Evening star., 1950-02-06
Atom Scientists WORKING
In Tiniest of Dimensions
Greatest Force in Universe Operates
Within Range Called the Barn
By Thomas r. Henry

greatest Force IN Universe Operates
Within Range Called the Barn
By Thomas r. Henry
Atomic Energy Commission scientists ara
working in Creations tiniest dimension
about 60th of a trillionth of trillionth
of square inch.
This is the barn." of which lot more
will be heard as the atomic age progresses.
1t is named from the common expression,
big as barn door,
The barn is the range within which i'm.
meaSurably the greatest force in the uni
verse operates. This is the force which
binds together the particles In the nucleus
Of an atom, the glue" of all creation, q
minute amount Of which is released in the
splitting of a nucleus.
When charged atomic bullet, such al
proton, is fired into an atomic nucleus,
1t is shunted from its target by enormous
repulSive forces, which increase enormously
as distance grows less. At very close ap-
proach this pressure is equivalent to a
push of several trillion trillion pounds
against one pound
Pulls to Its Target.
But within the region of the barn all
this changes. An enormously greater at
traction sets in and pulls the atomic bull
let to its target. The size of the field
differs for atoms of different elements. It
is seldom greater than two barns.
Further development in the field Of
atomic energy and atomic explosions re-
quires an unimaginably great amount Of
back-breaking work. One aspect of this
is to measure this field in barns for each
of the 81 elements and the many hundreds
of their isotopeS. The field can be calcu-
lated by the degree of detection OF atomic
bullets fired at different energies. The
whole job will require a generation and
work now is being concentrated. according
to the last report of the Atomic Energy
Commission, on the most significant Of the
elements.
The commissions scientists also are at
the point where they must weigh materials
in micrograms. A n1icrogram is about a
thirtieth of millionth Of an ounce. Until
their work started there was no Weighing
instrument in existence capable Of such
fine discrimination.
At the Mound Laboratory of the commits
sion at MEANWHILE, Ohio, microbalance has
been produced which will weigh even
smaller masses. The problem Is compli-
Gated by the fact that the invisibly minute
specks of material to be weighed are often
dangerously radioactive so that the operator
of the balance must be protected. The sam
Piles also must be protected absolutely from
exposure to air.
Balance Developed in War.
During the war a balance was developed at
the metalurgical laboratories Of the Uniyer-
sity of Chicago which depended on the tor
ton of quartz fberS The twisting Of these
flbers when weight was applied would
register the weight Of samples so small as
to be virtually invisible. The instrument still
was crude, however, for the work now neces-
sary, and the Mound Laboratory scientists
proceeded to refine it to its present sensi-
tivity.
The fibers Of the balance are about 25th
of a 1,000th of an inch in diameter. The
whole quartz system weighs about 1,4o0th
of an ounce, and this is the upper limit of
the mass it will weigh. The balance is kept
constantly in vacuum or in an atmosphere
of inert gas.
Commission scientists now are at work on
the construction of new kind of electronic
brain, equipped to solve their highly special
lied problems. It is expected to be completed
4. at the Princeton Institute of Higher Studies
this year. Some Of the mathematical work
now necessary to carry on the commissions
research problems is beyond the lifetime Of
any human conputers and the various robot
brains built to date are not quite suited to
atomic research. Much help has been OBJ
tanned, however, by keeping the Harvard
University automatic sequence calculator at
work twelve hours a day all this year on
commission problems.
When the new computer is finished at
Princeton models of it will be placed In all
the commission laboratories
The commissions work has forced the
scientists into new mathematical fields One
development, the commission has announced.
is the So-called Monte Carlo system, based
on the mathematics of chance at rouletts
table. 1t is used to predict the behavior of
neutron emitted from an exploding atom and
is OF vital Importance in the development Of
atomic energy.