Walter Zinn
Walter Zinn | |
---|---|
University of Chicago Metallurgical Laboratory Manhattan Project | |
Thesis | Two-Crystal Study of the Structure and Width of K X-Ray Absorption Limits (1934) |
Walter Henry Zinn (December 10, 1906 – February 14, 2000) was a Canadian-born American
Early life
Walter Henry Zinn was born in Berlin (now Kitchener), Ontario, on December 10, 1906, the son of John Zinn, who worked in a tire factory, and Maria Anna Stoskopf. He had an older brother, Albert, who also became a factory worker.[1]
Zinn entered Queen's University, where he earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in mathematics in 1927 and a Master of Arts degree in 1930. He then entered Columbia University in 1930, where he studied physics,[1] writing his Doctor of Philosophy thesis on "Two-crystal study of the structure and width of K X-ray absorption limits".[2] This was subsequently published in the Physical Review.[2][3]
To support himself, Zinn taught at Queen's University from 1927 to 1928, and at Columbia from 1931 to 1932. He became an instructor at the
Manhattan Project
In 1939, the
At this point Zinn began working for Fermi, constructing experimental uranium lattices.[1] To slow neutrons down requires a neutron moderator. Water was Fermi's first choice, but it tended to absorb neutrons as well as slow them. In July, Szilard suggested using carbon, in the form of graphite.[4] The critical radius of a spherical reactor was calculated to be:[5]
In order for a
In early 1942, with the United States now embroiled World War II, Arthur Compton concentrated the Manhattan Project's various teams working on plutonium at the Metallurgical Laboratory at the University of Chicago.[6] Zinn used athletes to build Fermi's increasingly large experimental configurations under the stands of the disused Stagg Field.[1] In July 1942, Fermi measured a k = 1.007 from a uranium oxide lattice. This raised hopes that pure uranium would yield a suitable value of k.[7]
By December 1942, Zinn and Anderson had the new configuration ready at Stagg Field. Some 24 feet (7.3 m) long, 24 feet (7.3 m) wide and 19 feet (5.8 m) high, it contained 385.5 long tons (391.7 t) of graphite and 46.5 long tons (47.2 t) of uranium metal and uranium oxide.
The Army leased a 1,000 acres (400 ha) of the
On September 29, 1944, Zinn received an urgent call from
Over the following months, some 175 technical personnel were transferred from the Metallurgical Laboratory to Hanford and
Argonne National Laboratory
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/95/Argonne_history_At_the_controls_of_Chicago_Pile-3.jpg/220px-Argonne_history_At_the_controls_of_Chicago_Pile-3.jpg)
On July 11, 1946, the Argonne laboratory officially became the
One of the first problems confronting Zinn was that of accommodation. The Federal government had promised to restore Site A to the Cook County Forest Preserves after the war, and despite intervention from the Secretary of War, Robert P. Patterson, the most the Cook County Forest Preserves Commission would agree to was that the Argonne National Laboratory could continue to occupy a portion of the lease until a new site was found. Zinn rejected alternate sites outside the Chicago area, and the Army found a new site for the laboratory's permanent home about 5 miles (8.0 km) away in DuPage County, Illinois,[12] which became known as Site D.[8]
Under Zinn, the Argonne National Laboratory adopted slightly more progressive hiring practices than other contemporary institutions. Three
The
Zinn did not get along well with
The other branch of reactor development at the Argonne National Laboratory, and the one closer to Zinn's heart, was the fast breeder reactor. At the time it was believed that uranium was a scarce resource, so it would be wise to make the best use of it. The breeders were designed to create more
The
Later life
After leaving the Argonne National Laboratory in 1956, Zinn moved to Florida, where he founded his own consulting firm, General Nuclear Engineering,[26] with its headquarters in Dunedin, Florida. The company was involved in the design and construction of pressurized water reactors.[1] It was acquired by Combustion Engineering in 1964, and he became a vice president and head of its nuclear division.[27] He stepped down from this position in 1970, but remained a board member until 1986.[28] He served as a member of the President's Science Advisory Committee from 1960 to 1962, and a member of the General Advisory Committee of the AEC and its successor, the Energy Research and Development Administration, from 1972 to 1975.[27]
Over the years Zinn received multiple awards for his work, including a special commendation from the AEC in 1956, the
Zinn's wife Jean died in 1964.[26] He married Mary Teresa Pratt in 1966, and thereby acquired two stepsons, Warren and Robert Johnson.[1] He died in Mease Countryside Hospital in Safety Harbor, Florida, on February 14, 2000, after suffering a stroke. He was survived by his wife Mary, sons John and Robert and stepson Warren. Robert had become a professor of astronomy at Yale University.[26][32]
Walter H. Zinn Award
Since 1976, the American Nuclear Society's Operations and Power Division, has annually presented the Walter H. Zinn Award to recognize an individual "for a notable and sustained contribution to the nuclear power industry that has not been widely recognized."[33][34]
Notes
- ^ ISBN 978-0-309-09183-1. Retrieved October 6, 2014.
- ^ OCLC 36603180. Retrieved October 6, 2014.
- .
- ^ a b Hewlett & Anderson 1962, pp. 13–14.
- ^ a b Weinberg 1994, p. 15.
- ^ Weinberg 1994, pp. 11–12.
- ^ Weinberg 1994, p. 16.
- ^ a b c d e f "History of Argonne Reactor Operations" (PDF). Argonne National Laboratory. Retrieved October 7, 2014.
- ^ Holl, Hewlett & Harris 1997, p. 28.
- ^ a b Hewlett & Anderson 1962, pp. 306–307.
- ^ Holl, Hewlett & Harris 1997, p. 29.
- ^ Holl, Hewlett & Harris 1997, pp. 51–53.
- ^ Holl, Hewlett & Harris 1997, pp. 77–78.
- ^ Hewlett & Anderson 1962, p. 651.
- ^ Holl, Hewlett & Harris 1997, p. 62.
- ^ Holl, Hewlett & Harris 1997, pp. 64–66.
- ^ a b Holl, Hewlett & Harris 1997, pp. 86–87.
- ^ Holl, Hewlett & Harris 1997, pp. 60–71.
- ^ Holl, Hewlett & Harris 1997, p. 98.
- ^ "STR (Submarine Thermal Reactor)". Argonne National Laboratory. Retrieved October 7, 2014.
- ^ Holl, Hewlett & Harris 1997, pp. 514–515.
- ^ a b "EBR-I (Experimental Breeder Reactor-I)". Argonne National Laboratory. Retrieved October 7, 2014.
- ^ Holl, Hewlett & Harris 1997, pp. 108–109.
- ^ Holl, Hewlett & Harris 1997, pp. 114–115.
- ^ a b Holl, Hewlett & Harris 1997, pp. 119–121.
- ^ a b c d Janega, James (February 24, 2000). "Walter H. Zinn: Helped Harness Nuclear Power". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved October 7, 2014.
- ^ a b "Walter Zinn". American Institute of Physics. Retrieved October 9, 2014.
- ^ Saxon, Wolfgang (February 25, 2000). "Walter H. Zinn, 93, Physicist Who Helped Create Atom Bomb". The New York Times. Retrieved February 14, 2011.
- ^ "Award Laureates". United States Department of Energy. Retrieved October 7, 2014.
- ^ "Franklin Laureate Database – Elliott Cresson Medal Laureates". Franklin Institute. Retrieved February 15, 2011.
- ^ "A Brief History of the American Nuclear Society". American Nuclear Society. Retrieved February 14, 2011.
- ^ "Robert Zinn". Yale University. Retrieved February 14, 2011.
- ^ "Walter H. Zinn Award". American Nuclear Society. Retrieved February 14, 2011.
- ^ "Walter H. Zinn Award recipients". Honors and Awards, Recipients. American Nuclear Society. Retrieved March 28, 2011.
References
- OCLC 637004643. Retrieved March 26, 2013.
- Holl, Jack M.; ISBN 978-0-252-02341-5.
- Weinberg, Alvin (1994). "The First Nuclear Era: The Life and Times of a Technological Fixer". Physics Today. 48 (10): 63–64. ISBN 978-1-56396-358-2.