Work

The Origins of Blast-Loaded Vessels

Year: 2021

Type: article

Abstract: As the Manhattan Project shifted to the theory of implosion assembly in 1944, plutonium was extremely rare and large uncertainties surrounded the function of the Gadget. For these reasons, a team within the Manhattan Project began another ambitious experiment: to confine the effects of detonating two tons of high explosives and enable the recovery of precious plutonium! No data existed on the subject, and the team f25aced numerous challenges as they engineered what is believed to be the world’s first blast-loaded confinement vessel.

Source: Nuclear Technology

DOI: 10.1080/00295450.2021.1909371

Author: Jonathan E. Morgan

Institution: Los Alamos National Laboratory

Language: English

Topic: Twentieth Century Scientific Developments

Subfield: History and Philosophy of Science

Field: Arts and Humanities

Domain: Social Sciences

Open Access status: hybrid

Funders: U.S. Department of Energy, Department of Energy and Climate Change, National Nuclear Security Administration, Los Alamos National Laboratory

Awards: G1017065088, G1279347439, G6410514744, G6563880843