Critical Assembly; A Technical History of Los Alamos during the Oppenheimer Years, 1943-1945

New York: Cambridge University Press, 1997. Later printing. Hardcover. Very good. xv, [1], 509, [1] pages. Illustrations. Notes. Name Index. Subject Index. Lillian Hartman Hoddeson (born 20 December 1940, in New York City) is an American historian of science, specializing in the history of physics and technology during the 2nd half of the 20th century. Hoddeson received in 1957 a high school diploma from the Bronx High School of Science, in 1961 a bachelor's degree in physics from Barnard College, and in 1966 a Ph.D. in physics from Columbia University. She was an assistant professor of physics from 1967 to 1970 at Barnard College and from 1971 to 1976 at Rutgers University. In 1974-1975 she was a visiting fellow at Princeton University and took Thomas Kuhn's "History of Quantum Mechanics" course. From 1977 to 1992 she held academic positions at the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana, before becoming there an associate professor from 1993 to 2000 and a full professor from 2000 until her retirement. Since 1978 she has held the position of Fermilab's historian. Hoddeson is the co-author or editor of several books and has published more than 50 articles in referred journals. Her publications include a biography of John Bardeen, history of the development of the transistor, history of Fermilab, technical history of the beginning of Los Alamos National Laboratory, and history of the development of the atomic bomb in the Manhattan Project. She co-authored books on the history of particle physics and a book on the abortive Superconducting Super Collider. In 2012 she received the Abraham Pais Prize for History of Physics from the American Physical Society. This volume treats the technical research that led to the first atomic bombs. The authors explore how the "critical assembly" of scientists, engineers, and military personnel at Los Alamos collaborated during World War II, blending their traditions to create a new approach to large-scale research. The research was characterized by strong mission orientation, multidisciplinary teamwork, expansion of the scientists' traditional methodology with engineering techniques, and a trial-and-error methodology responding to wartime deadlines. The book opens with an introduction laying out major themes. After a synopsis of the prehistory of the bomb project, from the discovery of nuclear fission to the start of the Manhattan Engineer District, and an overview of the early materials program, the book examines the establishment of the Los Alamos Laboratory, the implosion and gun assembly programs, nuclear physics research, chemistry and metallurgy, explosives, uranium and plutonium development, confirmation of spontaneous fission in pile-produced plutonium, the thermonuclear bomb, critical assemblies, the Trinity test, and delivery of the combat weapons. Readers interested in the development of the atomic bomb will find many previously unrevealed details in this volume while those interested in the more general history of science will find this volume a crucial resource for understanding the underpinnings of contemporary science and technology.