ATOM EXTENSIVELY SMASHED FOR FIRST TIME BY NEW GIANT CYCLOTRON

Evening Star, Issue 26152, 14 July 1947, Page 5

ATOM EXTENSIVELY SMASHED FOR FIRST TIME BY NEW GIANT CYCLOTRON

NEW YORK, July 12. The atomic scientist, Dr Glenn Seaborg, to-day announced that the University of California’s new 4,000-ton cyclotron had produced the.first man-made replicas of the mysterious cosmic rays. Dr Seaborg, who was addressing 200 scientists from all parts of the United States at Palo Alto, California, said that bombardments by the cyclotron with 200,000,000 electron volt deutrons and 400,000,000 electron volt alpha particles—a bombardment 10 times more energetic than that produced by any other known atom-smasher—had resulted in, first, the blasting from the atomic nucleus of 22, and possibly 30, particles, compared with the pre-war record of two or three; secondly, the prospect that well over 100 new radioactive isotopes of the common elements—valuable in biological and medical research—would be produced; thirdly, entirely new nuclear processes of greater complexity than the relatively simple patterns of the lower energy range; and, fourthly, the ‘‘ leap-frog ” transmutation of one element to another during bombardment. For example, the, bombardment of arsenic with alpha particles brought transmuted products of chlorine.

The Associated Press'correspond dent says that , the atom has been extensively smashed for the first time. Hitherto, atom-smashing consisted of knocking one or two bits off the nucleus. Even an atom' bomb explosion divides the nueteus into not more than five parts. The hitherto unknown products of these operations will in- . crease the versatility of atomic medicine and the various branches of research using radio-active substances. Explaining the comparison with cosmic rays, tna correspondent says that the devastating effects produced by the experiments were similar in some respects to the shattering of atoms by low-energy cosmic rays—which still are more powerful than anything mau has yet devised. 1 * 1

PROTEST ON BAN ON DISCUSSION OF ATOMIC ENERGY

(Rec. 10.30 a.ra.) LONDON, July 13. The executive of the Assdciation of Scientific Workers • has protested against the ban on the discussion of atomic energy at the international conference of pure and applied chemistry, which opens on July 17. Sir Wallace Akers announced on Friday that the Governments concerned had imposed an embargo on knowledge of nuclear energy. The executive, in its statement, said the ban hindered the proper development of science and increased suspicion between nations. There should be no secrecy about the fundamental phenomena of atomic disintegration in their industrial and medical applications, although military secrecy at present was justifiable. ■