"Tantalus" Synchrotron Radiation Source Collection
name: label: Creator
content: Tantalus Project
label: Interviewee
content: Rowe, Ednor "Ed"
label: Interviewee
content: Pruett, Charles
label: Interviewee
content: Olson, Cliff
label: Interviewee
content: Otte, Roger
label: Interviewee
content: Brown, Fred
label: Names
content: Synchrotron Radiation Center
label: Names
content: University of Wisconsin--Madison
topic: label: Topic
content: Physics -- Experiments -- 1940-2000
label: Topic
content: Synchrotron radiation
label: Topic
content: Physicists -- 1940-2000
label: Topic
content: Laboratories -- 1940-2000
label: Topic
content: Radiation -- 1960-1990
acqinfo: label: Provenance
content: The collection was donated by Ednor M. Rowe, Associate Director for Accelerator Development, Synchrotron Radiation Center, University of Wisconsin on November 20, 1995.
creator: label: Creator
content: Tantalus Project
label: Interviewee
content: Rowe, Ednor "Ed"
label: Interviewee
content: Pruett, Charles
label: Interviewee
content: Olson, Cliff
label: Interviewee
content: Otte, Roger
label: Interviewee
content: Brown, Fred
setName: label: See more items in
content: "Tantalus" Synchrotron Radiation Source Collection
bioghist: label: Biographical / Historical
content: At the University of Wisconsin during 1965-1967, a team led by particle physicist Ednor Rowe built a machine designed to analyze what goes on inside high-energy particle accelerators. This was the big, exciting technology in physics at the time. But just as the apparatus neared completion, funding was cut off. Its creators, feeling teased by fate and their government backers, dubbed the machine "Tantalus."

Rowe knew, though, that a by-product of Tantalus's operation was intense "synchrotron radiation," a form of ultra violet light that is used to study the structure of matter. He quickly adapted the machine to make this radiation available for use and soon the facility was crowded with experimenters from all over the world. Tantalus not only pioneered the use of synchrotron radiation, but created a research facility where both scientists and graduate students could perform hands-on work.

Researchers shared information and the results of their experiments in a collegial environment. There was no "King of the Ring" among these goal-oriented scientists. Those working at the Synchrotron Radiation Center always sought ways to improve upon Tantalus, with the result that Tantalus remained an important research tool until 1987, when it was retired and replaced by a newer machine, "Aladdin."
physdesc: label: Extent
content: 3.5 Cubic feet (11 boxes)
phystech: label: Physical Characteristics and Technical Requirements
content: Gloves must be worn when handling unprotected photographs, negatives, and slides.
unitdate: label: Date
content: 1940-1995
custodhist: label: Custodial History
content: In March 1994, Ednor Rowe contacted the National Museum of American History about the decommissioning of Tantalus. Museum curators decided to add part of the Tantalus accelerator ring to the collections in modern physics and also collected written documentation in the form of operational and data notebooks and logbooks that trace the creation, building, maintenance, and experiments carried out on the machine. There are also black and white photographs, slides, and oral and video documentation.

With the support of the Lemelson Center, the curators conducted videohistory interviews with Tantalus staff Ednor Rowe, Fred Brown, Cliff Olson, Charles Pruett, and Roger Otte. These discussions and reminiscences capture the human side of this high-tech machine's history.
dataSource: label: Archival Repository
content: Archives Center, National Museum of American History
identifier: label: Identifier
content: NMAH.AC.0532
objectType: label: Type
content: Collection descriptions
label: Type
content: Archival materials
label: Type
content: Notebooks
label: Type
content: Videotapes
arrangement: label: Arrangement
content: The collection is divided into six series.

Series 1, Notebooks and  Logbooks, 1940-1986

Series 2, Data and Operational Logbooks, 1965-1995

Series 3, User Beam Schedule Sheets, 1968-1986

Series 4, Storage Ring Blueprints, 1966-1972

Series 5, Video Histories, 1995

Series 6, Oral History Cassettes, 1995
processinfo: label: Processing Information
content: Processed by Alison Oswald, archivist, 1995.
genre_format: label: Genre/Form
content: Notebooks
label: Genre/Form
content: Videotapes
scopecontent: label: Scope and Contents
content: The collection consists primarily of notebooks, manuals, and other data and operational logbooks documenting the creation, building, and maintenance of Tantalus, and the experiments performed on the machine. Tantalus was the first dedicated synchrotron radiation laboratory and source. Series 5 and Series 6 include oral and video histories with Ednor Rowe, Fred Brown, Cliff Olson, Charles Pruett, and Roger Otte.
relatedmaterial: label: Related Materials
content: The Division of Information, Technology, and Society (now the Division of Medicine and Science) collected part of the Tantalus synchrotron radiation ring. See accession 1997.0078.