W. Bennett Lewis was the British-born third head of the Chalk River nuclear laboratory in Canada. Toward the end of his career, he was shunted sideways, but his influence on matters not only of physics (his specialty) but even engineering was legendary. The choice of fuel-sheath thickness is another prime example of Lewis’s influence on the project. He was determined to minimize the non-fuel. . .
Ted (Theodore) Rockwell was one of the many talented nuclear engineers (in the early days they hadn’t received that label yet) who worked for Hyman Rickover during Rickover’s pioneering days. He was not only significant on the technical front, he was also prolific as an author, penning a number of books, mostly about Rickover and Rickover’s legacy. I had hoped to phone-interview. . .
R. E. Newell (I wish I knew the first name) was the earliest chief engineer of the Chalk River nuclear laboratory in Canada. Like others, he originated from chemical giant ICI in the United Kingdom. He is another of those characters who pop up in the history, only to vanish, and in his case it was probably due to his personality. The official Canadian nuclear historian mentions him as. . .
The British World War II atomic effort was named Tube Alloys and it relied heavily on a Technical Committee of just over half a dozen scientists. John Cockcroft was the focus of attention on January 29, 1946, when the 28th meeting of the Technical Committee was held, because Cockcroft was about to kick off his Harwell laboratory and various reactors. Christopher Hinton’s complementary. . .
An unusual 1957 book I came across was by Leonard Bertin. I think he was a journalist. Hardly anyone cites this book, the British nuclear pioneers only mention it once or twice in correspondence, there’s a certain clumsiness about it … yet he extracts some lovely interviews. In particular he seems to have struck up rapport with England’s #2 nuclear engineer, Leonard (Len) Owen. . .
For a time the United Kingdom outstripped even the United States with its nuclear reactor program, even though it began from scratch three years later and with few resources. The British effort was a joint one between the scientists at Harwell—by the 1950s one of the premier nuclear laboratories of the world—and the engineers at Risley, a talented and aggressive bunch. Harwell and Risley bickered. . .
I’ve quoted Frank Close before but here is an evocative picture of Harwell, one of the most significant nuclear laboratories established globally: After the end of the war, in 1946, this site was taken over by “the Atomic,” as Harwell Laboratory was affectionately known. The Atomic had an air of mystery, even of menace. Tall chimneys, tower blocks, and offices of red brick, prettified with. . .
One issue of relevance when considering the early development of reactors by the Soviet Union is the extent to which it was aided by atomic espionage. The tale of Klaus Fuchs is familiar and he certainly helped Soviet bomb development, but I could find no solid evidence that he assisted with the development of the first “peaceful” Soviet reactor. I also took interest in the 1950. . .
When the co-head of the postwar UK atomic effort, Christopher Hinton, died in 1983, aged 82, one of his eulogies came from an unusual source. Margaret Gowing, the official historian of the United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority (with various names throughout its history), penned a remarkable 23-page eulogy. She was able to do this because she established a close professional relationship with. . .