Criticality Of The Water Boiler And Effective Number Of Delayed Neutrons

Author : I-juliana Christy
Publisher : World Scientific
ISBN 13 : 9814460265
Total Pages : 366 pages
Book Rating : 4.8/5 (144 download)

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Download or read book Achieving The Rare: Robert F Christy's Journey In Physics And Beyond written by I-juliana Christy and published by World Scientific. This book was released on 2013-05-30 with total page 366 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Robert F Christy was a legendary physicist, one of the key players in some of the most dramatic events of the 20th century. He was a student of Oppenheimer, who called him “one of the best in the world.” He was a crucial member of Fermi's team when they first unleashed the unheard-of energies of nuclear power, creating the world's first nuclear reactor on December 2, 1942. On the Manhattan Project he was the key physicist in the successful test of the world's first atomic bomb, the “Christy Gadget”, at Alamogordo on July 16, 1945. Almost immediately he turned his talents to promoting the peaceful uses of atomic energy. He successfully opposed atmospheric testing of atomic bombs and fought nuclear proliferation, a campaign that eventually led to the SALT talks with the Soviet Union. His favorite subject was astrophysics where he made fundamental contributions to the understanding of Cepheids, variable stars that are crucial distance indicators in the universe.Robert was equally fascinating as a man. In his mid-50's he became irresistably attracted to an astrophysicist, but they were a continent and a generation apart. Near his 60's they started a happy and fulfilling life together. He remained vigorous both mentally and physically into his 90's: he was still galloping his horse at age 93.Robert's story is one of overcoming obstacles, of hope, and of fulfillment.