03.26.10
Radiation Part 6
Back in October and November of 2006 I was blogging about radiation, its discovery, and its subsequent development. I don’t remember why I never finished the series, but I did write five parts, the first of that series was posted here. And here are parts 2, 3, 4, and 5. Today I found the beginnings of my 6th part of the series in my drafts folder. Since recently I seem to be back studying radiation history, I thought my radiation post might be relevant, so am moving them back up. I find them particularly relevant in light of the fact that nuclear energy seems to be making it back to the forefront again with all the commotion of global warming and climate change. The least we could do is study and understand the issues at hand. These posts have been my attempts. Below is what was stuffed in my draft folder as the beginnings of my part 6 on radiation.
To continue with my radiation series, I thought it might be a good idea to step back for a moment to look at what else was happening in the world. So many events overlap in time, which are linked to the progression of discoveries and inventions. Various events can overshadow new discoveries to the point of oblivion such as is claimed with the emergence and subsequent disappearance of Coley’s Toxins discovered in 1893 for cancer treatment . William Coley’s promising research with the use of Erypselias to treat cancer was pushed into the background as the X-ray became the treatment of “choice” for cancers in 1896. In a similar vein, research on “radiation,” along with the idea of the possibility of harnessing its power to create energy was brought to the forefront. While scientists were learning the secrets of the atom nucleus in the 1930s, Adolph Hitler also began his rise to power in Germany. In fear of persecution, some Jews and those opposed to living under fascist or totalitarian governments were able to migrate to other countries such as England and the United States. Among them were physicsts Leo Szilard, Eugene Wigner, Edward Teller, Enrico Fermi, and Victor Weisskopf.
Scientists already knew that atoms contained electrons and protons, however, British physicst, Ernest Rutherford, believed that there must exist a “third” particle. In 1932, James Chadwick of Great Britain was able to tease out that third particle. Through his experiments, Chadwick was able to eject a previously unknown particle, which was neither an electron or proton, but was a “neutral” particle. This particle was soon called “neutron.” With the understanding that the “atom” housed the potential energy powerful enough to create an atom bomb, atomic research was catapulted to the forefront of science. In the summer of 1939, rumors began to circulate that Hitler’s Germany was actively engaging in atomic energy research. For fear of what that power would be used for under the authority of Hitler, the U.S. was determined that it would create the atomic bomb first. Massive amounts of money and man power was funneled into its research and development. The nuclear race was on.
WWI had been fought with chemical warfare. With continued global unrest, something was needed to ensure that the United States continued to be the leading world power. That something needed to be more powerful than chemical warfare, something that would wipe out whole facilities and infrastructures.
Okay, so that’s what I had sitting in my draft folder for 3 1/2 years. Now that I’ve started reading about radiation again, and in light of the push for nuclear power plants, I’ve moved on a bit to learning about the history of nuclear weapons and subsequently nuclear power. Recently I commented on a couple books–A Slow Death: 83 Days of Radiation Sickness and Atomic America. I finished reading The Day We Lost the H-Bomb, so will eventually comment on that book as well. I just started reading Dark Sun: The Making of the Hydrogen Bomb, and wow, already an enlightening read. I also recently watched a DVD called, “The Atomic Bomb Movie,” which has live footage of nuclear detonations as well as a narrative of some nuclear weapons development history in the U.S. There’s also a good amount of info online regarding the Chernobyl meltdown back in 1986. I had realized that I never really knew much about the details of what happened there, so decided to watch it and man! what an eye-opener. Maybe I’ll comment more on that later regarding what I learned that I had not known after all these years after the accident. They are still dealing with the situation today more than 20 years later. When will we ever learn? Anyway, need to get out the door in about 15 minutes, so will stop here for now.
Marlakins
