An intriguing minor personality in the 1950s was Jerome D. Luntz, editor of the new trade journal Nucleonics. Until the British, egged on by Christopher Hinton, established their own trade journal later in the decade, Nucleonics was avidly read around the globe by anyone remotely interested in the new science and technology. Luntz’s editorials were bold and unrestrained. He was as much a. . .
Conducting detailed archival research (at least for two countries, the United Kingdom and the United States) has meant that I’ve grown highly familiar with a great many “bit players” or “character actors” in the grand drama of nuclear power’s history. They are the middle managers, the senior scientists and engineers, the diplomats. Some might take part in. . .
One joy of archival research is stumbling across documents that reveal the character of key players. Christopher Hinton, the engineer who pioneered (with others) British power reactors, was a towering personality, often feared. Imagine then a London bureaucrat daring to challenge him on fiscal responsibility, especially as Hinton prided himself on budgetary control. Witness Hinton responding (Dec. . .