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Fusion Science and Technology
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General Kenneth Nichols and the Manhattan Project
Nichols
The Oak Ridger has published the latest in a series of articles about General Kenneth D. Nichols, the Manhattan Project, and the 1954 Atomic Energy Act. The series has been produced by Nichols’ grandniece Barbara Rogers Scollin and Oak Ridge (Tenn.) city historian David Ray Smith. Gen. Nichols (1907–2000) was the district engineer for the Manhattan Engineer District during the Manhattan Project.
As Smith and Scollin explain, Nichols “had supervision of the research and development connected with, and the design, construction, and operation of, all plants required to produce plutonium-239 and uranium-235, including the construction of the towns of Oak Ridge, Tennessee, and Richland, Washington. The responsibility of his position was massive as he oversaw a workforce of both military and civilian personnel of approximately 125,000; his Oak Ridge office became the center of the wartime atomic energy’s activities.”
R. E. Olson, G. A. Chandler, M. S. Derzon, D. E. Hebron, J. S. Lash, R. J. Leeper, T. J. Nash, G. E. Rochau, T. W. L. Sanford, N. B. Alexander, C. R. Gibson
Fusion Science and Technology | Volume 35 | Number 2 | March 1999 | Pages 260-265
Technical Paper | doi.org/10.13182/FST99-A11963934
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
We describe designs of hohlraums and capsules for both ignition (∼1–10 MJ) and high yield (up to ∼200 MJ) Z-pinch driven indirect-drive ICF concepts. Two potential Z-pinch hohlraum configurations – 1) the “static wall” or “on-axis” hohlraum; and 2) the “imploding liner” or “dynamic” hohlraum – are considered. Both concepts involve cryogenic, DT-filled capsules (∼2–4 mm in diameter) with Be or CH ablators (O, F, and Cu are currently being considered as dopants). Both types of hohlraums involve a Helium and/or CH foam fill. In the static wall hohlraum concept, the ICF capsule is isolated from the x-ray generation region. Advantages in the areas of capsule drive symmetry and diagnostic access might be gained from this arrangement. In the dynamic hohlraum, the ICF capsule has a direct view of the stagnation radiation. The potential advantage would result from the higher x-ray intensity and larger total capsule absorbed energy.