Hanford National Monument. We made plutonium here!

Location

The B Reactor Timeline

December 14th 1940 The first deuteron bombardment took place
February 23rd 1941, element 94 was unambiguously identified
March 28th 1941 cyclotron experiments show new material (94-239) is fissile.
December 2nd 1942 Small scale Pile of bricks and timbers enables a self-sustained nuclear chain reaction

Plutonium: a physicist’s dream but an engineer’s nightmare

September 1944 B Reactor comes online.

Division and the impact of unity

Many of the top physicists were “enemy aliens”. They were not permitted to move throughout the country.
Dr. Wu A female Chinese Physicist was instrumental in providing the details to enable Reactor Bs operation.
The axis countries in ww2 and their far right views allowed for unity among the allies. No matter the separation of thought, nationality, gender; scientific communities, were able to align and accomplish.
Generalization, I am sure equality was not available. However biography details the comradely, attention to detail, and communication that was accomplished.

Visiting with Family

This trip has put me in the position to visit with people I have not spent time with in ~20 years. I learned much, mainly affirmation that I should not consider others perceptions as facts. As I learn about family, their decisions, the impact their life has had upon them, I worry that the division we see based on what we perceive is a hindrance to our success. I hope we don’t require another cataclysmic event to provide unity.

I want beer

I stopped at a fun brewery and tried all the beers on tap.
Standouts for me was the Mexican Lager and the Reviberate IPA

References

The B Reactor The Plant
A History of Plutonium Owen Summerscales The Product
Backgrounder on Plutonium The Product
Uranium The Fuel
Inside the Reactor The Stack or The Pile
Clarke’s Three Laws The beauty of an adage

Gallery

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