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Product Identifiers
PublisherUniversity of California Press
ISBN-100520344170
ISBN-139780520344174
eBay Product ID (ePID)15038265805
Product Key Features
Book TitleLos Alamos Primer : The First Lectures on How to Build an Atomic Bomb, Updated with a New Introduction by Richard Rhodes
Number of Pages176 Pages
LanguageEnglish
Publication Year2020
TopicMilitary / Nuclear Warfare, United States / 20th Century, United States / General, Physics / General
IllustratorYes
GenreScience, History
AuthorRobert Serber
FormatTrade Paperback
Dimensions
Item Height0.6 in
Item Weight9.6 Oz
Item Length8.2 in
Item Width5.5 in
Additional Product Features
ReviewsThe Primer is an extraordinary document. Perusing it gives one a sense of being there at the start of the Los Alamos project. In its 24 pages, Serber both adroitly summarized the state of existing knowledge and laid out a prescient road map for the work ahead and the challenges that might arise. . . .mandatory reading for anyone interested in the origins of nuclear weapons.
TitleLeadingThe
Dewey Edition23
Dewey Decimal623.4/5119
Table Of ContentINTRODUCTION BY RICHARD RHODES PREFACE BY ROBERT SERBER The Los Alamos Primer 1 Object 2 Energy of Fission Process 3 Fast Neutron Chain Reaction 4 Fission Cross-sections 5 Neutron Spectrum 6 Neutron Number 7 Neutron Capture 8 Why Ordinary U Is Safe 9 Material 49 10 Simplest Estimate of Minimum Size of Bomb 11 Effect of Tamper 12 Damage 13 Efficiency 14 Effect of Tamper on Efficiency 15 Detonation 16 Probability of Predetonation 17 Fizzles 18 Detonating Source 19 Neutron Background 20 Shooting 21 Autocatalytic Methods 22 Conclusion ENDNOTES APPENDIX I: THE FRISCH-PEIERLS MEMORANDUM APPENDIX II: BIOG Index
SynopsisMore than seventy years ago, the world changed forever when American forces exploded the first atomic bomb over the Japanese city of Hiroshima on August 6, 1945, starting a massive firestorm that would kill some 80,000 enemy civilians. Three days later, the US exploded a second bomb over Nagasaki, killing another 40,000. Though the bombs did not end the war, they contributed urgently to the Japanese decision to surrender and demonstrated to the world the vast destructive power of a revolutionary new weapon. "Little Boy" and "Fat Man" originated in March 1943 when a group of young scientists, sequestered on a mesa near Santa Fe, attended a crash course in the new weapons technology. The lecturer was physicist Robert Serber, J. Robert Oppenheimer's prot g , and they learned that their job was to design and build the world's first atomic bombs. Notes on Serber's lecture, nicknamed the "Los Alamos Primer," were mimeographed and passed from hand to hand. They remained classified for decades after the war. Published for the first time in 1992, the Primer offers contemporary readers a better understanding of the origins of nuclear weapons. Serber's preface, an informal memoir, vividly conveys the mingled excitement, uncertainty, and intensity felt by the Manhattan Project scientists. Now, 75 years since the bombs shocked the world, an updated foreword by Pulitzer Prize-winning historian Richard Rhodes offers a brief history of the development of nuclear physics up to the day when Serber stood before his blackboard at Los Alamos. A seminal publication on a turning point in human history, The Los Alamos Primer reveals just how much was known and how terrifyingly much was unknown midway through the Manhattan Project. No other seminar anywhere has had greater historical consequences., More than seventy years ago, American forces exploded the first atomic bombs over the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, causing great physical and human destruction. The young scientists at Los Alamos who developed the bombs, which were nicknamed Little Boy and Fat Man, were introduced to the basic principles and goals of the project in March 1943, at a crash course in new weapons technology. The lecturer was physicist Robert Serber, J. Robert Oppenheimer's protégé, and the scientists learned that their job was to design and build the world's first atomic bombs. Notes on Serber's lectures were gathered into a mimeographed document titled The Los Alamos Primer, which was supplied to all incoming scientific staff. The Primer remained classified for decades after the war. Published for the first time in 1992, the Primer offers contemporary readers a better understanding of the origins of nuclear weapons. Serber's preface vividly conveys the mingled excitement, uncertainty, and intensity felt by the Manhattan Project scientists. This edition includes an updated introduction by Pulitzer Prize-winning historian Richard Rhodes. A seminal publication on a turning point in human history, The Los Alamos Primer reveals just how much was known and how terrifyingly much was unknown midway through the Manhattan Project. No other seminar anywhere has had greater historical consequences., More than seventy years ago, American forces exploded the first atomic bombs over the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, causing great physical and human destruction. The young scientists at Los Alamos who developed the bombs, which were nicknamed Little Boy and Fat Man, were introduced to the basic principles and goals of the project in March 1943, at a crash course in new weapons technology. The lecturer was physicist Robert Serber, J. Robert Oppenheimer's prot g , and the scientists learned that their job was to design and build the world's first atomic bombs. Notes on Serber's lectures were gathered into a mimeographed document titled The Los Alamos Primer, which was supplied to all incoming scientific staff. The Primer remained classified for decades after the war. Published for the first time in 1992, the Primer offers contemporary readers a better understanding of the origins of nuclear weapons. Serber's preface vividly conveys the mingled excitement, uncertainty, and intensity felt by the Manhattan Project scientists. This edition includes an updated introduction by Pulitzer Prize-winning historian Richard Rhodes. A seminal publication on a turning point in human history, The Los Alamos Primer reveals just how much was known and how terrifyingly much was unknown midway through the Manhattan Project. No other seminar anywhere has had greater historical consequences.
LC Classification NumberQC773.A1S47 2020
