Critical Assembly: A Technical History of Los Alamos during the Oppenheimer Years, 1943–1945 - Hardcover

Hoddeson, Lillian; Henriksen, Paul W.; Meade, Roger A.; Westfall, Catherine L.

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0521441323 ISBN 13: 9780521441322

Publisher: Cambridge University Press, 1993

Synopsis

This volume is a lucid and accurate history of the technical research that led to the first atomic bombs. The authors explore how the "critical assembly" of scientists, engineers, and military personnel at Los Alamos, responding to wartime deadlines, collaborated to create a new approach to large-scale research. The book opens with an introduction laying out major themes. After a synopsis of the prehistory of the bomb project, from the discovery of nuclear fission to the start of the Manhattan Engineer District, and an overview of the early materials program, the book examines the establishment of the Los Alamos Laboratory, the implosion and gun assembly programs, nuclear physics research, chemistry and metallurgy, explosives, uranium and plutonium development, confirmation of spontaneous fission in pile-produced plutonium, the thermonuclear bomb, critical assemblies, the Trinity test, and delivery of the combat weapons.

About this title

Book Description:

This 1993 volume studies the technical research that led to the first atomic bombs. The authors explore how the 'critical assembly' of scientists, engineers, and military personnel at Los Alamos, collaborated during World War II to create a new approach to research. Readers will find this book a crucial resource for understanding the underpinnings of contemporary science and technology.

From the Back Cover:

Unlike earlier histories of Los Alamos, this book treats in detail the research and development that led to the implosion and gun weapons; the research in nuclear physics, chemistry, and metallurgy that enabled clear bomb, the 'Super.'

About this edition

• Publisher: Cambridge University Press
• Publication date: 1993
• ISBN 10: 0521441323
• ISBN 13: 9780521441322
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 528