The Physics of the Manhattan Project

The development of nuclear weapons during the Manhattan Project is one of the most significant scientific events of the twentieth century. This book, prepared by a gifted teacher of physics, explores the challenges that faced the members of the Manhattan project. In doing so it gives a clear introdu...

Πλήρης περιγραφή

Λεπτομέρειες βιβλιογραφικής εγγραφής
Κύριος συγγραφέας: Reed, B. Cameron (Συγγραφέας)
Συγγραφή απο Οργανισμό/Αρχή: SpringerLink (Online service)
Μορφή: Ηλεκτρονική πηγή Ηλ. βιβλίο
Γλώσσα:English
Έκδοση: Berlin, Heidelberg : Springer Berlin Heidelberg : Imprint: Springer, 2011.
Θέματα:
Διαθέσιμο Online:Full Text via HEAL-Link
Πίνακας περιεχομένων:
  • Preface
  • Part 1. Energy Release in Nuclear Reactions, Neutrons,
  • Fission, and Characteristics of Fission
  • 1.1 Notational Conventions for Mass Excess and Q-Values
  • 1.2 Rutherford and the Energy Release in Radium Decay
  • 1.3 Rutherford’s First Artificial Nuclear Transmutation
  • 1.4 Discovery of the Neutron
  • 1.5 Artificially-Induced Radioactivity and the Path to Fission
  • 1.6 Energy Release in Fission
  • 1.7 The Bohr-Wheeler Theory of Fission: The Z2/A Limit Against Spontaneous Fission
  • 1.8 Energy Spectrum of Fission Neutrons
  • 1.9 Leaping the Fission Barrier
  • 1.10 A Semi-Empirical Look at the Fission Barrier
  • Part 2. Critical Mass and Efficiency
  • 2.1 Neutron Mean Free Path
  • 2.2 Critical Mass: Diffusion Theory
  • 2.3 Effect of Tamper
  • 2.4 Estimating Bomb Efficiency - Analytic
  • 2.5 Estimating Bomb Efficiency – Numerical
  • 2.6 Another Look at Untamped Criticality: Just One Number
  • Part 3. Producing Fissile Material
  • 3.1 Reactor Criticality
  • 3.2 Neutron Thermalization
  • 3.3 Plutonium Production
  • 3.4 Electromagnetic Separation of Isotopes
  • 3.5 Gaseous (Barrier) Diffusion
  • Part 4. Complicating Factors
  • 4.1 Boron Contamination in Graphite
  • 4.2 Spontaneous Fission of 240Pu, Predetonation, and Implosion
  • 4.3 Tolerable Limits for Light-Element Impurities
  • Part 5. Miscellaneous Calculations
  • 5.1 How Warm Is It?
  • 5.2 Brightness of the Trinity Explosion
  • 5.3 A Model for Trace Isotope Production in a Reactor
  • Appendix A Selected -Values and Fission Barriers
  • Appendix B Densities, Cross-Sections, and Secondary Neutron Numbers
  • Appendix C Energy and Momentum Conservation in a Two-Body Collision
  • Appendix D Energy and Momentum Conservation in a Two-Body Collision That Produces a
  • Gamma-Ray
  • Appendix E Formal Derivation of the Bohr-Wheeler Spontaneous Fission Limit
  • Appendix F Average Neutron Escape Probability From Within a Sphere
  • Appendix G The Neutron Diffusion Equation
  • Appendix H Questions and Answers
  • Appendix I Further Reading
  • Appendix J Useful Constants and Conversion Factors.