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Critical Assembly : A Technical History of Los Alamos During the Oppenheimer Years, 1943-1945 by Roger A. Meade, Paul W. Henriksen, Catherine L. Westfall and Lillian Hoddeson (1993, Hardcover)
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Critical Assembly: A Technical History of Los Alamos during the Oppenheimer Years, 1943–1945
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About this product
Product Identifiers
PublisherCambridge University Press
ISBN-100521441323
ISBN-139780521441322
eBay Product ID (ePID)332203
Product Key Features
Number of Pages528 Pages
LanguageEnglish
Publication NameCritical Assembly : a Technical History of Los Alamos During the Oppenheimer Years, 1943-1945
SubjectMilitary / Nuclear Warfare, History
Publication Year1993
TypeTextbook
AuthorRoger A. Meade, Paul W. Henriksen, Catherine L. Westfall, Lillian Hoddeson
Subject AreaTechnology & Engineering, History
FormatHardcover
Dimensions
Item Height1.3 in
Item Weight33.2 Oz
Item Length9 in
Item Width6 in
Additional Product Features
Intended AudienceScholarly & Professional
LCCN92-036611
Reviews"...this is the most technical account of Los Alamos's war years to appear in print...it considers Project Y's significant success in the use of 'big science' methodology....Critical Assembly is a masterful piece of technical writing accomplished by four authors in conjunction with six scientific advisors and editors....essential reading for technically-minded scholars interested in the history of Los Alamos, atomic research, and the development of modern research labs...." Richard Melzer, Western Historical Quarterly, 'Critical Assembly … is a true historical record of an epic technical venture. I strongly recommend it.' Hans A. Bethe, Physics World, "The book has the great merit of illustrating the depth and breadth of the scientific and technical problems faced by scientists in the laboratory at Los Alamos, New Mexico...This is an important book, for its insight into the enormously complex activities at Los alamos and, even more for its tantalizing survey of the implications of that research and development." Lawrence Badash, Journal of American History, "This book fulfills its declared intention of providing an unprecedentedly full picture of all the actions and processes that were involved in bringing the bombs into existence." A. P. French, Nature, "...a notable and richly detailed work....Critical assembly sets a new standard for writings on wartime Los Alamos." Canadian Review of American Studies, "...the book certainly does bring together a lot of information that fleshes out the story." New Scientist, "Critical Assembly has a lot to say about proliferation, much of it relevant to the present. Among other things, it provides a better foundation than ever for evaluating the problems facing countries (or terrorists) with nuclear ambitions." William Sweet, The Sciences, ‘Critical Assembly … is a true historical record of an epic technical venture. I strongly recommend it.’Hans A. Bethe, Physics World, "...provides detailed discussion of the many experiments that made up the project, including the implosion and gun assembly programs and the interesting consequences of spontaneous fission in reactor-produced plutonium and continues with details of the Trinity test and the actual dropping of the bombs at Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Recommended as an important addition to any college or university library." Choice, 'Critical Assembly ... is a true historical record of an epic technical venture. I strongly recommend it.' Hans A. Bethe, Physics World, "...draw[s] upon a full lode of primary data and explore[s] for the first time the methodology by which researchers at Los Alamos succeeded in their wartime mission. The authors successfully avoid the "official history" pitfall by focusing on individual contributions to scientific and technological advances as opposed to the usual summary of divisional achievements...a well-documented, concise, chronological review of the combination of nuclear physics, chemistry and metallurgy that produced the first fission weapons...also examines the impact of Los Alamos upon the methodology of "big science" at national laboratories in the postwar era." Peter Neushal, Physics Today, "Generally the presentation is clear and shows the care one expects of the four distinguished authors....The presentation can easily be followed by a scientific reader, and a non-scientist will get an interesting impression of the events." Rudolf Peierls, Science
Dewey Edition21
IllustratedYes
Dewey Decimal355.8/25119/09730904
Table Of Content1. Introduction; 2. Early research on fission, and overview: 1933-43; 3. The early materials program: 1933-43; 4. Setting up project Y: June 1942 to March 1943; 5. Research in the first months of project Y: April to September 1943; 6. Creating a wartime community: September 1943 to August 1944; 7. The gun weapon: September 1943 to August 1944; 8. The implosion program accelerates: September 1943 to July 1944; 9. New hopes for the implosion weapon: September 1943 to July 1944; 10. The nuclear properties of a fission weapon: September 1943 to July 1944; 11. Uranium and plutonium: early 1943 to August 1944; 12. The discovery of spontaneous fission in plutonium and the reorganisation of Los Alamos; 13. Building the uranium bomb: August 1944 to July 1945; 14. Exploring the plutonium implosion weapon: August 1944 to February 1945; 15. Finding the implosion design: August 1944 to February 1945; 16. Building the implosion gadget: March 1945 to July 1945; 17. Critical assemblies and nuclear physics: August 1944 to July 1945; 18. The test at Trinity: January 1944 to July 1945; 19. Delivery: June 1943 to August 1945; 20. The legacy of Los Alamos.
SynopsisAn exploration of how the ‘critical assembly’ of scientists at Los Alamos created the first atomic bombs., This 1993 volume studies the technical research that led to the first atomic bombs. The authors explore how the 'critical assembly' of scientists, engineers, and military personnel at Los Alamos, collaborated during World War II to create a new approach to research. Readers will find this book a crucial resource for understanding the underpinnings of contemporary science and technology., This volume is a lucid and accurate history of the technical research that led to the first atomic bombs. The authors explore how the "critical assembly" of scientists, engineers, and military personnel at Los Alamos, responding to wartime deadlines, collaborated to create a new approach to large-scale research. The book opens with an introduction laying out major themes. After a synopsis of the prehistory of the bomb project, from the discovery of nuclear fission to the start of the Manhattan Engineer District, and an overview of the early materials program, the book examines the establishment of the Los Alamos Laboratory, the implosion and gun assembly programs, nuclear physics research, chemistry and metallurgy, explosives, uranium and plutonium development, confirmation of spontaneous fission in pile-produced plutonium, the thermonuclear bomb, critical assemblies, the Trinity test, and delivery of the combat weapons., This 1993 volume is a lucid and accurate history of the technical research that led to the first atomic bombs. The authors explore how the 'critical assembly' of scientists, engineers and military personnel at Los Alamos, responding to wartime deadlines, collaborated to create a new approach to large-scale research. The book opens with an introduction laying out major themes. After a synopsis of the prehistory of the bomb project, from the discovery of nuclear fission to the start of the Manhattan Engineer District, and an overview of the early materials programme, the book examines the establishment of the Los Alamos Laboratory, the implosion and gun assembly programmes, nuclear physics research, chemistry and metallurgy, explosives, uranium and plutonium development, confirmation of spontaneous fission in pile-produced plutonium, the thermonuclear bomb, critical assemblies, the Trinity test, and delivery of the combat weapons. Readers interested in history of science will find this volume a crucial resource for understanding the underpinnings of contemporary science and technology.
LC Classification NumberQC773.3.U5 C75 1993
