Argonne History - 1960's
Maria Goeppert Mayer stamp
Maria Goeppert Mayer, an Argonne physicist who shared the 1963 Nobel Prize in Physics, appears on a commemorative stamp issued by the U.S. Postal Service. Image courtesy the U.S. Postal Service.
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Maria Goeppert Mayer stamp
Maria Goeppert Mayer, an Argonne physicist who shared the 1963 Nobel Prize in Physics, appears on a commemorative stamp issued by the U.S. Postal Service. Image courtesy the U.S. Postal Service.
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Maria Goeppert Mayer
A plaque outside Argonne’s Physics Building honors Maria Goeppert Mayer, winner of the 1963 Nobel Prize in Physics for her work to develop the shell model of the atomic nucleus. She kept her office in Argonne's Physics Building for the 15 years she worked at the laboratory.
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Albert Crewe
Albert Crewe was Director of Argonne National Laboratory from 1961-1967. He led the effort to construct an Argonne particle accelerator and later invented the scanning electron microscope. Photo courtesy Argonne National Laboratory.
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Hydrated Electron
Edwin Hart (pictured) of Argonne's Chemistry Division and Jack Boag of Mount Vernon Hospital, Northwood, England, co-discovered the hydrated electron, a previously unknown species and a major breakthrough in radiation chemistry. Their scientific paper reporting the discovery was received by The Journal of the American Chemical Society on Sept. 7, 1962.
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Xenon tetrafluoride, first man-made xenon compound
On Oct. 2, 1962, Argonne announced the creation of xenon tetrafluoride, the first simple compound of xenon, a noble gas widely thought to be chemically inert. The creation opened a new era for the study of chemical bonds. Three Argonne chemists shared the success: John Malm, Henry Selig and Howard Claassen.
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20th Anniversary Reunion of CP-1 Pioneers
Participants of the CP-1 pioneers anniversary meeting at Eckhart Hall on Dec. 1, 1962 are listed from left to right, in rows, to identify them in the picture: with Mrs. Fermi and Mrs. Compton seated in front of the group. Row 1: Norman Hilberry, Frank H. Spedding, Theodore Petry, Jr., H. L. Anderson, Walter Zinn, William H. Hinch, George Miller, Warren Nyer and Leo Seren. Row 2: Richard J. Watts, Volney C. Wilson, Philip G. Koontz, William J. Sturm, Leon Sayvetz, and Anthony J. Matz. Row 3: Robert E. Johnson, Wilcox P. Overbeck, Hugh M. Barton, Jr., H. V. Lichtenberger, A. C. Knuth, David P. Rudolph and George D. Monk. Row 4: Robert G. Nobles, Thomas Brill, Carl C. Gamertsfelder, Gerard Pawlicki, Marvin H. Wilkening, W. R. Kanne, Herbert E. Kubitschek, George M. Maronde. Courtesy: Archival Photographic Files, [apf3-00242r], Special Collections Research Center, University of Chicago Library
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ZGS
The Zero Gradient Synchrotron (ZGS), a 12.5 GeV proton accelerator at Argonne National Laboratory, first operated at full power Sept. 18, 1963. From that time until it was shut down Oct. 1, 1979, the ZGS was the site of high energy physics experiments by researchers from leading universities and laboratories all over the nation. In 1966, researchers at the ZGS discovered the most massive particle found up to that time. In 1971, the ZGS produced the world's first beam of polarized protons – more than 75 percent of the protons in the beam spun in the same direction – for high energy physics experiments. In 1978, ZGS researchers discovered the "diproton," a superparticle that challenged the leading theory of elementary particles and their constituents.
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Argonne Night in Chicago
March 14, 1963, was "Argonne Night in Chicago,"held at the Arie Crown Theater at McCormick Place. Lab Director Albert Crewe delivered the first state-of-the-laboratory address to Argonne employees, and a new 60-minute film, "The Many Faces of Argonne," premiered.
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Janus Reactor
The Janus Reactor was the world's first nuclear reactor designed and built exclusively for biological research. From Aug. 3, 1964, when it first went critical, to April 23, 1992, when it shut down for the last time, Janus was used to study the effects of neutron radiation on biological life, providing research for guidelines on safe exposure levels for workers at power plants, laboratories and hospitals.
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EBR-II
The Experimental Breeder Reactor-II (EBR-II) operated at Argonne-West in Idaho from 1964 to 1994. In 1995, the American Nuclear Society declared EBR-II a Nuclear Historic Landmark, calling EBR-II "arguably the most successful test reactor ever." From 1964 to 1969, EBR-II demonstrated a complete breeder-reactor power plant with on-site reprocessing of metallic fuel, processing 35,000 fuel elements, producing 366 subassemblies and assembling 66 control and safety rods. From 1964 to 1994, EBR-II was the backbone of the U.S. breeder reactor effort, when research was terminated. The EBR-II accommodated as many as 65 experimental subassemblies at one time for irradiation and operational reliability tests. EBR-II also performed over 30,000 irradiation tests. Most recently, EBR-II was the prototype for the Integral Fast Reactor (IFR), a reactor fueled by metal alloy and cooled by liquid sodium. On April 3, 1986, two tests at EBR-II demonstrated the inherent safety of the IFR concept. These tests simulated accidents involving loss of coolant flow. Even with its normal shutdown devices disabled, the reactor shut itself down safely without overheating anywhere in the system.
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King Simeon
During a Feb. 24, 1966, tour, King Simeon II (left) and Queen Margarita, exiled monarchs of Bulgaria, listen to Herbert H. Hyman explain the Chemistry Division's xenon research. The royal couple also visited Experimental Boiling Water Reactor and the construction site of the future Zero Gradient Synchrotron.
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LBJ / EBR-I ceremony
President Lyndon Baines Johnson (right) and Atomic Energy Commission Chairman Glenn Seaborg participate in Aug. 26, 1966, ceremonies designating Argonne's Experimental Breeder Reactor 1 (EBR-1) a Registered National Historic Landmark. Johnson holds one of four 100-watt light bulbs powered by electricity from EBR-1 on Dec. 20, 1951, the first time a nuclear reactor had produced a useable amount of electricity.
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First four directors
The first four Directors of Argonne National Laboratory pose together at the Nov. 7, 1967, "Argonne Night" event at a joint meeting in Chicago of the American Nuclear Society and the Atomic Industrial Forum. From left: Walter H. Zinn, Norman Hilberry, Albert V. Crewe and Robert B, Duffield.
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Eugene Wigner
Eugene Wigner was a Hungarian physicist who worked with Walter Zinn, Enrico Fermi and other physics giants to undertake the first man-made controlled nuclear chain reaction. He received the 1963 Nobel Prize in Physics for his contributions to the theory of the atomic nucleus and elementary particles; the other half of the award was shared between and J. Hans D. Jensen. Argonne commemorates Wigner with an for an individual who "displays superb ability in scientific or engineering research and shows definite promise of becoming an outstanding leader in the research they pursue." ca. 1968. Argonne neg. no. 201-8375 Photo courtesy Argonne National Laboratory.
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ZPPR
The Zero Power Physics Reactor (ZPPR) began operations at Argonne-West April 18, 1969. It was the largest of the split-table fast reactor critical facilities. Researchers studied various configurations for nuclear reactors cores by loading fuel and other materials in drawers on each of ZPPR's two faces. When the halves were brought together, the reactor went critical and the core's performance could be evaluated. Argonne used ZPPR to obtain a large amount of detailed data on a variety of full-sized reactor configurations including large, commercial-sized fast reactors with design outputs up to 1,200 mega-watts.