The beginning of NIRNS
Our archives contain a variety of material relating to the Neutron Project and the machine which became known as Nimrod.
The Neutron Project (May 1954)
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A paper for the Technical Steering Committee of the Atomic Energy Executive (AEX).
This paper discusses the need for a neutron source in order to measure neutron cross sections and reaction rates more accurately. It considers possible solutions such as a linear accelerator, cyclotron or reactor and concludes that they need a more powerful electron linac -- more than 30 MeV compared to the 15 MeV they had at the time.
The paper is marked "Secret" and talks about cores and tampers which are nuclear weapons terminology. Although it mentions making better reactors the authors might be mostly interested in the neutron cross sections to better understand their bombs. The paper is dated May 1954 and they mention the US AEC in several places. (The AEC headed by Lewis Strauss is currently grilling Oppenheimer.)
We believe that they did build this new electron linac, and donated the old one to Cambridge just as the document suggests they might.
(Comments from AL, ISIS)
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A symposium upon machines for high energy physics in the UK (May 1955)
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A one-and-a-half day meeting held on Friday 13th and Saturday 14th May 1955 in the New Lecture Theatre (later the Cockcroft Lecture Hall), Harwell.
Chaired by John Cockcroft, the meeting included presentations by Rudy Peierls (Oxford), Philip Moon (Birmingham),
Gerry Pickavance (later Director of Nimrod), John Lawson and Bill Walkinshaw (Harwell),
and a recorded presentation by John Adams (CERN).
A visit to the building site of the Proton Linear Accelerator (PLA) was organised for the Friday evening.
From the notes "Saturday only" and "Friday only" it is assumed that the list of attendees applies to this meeting as the papers were kept together, albeit unfastened. |
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Dr John Adams outlines the difficulties of building a large alternating gradient proton synchrotron, and discusses various design and management problems.
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Update following a symposium upon machines for high energy physics in the UK (December 1955)
A follow-up progress meeting held in December, again chaired by John Cockcroft. The discussions were recorded.
(The original 1955 reel-to-reel tapes were re-recorded onto cassette in 1982; the tape/side numbering scheme is curious.)
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Tape 1: Sir John Cockcroft summarises progress since the May meeting and Dr Gerry Pickavance reports on the status of the AERE design study.
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Tape 2 sides 1 and 2: Prof Hans Bethe reviews High Energy Physics and Mr John Dickson reports on the high energy machine programme in the United States.
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Tape 2 sides 3 and 4: General discussion.
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On the creation of a National Institute for Nuclear Physics (1956)
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A paper written by John Cockcroft for AEX (Atomic Energy Executive) discussing the location of the new institute and accelerator.
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Proposals for a National Institute for Research in Advanced Nuclear Science (1956)
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A paper submitted to Ministers by Sir John Cockcroft discussing the cost of nuclear physics research and the proposal for a national research institute.
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The origins and early history of the National Institute for Research in Nuclear Science (1957)
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Second draft of a paper by John Cockcroft.
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The origins of NIRNS (1980s?)
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John Hendry's memoirs. Undated but assumed to be written in the 1980s as he refers to Wilkinson's article in the 1978
Nimrod commemoration booklet.
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The work of the Rutherford Laboratory (1963)
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A paper written by Gerry Pickavance and published in the
British Journal of Applied Physics concerning the history and operation of the 50 MeV Proton Linear Accelerator
and the 7 GeV proton synchrotron Nimrod
T G Pickavance 1963 Br. J. Appl. Phys. 14 643
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