A calutron (pictured) is a device that separates isotopes of a chemical element by ionizing, accelerating and deflecting them using electric and magnetic fields. A type of sector mass spectrometer, it was developed by Ernest O. Lawrence at the Radiation Laboratory at the University of California as part of the Manhattan Project during World War II, based on his earlier invention, the cyclotron. Calutrons were used to separate the isotopes of uranium on an industrial scale at the Y-12 plant at the Clinton Engineer Works in Oak Ridge, Tennessee. The enriched uranium produced was used in the Little Boy atomic bomb employed in the bombing of Hiroshima on 6 August 1945. Electromagnetic uranium enrichment was abandoned in the early post-war period in favor of the more complicated, but more efficient, gaseous diffusion method, but calutrons remained in use to produce isotopically enriched samples of naturally occurring elements for military, scientific and medical purposes.
Read more: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calutron
_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:
1697:
War of the Grand Alliance: A French warship captured York Factory, a trading post of the Hudson's Bay Company in present-day Manitoba, Canada. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Hudson%27s_Bay
1793:
French Revolution: The National Convention began the Reign of Terror, a ten-month period of systematic repression and mass executions by guillotine of perceived enemies within the country. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reign_of_Terror
1905:
Under the mediation of US President Theodore Roosevelt, the Russo-Japanese War officially ended with the signing of the Treaty of Portsmouth at the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard near Portsmouth, New Hampshire, US. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treaty_of_Portsmouth
1945:
Cold War: Soviet cipher clerk Igor Gouzenko defected to Canada with over 100 documents on Soviet espionage activities and sleeper agents. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Igor_Gouzenko
1980:
The St. Gotthard Tunnel (interior pictured), at the time the world's longest highway tunnel at 16.4 km (10.2 mi), opened in Switzerland stretching from Göschenen to Airolo. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gotthard_Road_Tunnel
_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:
pharisaism: 1. The doctrines and practices, or the character and spirit, of the Pharisees. 2. (chiefly Christianity) Rigid observance of external forms of religion without genuine piety; hypocrisy in religion; a censorious, self- righteous spirit in matters of morals or manners. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/pharisaism
___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:
While no tradition coincides with experience, every tradition is essentially unique and valuable. While all traditions are of value, none is finally binding. --Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Sarvepalli_Radhakrishnan
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