An Introduction
From Stanford blackboards to raw nuclear power, Norris Bradbury has contributed (more than) his time to the world. Bradbury was not only a well-respected professor at Stanford, but also an exceptional physicist who contributed to the Manhattan Project during World War II. But these accomplishments were only the beginning for Bradbury, because in 1945 Bradbury was assigned as the director of Los Alamo’s Laboratory, where he oversaw research for the advancement of physics, chemistry, and various other fields.
Prewar Life
Born on the May 30th, 1909 Norris Bradbury spent his early years studying natural sciences earning a bachelor’s degree in Chemistry and a PhD in physics, from Pomona College and UC Berkeley respectively. His PhD thesis, Studies on the mobility of gaseous ions, ultimately awarded Bradbury with fellowship from the National Research Council.
Upon completion of his studies, Bradbury applied for commission as a naval reservist in 1932. After his commission was signed, Bradbury commenced work at Stanford University as a Physics Professor from 1935 to 1944. It was also this that he was ordered by Commander Deak Parsons to head to Albuquerque, New Mexico to become a technical adviser for the E-5, the Implosion Experimentation Group.
The Manhattan Project
It was here that Bradbury’s command of physics proved useful. With Bradbury’s oversight, the E-5 group successfully carried out the implosion field test program. Following E-5, Bradbury was later moved to the Explosives Division of the Manhattan Project. Here Bradbury was placed in charge of the X-1 group which was responsible for implosion research. A critical part of this research was the Trinity Test, an implosion style weapon. On July 16, 1945 at exactly 5:29 am the plutonium-based implosion fission bomb went off.
Composed of a solid spherical core and plutonium-239, the nuclear bomb was hoisted 30 m above the Jornada del Muerto desert sand. Once dropped, it destroyed everything in its path including the McDonald Ranch House, the former testing place for “The Gadget” (the nickname for the bomb). With the success of the trial, Bradbury had ultimately become one of the most influential physicists that aided in the creation of nuclear weapons, the key component for the Allies’ victory in World War II.
Postwar Life
After the war, Bradbury was assigned as the Director of Los Alamos Laboratory in 1945. Although Bradbury initially feared that the laboratory would cease to exist (due to a lack of need of explosives), the cold war with the Soviet Union guaranteed the continuity of Bradbury’s lab. Having made advancements in nuclear weapons, Bradbury extended his range to general nuclear studies until he retired in 1970.
Sources:
- Hoddeson, Lillian; Henriksen, Paul W.; Meade, Roger A.; Westfall, Catherine L. (1993). Critical Assembly: A Technical History of Los Alamos During the Oppenheimer Years, 1943–1945. New York: Cambridge University Press.
- Hewlett, Richard G.; Anderson, Oscar E. (1962). The New World, 1939–1946 (PDF). University Park: Pennsylvania State University Press.
- “Norris Bradbury”. Atomic Heritage Foundation.Retrieved January 4, 2018.
- “Robert F. Christy”. Atomic Heritage Foundation. Retrieved January 7, 2014.