The First Weighing of Plutonium
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The Making of an Atomic Bomb
(Image: Courtesy of United States Government, public domain.) INTRODUCTORY ESSAY "DESTROYER OF WORLDS": THE MAKING OF AN ATOMIC BOMB At 5:29 a.m. (MST), the world’s first atomic bomb detonated in the New Mexican desert, releasing a level of destructive power unknown in the existence of humanity. Emitting as much energy as 21,000 tons of TNT and creating a fireball that measured roughly 2,000 feet in diameter, the first successful test of an atomic bomb, known as the Trinity Test, forever changed the history of the world. The road to Trinity may have begun before the start of World War II, but the war brought the creation of atomic weaponry to fruition. The harnessing of atomic energy may have come as a result of World War II, but it also helped bring the conflict to an end. How did humanity come to construct and wield such a devastating weapon? 1 | THE MANHATTAN PROJECT Models of Fat Man and Little Boy on display at the Bradbury Science Museum. (Image: Courtesy of Los Alamos National Laboratory.) WE WAITED UNTIL THE BLAST HAD PASSED, WALKED OUT OF THE SHELTER AND THEN IT WAS ENTIRELY SOLEMN. WE KNEW THE WORLD WOULD NOT BE THE SAME. A FEW PEOPLE LAUGHED, A FEW PEOPLE CRIED. MOST PEOPLE WERE SILENT. J. ROBERT OPPENHEIMER EARLY NUCLEAR RESEARCH GERMAN DISCOVERY OF FISSION Achieving the monumental goal of splitting the nucleus The 1930s saw further development in the field. Hungarian- of an atom, known as nuclear fission, came through the German physicist Leo Szilard conceived the possibility of self- development of scientific discoveries that stretched over several sustaining nuclear fission reactions, or a nuclear chain reaction, centuries. -
Marie Curie and Her Time
Marie Curie and Her Time by Hélène Langevin-Joliot to pass our lives near each other hypnotized by our dreams, your patriotic dream, our humanitarian dream, arie Curie (1867–1934) belongs to that exclu- and our scientific dream.” sive group of women whose worldwide rec- Frederick Soddy wrote about Marie that she was Mognition and fame have endured for a century “the most beautiful discovery of Pierre Curie.” Of or more. She was indeed one of the major agents of course, it might also be said that Pierre Curie was the scientific revolution which allowed experimen- “the most beautiful discovery of Marie Skłodowska.” tal investigation to extend beyond the macroscopic It is difficult to imagine more contrasting personali- world. Her work placed the first stone in the founda- ties than those of Pierre and of Marie. In spite of that, tion of a new discipline: radiochemistry. And Curie’s or because of that, they complemented each other achievements are even more remarkable since they astonishingly well. Pierre was as dreamy as Marie was occurred in the field of science, an intellectual activ- organized. At the same time, they shared similar ideas ity traditionally forbidden to women. However, these about family and society. accomplishments alone don’t seem to fully explain the near mythic status of Marie Curie today. One hundred years ago, she was often considered to be just an assistant to her husband. Perhaps the reason her name still resonates is because of the compelling story of her life and her intriguing personality. The Most Beautiful Discovery of Pierre Curie The story of the young Maria Skłodowska leaving In this iconic photograph of participants at the Fifth her native Poland to pursue upper-level studies in Solvay Conference in 1927, Marie Curie is third from Paris sounds like something out of a novel. -
Royal Society of Chemistry Input to the Ad Hoc Nuclear
ROYAL SOCIETY OF CHEMISTRY INPUT TO THE AD HOC NUCLEAR RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT ADVISORY BOARD The Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC) was pleased to hear of the instigation of the Ad Hoc Nuclear Research and Development Advisory Board (the Board) following the findings of the House of Lords Science and Technology Committee Inquiry ‘Nuclear Research and Development Capabilities’.1,2 The RSC is the largest organisation in Europe for advancing the chemical sciences. Supported by a network of 47,000 members worldwide and an internationally acclaimed publishing business, its activities span education and training, conferences and science policy, and the promotion of the chemical sciences to the public. This document represents the views of the RSC. The RSC has a duty under its Royal Charter "to serve the public interest" by acting in an independent advisory capacity, and it is in this spirit that this submission is made. To provide input to the Board the RSC has performed a wide consultation with the chemical science community, including members of both our Radiochemistry and Energy Sector Interest Groups and also our Environment Sustainability and Energy Division. September 2012 The Role of Chemistry in a Civil Nuclear Strategy 1 Introduction Chemistry and chemical knowledge is essential in nuclear power generation and nuclear waste management. It is essential that a UK civil nuclear strategy recognises the crucial role that chemistry plays, both in research and innovation and in the development of a strong skills pipeline. As the RSC previously articulated in our response to the House of Lords Inquiry, 3 nuclear power is an important component of our current energy mix. -
Chicago Pile-1 - Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia
Chicago Pile-1 - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Not logged in Talk Contributions Create account Log in Article Talk Read Edit View history Chicago Pile-1 From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Coordinates : 41°47′32″N 87°36′3″W Main page Contents Chicago Pile-1 (CP-1) was the world's first nuclear Site of the First Self Sustaining Nuclear Featured content reactor to achieve criticality. Its construction was part of Reaction Current events the Manhattan Project, the Allied effort to create atomic U.S. National Register of Historic Places Random article bombs during World War II. It was built by the U.S. National Historic Landmark Donate to Wikipedia Manhattan Project's Metallurgical Laboratory at the Wikipedia store Chicago Landmark University of Chicago , under the west viewing stands of Interaction the original Stagg Field . The first man-made self- Help sustaining nuclear chain reaction was initiated in CP-1 About Wikipedia on 2 December 1942, under the supervision of Enrico Community portal Recent changes Fermi, who described the apparatus as "a crude pile of [4] Contact page black bricks and wooden timbers". Tools The reactor was assembled in November 1942, by a team What links here that included Fermi, Leo Szilard , discoverer of the chain Related changes reaction, and Herbert L. Anderson, Walter Zinn, Martin Upload file D. Whitaker, and George Weil . It contained 45,000 Drawing of the reactor Special pages graphite blocks weighing 400 short tons (360 t) used as Permanent link a neutron moderator , and was fueled by 6 short tons Page information Wikidata item (5.4 t) of uranium metal and 50 short tons (45 t) of Cite this page uranium oxide. -
Metallurgical Laboratory (HWMF)
WSRC-TR-94-0615 Unclassified METALLURGICAL LABORATORY HAZARDOUS WASTE MANAGEMENT FACILITY GROUNDWATER MONITORING REPORT (U) FOURTH QUARTER 1994 AND 1994 SUMMARY Publication Date: March 1995 Authorized Derivative Classifier and Reviewing Official: 3-2?-?S UNCLASSIFIED Does Not Contain Unclassified Controlled Nuclear Information Westinghouse Savannah River Company Savannah River Site Aiken, SC 29808 Prepared for the U.S. Department of Energy under Control Contract No. DE-AC09-89SR18035 WSRC-TR-94-0615 Unclassified METALLURGICAL LABORATORY HAZARDOUS WASTE MANAGEMENT FACILITY GROUNDWATER MONITORING REPORT (U) FOURTH QUARTER 1994 AND 1994 SUMMARY Publication Date: March 1995 Authorized Derivative Classifier and Reviewing Official: UNCLASSIFIED Does Not Contain Unclassified Controlled Nuclear Information Westinghouse Savannah River Company Savannah River Site Aiken, SC 29808 DISTRIBUTION OF THIS DOCUMENT IS UNLIMITED'&c Prepared for the U.S. Department of Energy under Control Contract No. DE-AC09-89SR18035 MASTER DISCLAIMER This report was prepared as an account of work sponsored by an agency of the United States Government. Neither the United States Government nor any agency thereof, nor any of their employees, makes any warranty, express or implied, or .assumes any legal liability or responsibility for the accuracy, completeness, or usefulness of any information, apparatus, product, or process disclosed, or represents that its use would not infringe privately owned rights. Reference herein to any specific commercial product, process, or service by trade name, trademark, manufacturer, or otherwise does not necessarily constitute or imply its endorsement, recommendation, or favoring by the United States Government or any agency thereof. The views and opinions of authors expressed herein do not necessarily state or reflect those of the United States * Government or any agency thereof. -
A Note on Radioactive Materials and Their Measurements Elements Are
A NOTE ON RADIOACTIVE MATERIALS AND THEIR MEASUREMENTS Elements are placed in the periodic table of elements according to atomic number or proton number often referred to as Z. Their atomic weights are also usually indicated and can be fractional if the element in nature contains more than one isotope. Isotopes of an element all have the same atomic number, Z, but have different numbers of neu- trons. Some of these isotopes, even in naturally occurring elements, may be radioactive, and are usually given the atomic weight of the longest known isotope. Radioactive decay occurs when an unstable atom loses energy by emitting particles and gamma radiation or by spontaneously fission- ing. (Spontaneous fission is one of the natural modes of radioactive decay in which fission occurs without the addition of external energy or particles.) The activity of a radioactive sample is simply the rate of radioactive decay, expressed as the number of decays per unit time. Traditionally, the curie (Ci) was used to quantify the decay rate and was defined as the radioactivity measured for one gram of pure radium, or ~3.7 × 1010 decays per second (d/s), but the value changed as measurement techniques improved. To avoid this problem of a “chang- ing” constant, the Curie is now defined as exactly 3.7 × 1010 d/s. The becquerel (Bq), equal to one d/s, is the official SI unit (International System of Units). The roentgen R( ) is commonly used as a unit of radiation exposure to X-ray or gamma radiation, and can be roughly defined as “that quan- tity of X-ray or gamma radiation needed to produce one electrostatic unit of ionic charge in one cm3 of air under standard temperature and pressure (STP) “normal conditions”. -
Appendix E Nobel Prizes in Nuclear Science
Nuclear Science—A Guide to the Nuclear Science Wall Chart ©2018 Contemporary Physics Education Project (CPEP) Appendix E Nobel Prizes in Nuclear Science Many Nobel Prizes have been awarded for nuclear research and instrumentation. The field has spun off: particle physics, nuclear astrophysics, nuclear power reactors, nuclear medicine, and nuclear weapons. Understanding how the nucleus works and applying that knowledge to technology has been one of the most significant accomplishments of twentieth century scientific research. Each prize was awarded for physics unless otherwise noted. Name(s) Discovery Year Henri Becquerel, Pierre Discovered spontaneous radioactivity 1903 Curie, and Marie Curie Ernest Rutherford Work on the disintegration of the elements and 1908 chemistry of radioactive elements (chem) Marie Curie Discovery of radium and polonium 1911 (chem) Frederick Soddy Work on chemistry of radioactive substances 1921 including the origin and nature of radioactive (chem) isotopes Francis Aston Discovery of isotopes in many non-radioactive 1922 elements, also enunciated the whole-number rule of (chem) atomic masses Charles Wilson Development of the cloud chamber for detecting 1927 charged particles Harold Urey Discovery of heavy hydrogen (deuterium) 1934 (chem) Frederic Joliot and Synthesis of several new radioactive elements 1935 Irene Joliot-Curie (chem) James Chadwick Discovery of the neutron 1935 Carl David Anderson Discovery of the positron 1936 Enrico Fermi New radioactive elements produced by neutron 1938 irradiation Ernest Lawrence -
ARIE SKLODOWSKA CURIE Opened up the Science of Radioactivity
ARIE SKLODOWSKA CURIE opened up the science of radioactivity. She is best known as the discoverer of the radioactive elements polonium and radium and as the first person to win two Nobel prizes. For scientists and the public, her radium was a key to a basic change in our understanding of matter and energy. Her work not only influenced the development of fundamental science but also ushered in a new era in medical research and treatment. This file contains most of the text of the Web exhibit “Marie Curie and the Science of Radioactivity” at http://www.aip.org/history/curie/contents.htm. You must visit the Web exhibit to explore hyperlinks within the exhibit and to other exhibits. Material in this document is copyright © American Institute of Physics and Naomi Pasachoff and is based on the book Marie Curie and the Science of Radioactivity by Naomi Pasachoff, Oxford University Press, copyright © 1996 by Naomi Pasachoff. Site created 2000, revised May 2005 http://www.aip.org/history/curie/contents.htm Page 1 of 79 Table of Contents Polish Girlhood (1867-1891) 3 Nation and Family 3 The Floating University 6 The Governess 6 The Periodic Table of Elements 10 Dmitri Ivanovich Mendeleev (1834-1907) 10 Elements and Their Properties 10 Classifying the Elements 12 A Student in Paris (1891-1897) 13 Years of Study 13 Love and Marriage 15 Working Wife and Mother 18 Work and Family 20 Pierre Curie (1859-1906) 21 Radioactivity: The Unstable Nucleus and its Uses 23 Uses of Radioactivity 25 Radium and Radioactivity 26 On a New, Strongly Radio-active Substance -
Nuclear Chemistry Card Sort
Nuclear Chemistry Card Sort Submitted by: Annette Gillespie, Ashely Gilomen, Sarah Johnson, and Stephanie Kimberlin Appalachian Regional Commission/Oak Ridge National Laboratory Summer Math-Science-Technology Institute Grade: 9-12 Lesson Duration: 45-60 minutes Materials Needed: • Media for Venn Diagram (e.g., poster board, white board, butcher paper, electronic devices) • One copy of the list of nuclear chemistry concepts/nuclear chemistry concept cards provided in this lesson plan • Envelope for storing cut-up list/cards Background Information: Students should be able to describe the basic structure of an atom and have a basic understanding of nuclear notation. Lesson Objective: Students will be able to • Describe the basic principles of nuclear chemistry. • Discern between diagrams and representations of nuclear equations and processes. • Use context clues to correctly categorize nuclear events. Instructional Process: All informative resources should be made available to the students so they can categorize the concepts (e.g., notes, text books, Internet). This lesson is best suited as an introduction activity for the beginning of the nuclear chemistry unit and/or as a review activity at the end of the nuclear chemistry unit. Students should be organized into groups of 3-4 to complete this activity. Each student group should create and label a three-circle Venn diagram on the teacher-designated media. (Refer to the examples provided in figure 1 and at the end of this lesson plan.) Each group should receive one copy of the list of nuclear chemistry concepts/nuclear chemistry concept cards, which they will cut up into individual cards. Once students have their diagrams drawn and cards cut out, they should place the nuclear chemistry concepts cards into one of three categories on the diagram: fission, fusion, or nuclear decay. -
Unit 1 – Atomic Structure and Nuclear Chemistry Introduction to the Atom
Unit 1 – Atomic Structure and Nuclear Chemistry Introduction to the atom Modern Atomic Theory All matter is composed of atoms Atoms cannot be subdivided, created, or destroyed in ordinary chemical reactions. However, these changes CAN occur in nuclear reactions! Every atom has different properties from other atoms Ex: grinding down a gold ring Modern Atomic Theory Wait, it’s “only” a theory? Why are we learning it then? •A theory is a powerful term in science Theory -A set of tested hypotheses that gives an overall explanation of some natural phenomenon. Ex: Cell theory & Evolutionary theory We can now see atoms …sort of In 1981 a STM (Scanning Tunneling Microscope) was created. - We can see them and manipulate them. The Kanji characters for "atom." This image was formed by using the tiny tip of an STM to pick up individual atoms of iron and place them on a copper (111) surface. Nanotechnology is coming Atoms can be moved and molded to make various devices such as molecular motors Structure of the Atom Accessing Prior Knowledge 1. Based on your previous science classes, draw a generic atom and label where you’d find the nucleus, protons, neutrons, & electrons. 2. For a common beryllium atom, what is the: a) # protons? b) # neutrons? c) # electrons? Structure of an Atom Electrons (in electron cloud) 1/2000th the mass of P+ & N Nucleus (protons + neutrons) Particle Charge Mass Location Purpose # Electron -1 0 Electron Behavior of cloud element Proton +1 1 Nucleus Identity of element Neutron 0 1 Nucleus Stability of nucleus Charges in an Atom The atom is generally neutral because: # of negative electrons = # of positive protons The nucleus is positively charged because: Contains positive protons (and neutrons which don’t have a charge). -
Annual Report of Institute of Nuclear Chemistry and Technology 1996
PL9702079 ISSN 1425-ZU4A IN/&~PL- 003 INSTITUTE OF NUCLEAR CHEMISTRY AND TECHNOLOGY m DO /? WMEM\ 1996 OF NUCLEI AND TECHNOLOGY 1996 EDITORIAL BOARD Wiktor Smuiek, Ph.D. Ewa Godlewska Sylwester Wojtas © Copyright by the Institute of Nuclear Chemistry and Technology, Warszawa 1997 All rights reserved CONTENTS GENERAL INFORMATION 7 MANAGEMENT OF THE INSTITUTE 9 MANAGING STAFF OF THE INSTITUTE 9 HEADS OF THE INCT DEPARTMENTS 9 PROFESSORS AND SCIENTIFIC COUNCIL 10 PROFESSORS 10 ASSOCIATE PROFESSORS 10 ASSISTANT PROFESSORS (Ph.D.) 11 SCIENTIFIC COUNCIL (1995-1999) 13 HONORARY MEMBERS OF THE INCT SCIENTIFIC COUNCIL (1995-1999) 14 RADIATION CHEMISTRY AND PHYSICS 15 ONE-ELECTRON OXIDATION OF METALLOPORPHYCENES AS STUDIED BY RADIOLYTIC METHODS D M. Guldi, J. Field, J. Grodkowski, P. Neta, E. Vogel 17 IRON-PORPHYRIN CATALYZED REDUCTION OF CO& PHOTOCHEMICAL AND RADIATION CHEMICAL STUDIES J. Grodkowski, D. Behar, P. Neta, P. Hambright 17 RATE CONSTANTS FOR REACTIONS OF ALIPHATIC CARBON-CENTERED RADICALS IN AQUEOUS SOLUTION P. Neta, J. Grodkowski, A.B. Ross 19 TETRABENZOPORPHYRINS: METAL INCORPORATION AND EXCHANGE KINETICS, LIGATIONAL EQUILIBRIA AND PULSE RADIOLYSIS STUDY S. Cromer, P. Hambright, J. Grodkowski, P. Neta 19 REDUCTION AND ALKYLATION OF RHODIUM PORPHYRINS IN ALCOHOL SOLUTIONS. RADIATION CHEMICAL AND PHOTOCHEMICAL STUDIES J. Grodkowski, P. Neta, Y. Abdallach, P. Hambright 20 •OH RADICAL INDUCED OXIDATION OF S-METHYLCYSTEINE AND ITS DERIVATIVES FRAGMENTATION OF a-AMINOALKYL RADICALS D. Pogocki, K. Bobrowski, K.-D. Asmus 21 Trp ' -* iyrO RADICAL TRANSFOMATION IN HEN-EGG WHITE LYSOZYME K. Bobrowski, J. Holcman, J. Poznafiski, K.L. Wierzchowski 24 SENSITIZED PHOTOOXIDATION OF METHIONINE-CONTAINING PEPTIDES IN AQUEOUS SOLUTION K. -
Enrico Fermi: Genius
ANNIVERSARY Enrico Fermi: genius This year marks the centenary of the birth of Enrico Fermi, one of the giants of 20th- • century science, and one of the last physicists to be both an accomplished experimentalist and an influential theorist. Here, Gianni Battimelli of the University of Rome "La Sapienza" traces the life of a genius. Enrico Fermi was born on 29 September 1901 in Rome to a family with no scientific traditions. His passion for natural sciences, and in particular for physics, was stimulated and guided in his school years by an engineer and family friend, Adolph Amidei, who recognized Fermi's exceptional intellectual abilities and suggested admission to Pisa's Scuola Normale Superiore. After finishing high-school studies in Rome, in 1918 Fermi progressed to the prestigious Pisa Institute, after producing for the admission exam an essay on the characteristics of the propagation of sound, the authenticity of which the commissioners initially refused to believe. Studies at Pisa did not pose any particular difficulties for the young Fermi, despite his having to be largely self-taught using mate rial in foreign languages because nothing existed at the time in Fermi's group discovered the Italian on the new physics emerging around relativity and quantum radioactivity induced by theory. In those years in Italy, these new theories were absent from university teaching, and only mathematicians likeTullio Levi-Civita neutrons, instead of the had the knowledge and insight to see their implications. alpha particles used in the Working alone, between 1919 and 1922, Fermi built up a solid competence in relativity, statistical mechanics and the applications Paris experiments.