168, 169–170. to Mott, 245 See also Operation Plumbbob to Rutherford, 17 Mott, Neville, 245 to Soddy, 17, 30 Musharraf, Pervez, 273 noble gases, 94, 101 mushroom clouds, 181–182 Noddack, Ida, 40–41 North Korea Nagasaki plutonium bomb (Fat Man), 125, Nodong missile development, 271 153, 171, 182–184 and Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, National Research Council, 119 267–268 Nature journal, 26 number of nuclear weapons, 274

r Index 295

and plutonium production, 279 code name “Gadget” creation, 143 underground nuclear test, 279–280 Cowpuncher Committee creation, 151 withdrawal from NPT, 6 directorship of Institute for Advanced Study, NPT. See Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty 138 (NPT) Los Alamos mesa discovery, 120 nuclear bomb Trinity explosion compared to Bhagavad Argus project test, 176 Gita verse, 165 efficiency comparisons, 125 oxygen, neutron-proton nuclear equality, 71 first explosion of, 152–153 Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), 5, Pakistan 267–268, 270 nuclear testing, 5, 267 nuclear reactor number of nuclear weapons, 274 construction of, 112 and plutonium production, 279 first-run event/December 2, 1942, 112–114 Parsons, William, 130 Hanford B reactor, 115, 142 particles, negatively charged, 13, 14, 15 “homogeneous” reactor idea, 111–113 Pash, Boris, 229 idea for, 109–110 Pauli, Wolfgang, 7, 79, 191 plutonium producing reactor construction, Pearl Harbor, 104, 121 114 Pegram, George, 75 nuclear technology, selling of, 259, 262–263 Peierls, Genia (wife of Rudolph), 79 nuclear weapons, by country, 274 Peierls, Rudolph. See also “Memorandum on nucleus. See also compound nucleus the Properties of a Radioactive ‘Super alpha-particle probes, 33–34 Bomb’” report; “On the Construction of compound of uranium-238, 57 a ‘Super Bomb’; based on a Nuclear of helium, 71, 199 Chain Reaction in Uranium” report historical background, 13–20 background information, 78–79 liquid-drop model, 47–49, 56 creation of theory of solids, 79 neutron particle probes, 34 critical mass estimations, 82–87 quantum theory’s application to, 79 professorship at Birmingham University, 79 structure of, 56–57 Penney, William, 137 Weizsacker’s¨ mass determination formula, periodic table of elements 49–50 Mendeleev’s development of, 93 noble gases’ location, 94 Oklahoma City bombing, 4–5, 185 organization of, 94 Oliphant, Mark Perrin, Francis, 78 employment of Frisch, 75 Physical Review, 55, 101, 111 visit to Briggs, 88 Placzek, George, 56 “On the Construction of a ‘Super Bomb’; based Planck, Max, 61 on a Nuclear Chain Reaction in “plum pudding” atomic model, 16, 23 Uranium” report (Frisch/Peierls), 80–87 plutonium allotropic forms, 108 On Thermonuclear War (Kahn), 176 and alpha particles, 144 Operation Plumbbob, 169, 170 crystallographic density measurement of, Oppenheimer, Robert 107–109 association with Lawrence, 96 dropped on Nagasaki, 137

r 296 Index

plutonium (cont.) Rabi, I. I., 65, 120 ﬁssion of, 8, 171 radioactive emissions, recognition by naming of, 103 Rutherford, 17–18 Seaborg’s production of, 103–104 Ramsey, Norman, 123, 157 Smith’s allotropic phase discovery, 143–144 Rasetti, Franco, 43 transformation to industrial product, 105 reactors plutonium-239, 103 Dimona, in Israel, 269 Ardenne’s paper on, 202 engine reactor production, German, sequence from uranium-238, 139–140 233–234 plutonium-240, 139 Hanford B reactor, 115, 142 plutonium bomb, 125, 171. See also Nagasaki heavy-water reactors, 267, 268 plutonium bomb (Fat Man) Heisenberg’s design focus, 227–228, 238, 251 polonium, 25, 133, 144 homogeneous, 111–113 polonium-210, 248 Iran construction of, 270 Poole, M. J., 148 light-water reactors, 268, 269–270, 278 positrons (anti-particle), 196, 204, 205 plutonium producing, 5, 35, 105, 114 Proceedings of the Royal Society, 27 Russian, and polonium-210 production, 248 proliferation, of nuclear weapons, 256–281. “Resonance in Uranium and Thorium See also Dimona reactor; Khan, A. Q.; Disintegrations and the Phenomenon of light-water reactors; North Korea; Nuclear Fission” letter (Bohr), 55 Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty rhenium, 40, 94, 100 (NPT); Sochumi, scientist internment; Rhodes, Richard, 8 Zippe centrifuges Rockoon rockets, 174 declared nuclear weapons states, 274 Roosevelt, Franklin Delano, 104 fears of United States, 266 Rosbaud, Paul, 235–236 and Iran, 270 Rosenberg, Ethel Greenglass, 240 and Iraq, 268, 269 Rosenberg, Julius, 240 Mark’s writings on, 160 Rosenfeld, Leon,´ 51 and Pakistan, 5, 267, 274, 279 Rotblat, Joseph, 231 Russia/U.S. weapons limitation treaty, Russia 277–278 ALSOS mission of, 251 selling of nuclear technology, 259, 262–263 attempts to learn of U.S. nuclear project, 239 prompt neutrons, 71, 73–74, 84 building of light-water reactor, 269–270 protons ﬁssion bomb testing, 222–223 deuteron stripping from, 98 and Fuchs–von Neumann patent, 218 linear acceleration of, 96 hydrogen bomb explosion, 223 tunneling of, 197 knowledge of utility of plutonium, 104 number of nuclear weapons, 274 quantum mechanics, 32, 47, 79 Sakharov’s invention of hydrogen bomb, 218 quantum theory, 18, 23, 33, 79, 146, 191, shipping Ardenne/German scientists to 193–194 Soviet Union, 202, 260 signing of partial test ban treaty, 186 “ra-la” method, for implosion trial diagnosis, spies from, 121, 213–214, 239–248 242 supply of reactor to Iraq, 268

r Index 297

suspension of aboveground testing, 4 slow neutrons, 56 testing of fission bomb, 222–223 Smith, Cyril, 9, 143–145 weapons limitation treaty with United Smoky test, at Mercury, Nevada, 162–168 States, 277–278 Smyth, Henry, 101 Rutherford, Ernest. See also bound Smyth Report, on nuclear weapons program, electron-proton model 101, 104 alpha-particle element bombardment, 25 Sochumi, scientist internment. See also Hertz, association with Geiger, 19–20 Gustav; Steenbeck, Max; Zippe, association with Thomson, 17 Gernot, centrifuge work of, 261–262 awarding of Nobel Prize, 17 uranium isotope separation problem, classical theory publication, 23 261–262 gold nucleus estimation, 24 Soddy, Frederick naming of proton, 24 awarding of Nobel Prize, 17, 30 radioactive emission recognition, 17–18 introduction of “isotope” term, 28 speculation on atomic energy’s future, 64 spontaneous fission, of plutonium-240, 139 University of Manchester professorship, 18 spying activities by Fuchs, 213–214 scandium, 94 German programs, 236–237 schematic drawings, of fission explosions, 256 by Greenglass, 239–240 Science Circle, 25 by Hall, 239–243, 248 Seaborg, Glen at Los Alamos, by Russia, 239–248 background information, 102–103 by Rosbaud, 235–236 work on Manhattan Project, 105–110 Steenbeck, Max work with plutonium, 103–104, 105–107 Sochumi imprisonment, 261 second law of thermodynamics, 62 work on gas discharges/magnetic mines, 260 Segre,´ Emilio, element 43-technetium stellar energy problem. See also Sun discovery, 100 Bethe/Teller collaborative work, 208–210 selling, of nuclear technology, 259, 262–263 collaborative solving of, 205–207 Serber, Robert Gamow/Teller collaborative work, 192 assistantship with Oppenheimer, 119 work of Eddington, 198–199 biographical data, 119 Stevenson, Adlai FBI surveillance of, 121, 138 Bernstein’s interaction with, 185–186 German reactor plan meeting, 237–238 and partial test ban treaty, 186 invention of “ra-la” method, 242 Strassmann, Fritz, 35–36 Japan bomb damage assessment, 137 anti-Nazi stance of, 43–44 Lawrence Radiation Laboratory position, discovery of barium, 72, 280 137–138 discovery of krypton, 280 Los Alamos lecture series, 123 uranium fissioning experiments, 39 primer of, 119–134, 162 Sublette, Carey, 7, 8, 286 University of Illinois professorship, 120 Sun uranium sphere critical mass calculations, compression/fission reactions, 214–215 125–126 Eddington’s energy thoughts about, 199 Shawn, William, 63 temperature comparison with fission bombs, shock waves, 151, 165, 179–180 124–125, 171–173, 178–179

r 298 Index

supercritical mass, 126, 142 electron discovery, 16 Szilard, Leo isotope stability detection work, 30–31 assistantship/supervision with Laue, 61–63 “plum pudding” atomic model, 16 biographical data, 60–61 Second Wrangler honor, 14 foreboding of future, 63 Trinity College career, 14 graphite moderator development, 110 Thomson, William, 198 “homogeneous” reactor idea, 111–113 Tizard, Henry, 80, 87 ideas on neutron production, 64–65 Todd, Margaret, 28 nuclear reactor idea, 109–110 Tokyo bombing, 4–5 observation of prompt neutrons, 73–74 Tolman, Richard patents filed by, 65 fission bomb suggestions, 122 work on Manhattan Project, 105–110 and implosion bombs, 140 transuranics tampers Abelson/McMillan’s finding of, 96 of tungsten carbide/steel, 132–133 and fusion, 218 of uranium-238, 132–133 Meitner’s study of, 44 Taylor, Theodore, 256 periodic table location, 94 Teller, Edward, 63, 66–67 transuranic-93 eka-rhenium, 100 Bernstein’s meeting with, 158–159 Trinity College, at Cambridge, 14 collaboration with Bethe, 208–210 Trinity gadget test, 152–153, 165, 170– collaboration with Gamow, 192 171 German reactor plan meeting, 237–238 tritium, 209–210, 212–221 hydrogen bomb proposal, 122 mixture with deuterium, 209, 216–218 stellar energy work, 205–207, 208–210 Truman, Harry, 219–221 work on “classical super,” 210 Tuck, James, 148, 162 Tenet, George, 273 tunneling, of protons, 197 terrorists/terrorism, 258 test ban treaties, 186 Ulam, Stanislaw, 213, 219 testing, aboveground, 4. See also Operation Monte Carlo calculation method Plumbbob development, 219 Galileo test, 166, 168 work on “classic super,” 219–221 Mercury, Nevada, tests, 8, 162–168, 169–170 United Kingdom, number of nuclear weapons, naming conventions, 163–164 274 Trinity gadget test, 152–153, 165 United Nations, establishment of IAEA, 5 testing, underground United States by North Korea, 6, 279–280 cat-and-mouse game with Israel, 276 testing, upper atmosphere, 177 and Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty, 186 of hydrogen bomb, 178 halting of aboveground testing, 4 Theory of Everything (Eddington), 198 and Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, thermodynamics, second law, 62 267–268 Thomson, G. P. (son of J.J.), 80 number of nuclear weapons, 274 Thomson, Joseph John (J.J.) Uranium Committee, 88 association with Rutherford, 17 weapons limitation treaty with Russia, electricity/magnetism interests, 14 277–278

r Index 299

University of California at Berkeley, 96–98 Van Allen, James, 173–174 “Unsolved Problems in Mathematics and Their Van Vleck, John, 123 Solutions” lecture (Ulam), 219 Vanunu, Mordechai, 5, 276 uranium von Neumann, John, 146–148. See also fissioning experiments, 39 Fuchs–von Neumann spark plug patent and Hahn’s barium mystery, 46 calculations for implosion project, 147– name derivation, 93–94 148 nuclear mass determination, 49 foreboding of future, 63 separation for Hiroshima bomb, 77 work on “classical super,” 213–214 uranium, separation achievement by Frisch/Peierls, 87 watts, 51 for Hiroshima bomb, 77 Weizsacker,¨ Carl Friedrich von, 228, 230, Lawrence’s Berkeley project, 122 234 use of uranium hexafluoride, 76–77 association with Meitner, 49 uranium-235 discovery of plutonium-239, 202 as fissile isotope, 58, 76, 77 nuclei mass determination formula, 49–50 fission of, 58, 65 proposed use of eka-rhenium-neptunium, half-life of, 59 104 interaction with neutrons, 84, 86 stellar energy work, 205–207 origin of, 58 Weizsacker,¨ Ernst von, 49, 234 production vs. uranium-238, 58 Wheeler, John transformation to uranium-236, 72 foreboding of future, 63 unstable/neutron rich, 71 quantitative fission theory, 55 uranium-236 Wigner, Eugene, 119 binding energy of, 57–58 foreboding of future, 63 compound nucleus formation, 58 and nuclear reactor design, 115 transformation from uranium-235, 72 World Trade Center attack, 258 uranium-238 Wrangler honors, at Cambridge, 14 compound nucleus of, 57 deuteron irradiation of, 103 Yang, C. N. Y., 157–158 as fissionable isotope, 58 production vs. uranium-235, 58 Zachariasen, William “Willie,” 107–109, transformation to plutonium-239, 139–140 143–144 usage as tamper, 132–133 Zimmerman, Pete, 7 uranium-239 Zinn, Walter, 74 beta decay of, 99 Zippe, Gernot binding energy of, 57–58 employment by Degussa chemical company, half-life of, 59 262–263 uranium bullets, 130–131 Sochumi imprisonment, 261 Uranium Club (Uranverein), of Germany, 227 Zippe centrifuges, 261, 262–263, 265–266 uranium hexafluoride, 76–77, 82 Zyklon-B gas, 262