Evening star., 1951-03-26
Argentine A-Scientist
Fails 10 Prove Peron's S
Atom Energy Claim
BY the Associated Press

BUENOS AIRES, Mar. 26.-The
Austrian credited with discovering
Argentina's new cheap method of
producing atomic energy told
foreign newsmen about it for
three hours yesterday but added
little detail and no proof to what
President Juan D. Peron an
nounced Saturday.
The scientist is Ronald Richter,
d, now an Argentine citizen. He
said, as did Gen. Peron, that Ar
gentina would use the process not
for bombs but in a long-range
program to provide industrial
power.
Gen. Peron announced Satur-
day that controlled" atomic
energy had been liberated by
fusion of atoms under enormous
heat, as contrasted with "uncon-
trolled" energy liberated by United
States atomic explosions produced
by splitting the atom.
"Solar Reactor Furnace" Used.
Argentina's atomic reaction, DR..
Richter said yesterday, was pro-
duced in a solar reactor furnace"
protected by stone walls. Heat of
hundreds of millions of degrees
like the surface temperature of
the sun - released controllable
atomic energy, Richter reported.
He refused, for security reasons,
to say how the heat was produced
or what elements were used to
produce atomic reaction.
DR.. Richter said Argentina'sI
power plants and smelters would
be driven by atomic power in the
future, but that no one could fore
cast the exact date this would be
possible.
President Peron was obviously
annoyed by foreign scepticism re-
garding the Argentine discovery.
Writing for the semiofficial news
paper, Democracia, he said: II am
not interested in what the United
States or any other country in
the world thinks
Charges Lies In Foreign Papers.
The president said he had not
invited foreign newsmep to hear
the first announcement of the dis
covery because he wanted to speak
only to his own people, thus
avoiding the course followed byI
politicians and newspapers in
other countries Of the world who
lie knowingly and direct their lies
to their own people and abroad"
'They have not told the first
truth and I have not told the first
lis," he declared.
MANY American and Euro
pean scientists have expressed
strong doubts about the discov-
cry claimed by Argentina. Some |
said it appeared to be only an
enlargement Of recent predic-
tions that the reaction by which /
the sun produces heat might be-
come a source Of power. Amer |
1can scientists say it is possible |
to produce this reaction-fusion
Of two atoms to make larger
atom-only on a tiny laboratory
scale. None held any hope Of
its being employed. to produce
controlled power.
Does Not Use Uranium.
Diplomatic observers have
suggested that Gen. Peron
timed his announcement just
before the opening of the inter-
American foreign ministers
conference in Washington to
enhance Argentina's prestige.
damaged by Peron's recent
muzzling of the independent |
newspaper La Prensa.)
Richter said his process does not
use uranium, triton, plutonium,
cyclotrons, Van de Graf high
tension generators or any other of
the elements and machines gen.
orally associated with atomic en-
ergy production.
. He said it used technical in
stallations" rather than machines
and that the elements employed
are native to Argentina.