Evening star., 1952-12-08
10 Years Of Atomic Research
Secrecy Vital in Production
And Not in Theory of A-Bomb

a relatively small fraction of the
field of atomic energy.
If you believe everything Is
secret in the atomic energy pro-
gram, then just ask any atomic
reactor specialist about the first
Chicago pile, the construction Of
which was the key to the produc-
tion of plutonium. You can ask
any question you want on this
first atomic furnace" and you
will get a complete answer. OF
course, unless you know something
about engineering and physics you
might not understand the answer
But the answer is not secret.
Many Textbooks Available.
Any notion that almost all in
formation on atomic energy is
secret may be dispelled further by
some library work. A whole shelf
full of technical books has been
written on the basic science and
engineering of the atomic energy
project. a series of books which,
to the dismay of the publisher, are
definitely not best sellers. Tech
nical articles in the atomic energy
field are so numerous that some
scientific journals are overbur-
dened with them. Textbooks are
available as well as hundreds of
pamphlets.
Before exclaiming. "Al our
secrets are out!" you had better
pause and consider some facts.
First. basic information in the
atomic energy field is being dis
covered and published all over
the world. Even the u. S. S. R.
publishes technical articles in the
field and apparently has scientific
talent comparable to our own.
This body of fundamental knowl-
edge is international in character
and, not being directly concerned
with the technology of production
of fashionable material and atomic
weapons. is printed in scientific
journals by all countries. We keep
secret very little of such basic
scientific information.
A second fact to consider is that
a fundamental characteristic of a
democratic Society-and one which
contributes much to its strength
is the free flow of information
Just as the average citizen would
be lost without his newspapers,
magazines and books, so would the
technical community be lost with
out It's scientific journals and
books.
To keep the technical communi-
ty well informed and the eby capa-
BILE of contributing the utmost to
the atomic energy effort, it has
been the Atomic Energy Commits
sion's policy never to withhold any
information from publication un-
less there is good reason to be-
lieve the information will assist
"inilnical inte- sts"-and assist
them more than it will help our
own country. AS an example, we
have always released practically
all technical data on nuclear in
struments since We are convinced
that the usefulness of the data to
United States industry outweighs
any possible usefulness to the
U. S. S. r. Similarly, practically
all biological and medical work is
conducted in the open and is freely
published. Cyclotrons, betatrons,
cosmotrons and other species Of
atom smashers", sources Of a
large part of our basic knowledge
about atomic energy, are built and
operated in the open and papers
published by the pound.
Secret is Production Know How.
What is kept secret? The prin-
cipal secret is production know
how. Our plants are often built
by one or more large contractors
with hundreds of sub-contract tors
and supplie.s In full view of