Walter Zinn writes to his brilliant metallurgist, Frank Foote, in May 1955. To be honest, I’m not sure what his memorandum means, other than in generalities. What strikes me is the third sentence: “If the normal construction of the fuel element is used the thickness of the meat, which is feasible to make, becomes large.” What is the MEAT? I can only guess that in a reactor with uranium “sandwiched” between the moderator (slowing down neutrons), the former receives a slangy term. But I’ve never heard this term before or since, so I can only presume it’s private slang between Zinn and Foote. How fascinating!
NOTE
Zinn, Walter H. 1955. Zinn to Foote, May 10, 1955. “Reading File, May 10, 1955,” Box 123, Laboratory Director’s Reading File, 1949-1957, RG 326. NARA-GL, Chicago, Illinois.