Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1962-12-02

could be a chain reaction, re-
leasing a perpetual flow of great
energy. To make electricity. Or
ship propulsion. Or bomb.
On March 16, 1889 Fermi went
to Washington and told the Navy
Department the promise the news
of nuclear fisSion had for, say.
submarine propulsion or even a
bomb of undreamed of power. The
officers listened politely, asked to
be kept informed.
One of the refugee scientists,
Leo Szilard. finally decided to take
the matter higher, to the PreSi-
dent himself. At Szilard's prompt
ing Einstein wrote Roosevelt his
now famous letter in August, 1899.
Roosevelt, grasping the importance
at once, said, This requires &C
ton"
Government Money
But it wasn't until the follow
ing February that the Government
came up with some money: $4,000
for Fermi to buy some graphite.
The graphite dated back to Fer
MRS days in Rome when he had
discovered that neutrons had far
more effect on their target if they
were first slowed by "modera-
tor"
theoretically the idea was
straightforward. But it had new
er been done before.
The question, then, was how big
to make the pile? How much uran-
ium would be needed? And was
there a chance the whole thing
would run away" and explode?
Fermi began piling graphite to
find out.
Piling tons of graphite blocks
Is dirty work - graphite is the
lead in the common pencil -
and hard work.
well, we were reasonably
strong" Fermi recalled later, but
we were, after all, thinkers"
And that's when some members
of the Columbia football team
Joined the march of science. They
were signed on as graphite pliers
and uranium baggers.
Elsewhere the pieces that were
to make the bomb were falling,
more by chance than otherwise,
into place. In December and
January of l940-1 a team at the
University of California under
Glen Seaborg, now head of the
Atomic Energy Commission, dis
covered that bombardment Of U238
produced a new man-made ele-
ment, plutonium. Six months la
ter Mr.. Seaborg determined plu-
tonium was fashionable and thus
could be material for a bomb.
This meant Fermi's pile might
not only produce the first chain
reaction. It could also make the
hope for a new bomb. plutonium.
In September, 1910, the Govern
ment followed up its $4,000 grant
to Fermi with another $4,000 to
Columbia.
Two-Yeor Dote
Then, in July, 194l, some Brit
ish scientists came to America
and reported their research indi-
Gated a bomb could be made with
in two years from between IL and
% pounds Of U235.
There we're further ominous de-
velopments abroad. Germany hac
long since taken over Czechoslo-
vakia and It's valuable uranium
mines. II had conquered Norway
which had the worlds only plant
10 make heavy water. a substance
that was a much better moder.
ator than graphite but tortuouslS
difficult TO make. tBohr, In fact
when he fled occupied Denmark
made sure TO take his available
supply OF heavy water with hin
which he had hidden In bee
bottle. To his dismay he founC
when he reached England he'C
taken the wrong bottle. His priz'
contained Just that-beer).
With the news from Britain
with reports coming In on nuclea
research from scores OF American
universities, with the war in tn
Pacific looming ever closer, Roose
welt In October. l94l authorize,
DR.. Vannevar Bush. In charge o
marshalling American science 10
the defense effort. TO proceed Of
atomic research in every possibl
way A month later Arthur Comp
ton OF the University OF Chicag
summarized progress theretofor
with q report that a bomb O
"superlatively destructive power
could be made Of between 4 an
$40 pounds OF U235, a fantasti