Show Twenty Years Ago the Atom Was Split t Southeastern Utah Played Important Part Park I just fust 26 2 ye years rS ago go at pm p.m. on December 2 1942 man knew he had had conquered the atom The first controlled sustained sus tamed nuclear chain reaction I Iwas was achieved With the United States at war scientists knew the Ithe first step of an atomic bomb had been completed com com- Nearly three long years later the bomb was completed and exploded over Hiroshima Japan to end encl the war it It had been the best kept secret of all wars Enrico Fermi a a. a brilliant Italian scientist and a team of ot 40 pioneer nuclear including In Including in in- eluding one woman accomplished accomplished accomplished this first historic breakthrough breakthrough break break- through of atomic energy Scientists had long reasoned that if an atom could be there would be a great release of energy This cI energy it was was was' found was released partly as heat and partly as radiation The part of an atom actually split spIlt is its nucleus which is made up of or neutrons and pro pro- tons tans In the process not only energy but M tare released which leads tl to the tho possibility of 11 a chain reaction which results In a ret release e of the large quantity of energy A reactor Is an atomic furnace in which heat and radiation produced produced pro pro- by this chain rca reaction lon can be controlled to serve servo useful purposes In 1934 Fermi had began to bombard atomic nuclei with neutrons neutrons neu neu- using small amounts of radon gas and beryllium as his source of neutrons This was in Italy It has since been proven that he and his associates had actually spilt split the uranium atom however in their first report they claimed only to have dis dis- dis s I I co covered cored red a new element Their work won them the Nobel prize and they are arc credited credit ed with laying the foundation for the worlds world's first nuclear re reo re- re actor Italy was vas wr already fid under the Fascist regime of Mussolini li in 1934 and Fermi used the opportunity opportunity opportunity offered by a trip to Swe SWo Sweden den t td to receive his Nobel Prize to get gat his family Of Italy He brought his wife and two children to the United States Fermi Ferm became professor of i physics at Columbia University after coming to the United States It was there that the dean of graduate studies Dr George B. B Pegram Pegram- designated Fermi to discuss the possible military potential of nuclear fission with U. U S S. S Army and Navy officials In hi Washington In 1939 Fermi Ferm was not successful In getting direct government backing backing backing back back- ing for tor the work He was however however however how how- ever among those among those who persisted in attempting to alert defense officials to the possibilities of a nuclear bomb Fermis Fermi's efforts resulted In the historic Einstein letter to President President dent Roosevelt in 1939 which began began be be- gan Some recent work by E. E Fermi Ferm and L. L Szilard leads me meto meto meto to expect that the element uranium uranium ura ura- may be turned into a new and important source of energy energy en en- ergy The first work on the atomic bomb was done at the closely guarded racquet court at the University of Chicago The improvised improvised im im- laboratory was part of ofa ofa ofa a 22 billion bUlion Manhattan Engineering Engineering Engi Engl District project established by the government to follow follow fol fol- fol low through on Fermis Fermi's After the venture was proven successful at Columbia the re reactor re I actor and chemical separation plant was built at Oak Ridge Tennessee This was Wlas February Continued on Page Pago 6 Atom Split Continued from Page 1 1943 So sure were the scientists of the success of this project without waiting for re results of the pilot operation a laboratory was started at Hanford Wash for a on reactor and separation plant three billion times as large Jarge Just 13 months later the first uranium fuel slug was In Insert Inserted In- In sert d by Fermi six months later plutonium made at Hanford Hanford Han Han- ford was used In hi the first atomic bomb detonated at New Mexico At Oak Ridge Midge the project was U By this tills time enough had been made to 10 make a bomb It was WIS exploded over Hiroshima on August 6 1945 Two vo days later latera a plutonium device bomb was dropped on Nagasaki Six SI days later later August August 14 1945 the 1945 the war ended With the exploding of the devastating bombs the atom bomb secret was out It had been the ithe best kept secret of the war Even Fermis Fermi's wife wrote later that in kt 1942 she had overheard overheard overheard over over- heard her husband being congratulated congratulated congratulated con con- by one of his fellow scientists She never learned until after the war what he had accomplished Unknowingly Southeastern Utah played a prominent part in conquering the atom Since th the turn of the century had been mined and sold from this area and with the building of the mill In Monticello In the early it became a prosperous mining venture for a afew few An Interesting ing sidelight of ot the well kept secret surrounding the making nuking of the atomic bomb bombis is that not even the miners had any Idea of the importance of the ore they were selling They sold their vanadium and re re- re- re no pay for its uranium content There was no market for the first few years yeara It was after the bomb b mb was WM exploded when miners realized the valuable valuable valuable able ore they had passed as waste It was a n matter for the courts and the miners eventually won It n was established that to have told them the uranium was valuable valuable valuable able would have spilled the secret they were vere reimbursed for the uranium content of their ore With the discovery of Charles Steens Steen's mine in 1952 Moab toab became the recognized uranium capital of the world A Amill Amill mill was constructed and a uranium uranium uranium ura ura- boom followed that was a modernized version of the Call Cali California fornia gold rush rosh Thousands of tons of vital l uranium has hM been contributed by Southeastern Utah to the nuclear program Today nuclear power is being used in stationary land plants en on the sea under the sea In the Arctic and Antarctic regions and Md in space Today Radioisotopes find hundreds hundreds hundreds hun hun- of uses in research agriculture agriculture agri- agri culture medicine and industry in do many countries nearly 2000 students from other countries have received advanced training in nuclear science and technology technology technology tech tech- in the United States Today 60 GO nations have government govern govern ment agencies devoted to expanding expanding expanding ex ex- ex- ex peaceful uses of nuclear energy Congress has appropriated appropriate ate over 30 billion to develop and operate the national nuclear energy program in the U U. S. S and the annual budget has grown to S1 3 billion with people directly or indirectly employed em em- So as terrorizing as an lIel atomic bomb can be the war time work of Ferm Fermi and his associates holds amazing peacetime potentials As President John F. F Kennedy is continuing continuing continuing contin contin- has said The atom a challenge to 10 man to use its great powers for his benefit and not for Cor his destruction |