From Radium to Nuclear Propulsion
How did we get from the discovery of Radium to the atomic bomb to nuclear power reactors in such a short amount of time?
Radium
Radium was not the first big discovery in the scientific community, but it was the most sensational. The couple who won the Nobel Prize for it and the many years of hype to follow about the element’s healing qualities in all things including make-up and even drinking water.
Most scientists at that time did not know the full impact of their findings and often did not take the time to consider the adverse health effects of any of these elements on the human body. In the case of Radium, time would be keeper that came to claim those who remained too close to the new miracle that glowed in the dark.
Radium was discovered by chemists Marie Sklodowska Curie and her husband Pierre Curie in 1898. Marie noticed that unrefined pitchblende was more radioactive that the uranium separated from it. By a complicated chemical process, she separated Radium from the Pitchblende to then determine their properties. Radium was named after the Latin word “radius” which means ray.
The couple won the Nobel Prize in physics in 1903 for their work on radioactivity. The committee at the time would not award the Nobel Prize to a woman. From her study of uranium rays, she made the claim that the rays were not dependent on the uranium’s form, but on its atomic structure. Her theory was groundbreaking and created a new field of study — atomic physics. After Radium’s discovery research into the radioactive properties of material intensified. Researchers and scientists were developing new ways to use this property.
In 1939, Otto Hahn and Fritz Strassmann, two German scientists at the Kaiser Wilhelm Institute in Berlin, had succeeded in splitting the nucleus of the uranium atom. The most exciting result of the experiment was that the fission process had released a significant amount of the energy in the atomic nucleus. At least in theory man had now gained access to the energy of the atom. The fissioning uranium nucleus released one or more high-energy neutrons which might be used to start additional fissions and thus lead to a chain reaction.
A physicist at the Naval Research Laboratory, Ross Gunn, who had studied electrical engineering and earned a doctorate in physics at Yale in 1926, became keenly interested.
While most of the Navy personnel present concentrated their attention on a nuclear weapon, Gunn was already turning over in his mind the idea of using nuclear power to drive the world’s first true submarine.
Gunn worked tirelessly to make sure that he was involved. Admiral Bowen, who became the director of the Naval Research Laboratory, gave Ross Gunn the support he needed to get involved with the Manhattan Project. Initially Gunn was included on the committees and his influence was prominent in making early decisions. As the project matured, his help through the Navy became more of a liaison and finally to nothing at all.
Nuclear Propulsion
It would take about 50 years from the discovery of Radium and maybe some devastating lessons from the Manhattan project and the Radium girls before the Navy would get to submarine propulsion on nuclear power.
First, fission had to be realized not just a scientific theory. The Manhattan Project did this, with several glaring problems that are evident to only those with the advantage of time on their side. The first, was the project was top secret! Not many knew of the project at all. Those working the project, a large number of men and women, did not actual know what their work was intended for.
The Manhattan Project was so compartmentalized that no more than a handful of people knew the entire extent of the plan. There were scientists who were working on the theory of fission and its implications and had guessed the evil power fission could ultimately unleash. After this power was weaponized, it put a sour taste in the mouths of too many people. It took some few strong-willed scientists who understood what fission could do in a practical application — nuclear power applied to propulsion of a submarine.
Scientists never ran the Navy and so the idea and theory of nuclear propulsion languished until a strong Naval advocate picked up the mantle. Then it would all rest on his shoulders — the success or failure of United States future of the nuclear submarine force.
Radium created a craze in multiple areas…but because capitalism, war, and naïve scientists ignored the danger signs when they became prevalent, the public has become very distrustful of anything radioactive.
If it wasn’t for the way that the naval nuclear program was handled, with such strict controls and high standards, that really earned the trust of our country, they would not have such a strong nuclear submarine fleet.
With naval submarine tactical demand increasing, a need for more endurance while submerged was critical. An improved propulsion system would give submarines a defensive advantage while increasing offensive potential simultaneously. The only feasible answer that did not add too much weight was a nuclear reactor. In 1946, this technology did not exist.
Then Captain Rickover arrived in Oak Ridge before the end of 1946. The Chief of the Bureau of Ships, Admiral Mills and other colleagues of high rank had been developing the idea of nuclear propulsion. And though scientists had advanced several theoretical ideologies, nothing had gained enough political support to become a reality.
Nuclear power for naval propulsion needed a strong advocate. That is what ADM Mills found in CAPT Rickover, even if there was some opposition due to his demeanor. At that time, Rickover was an “Engineering Duty Only” officer. He was a line officer who specialized in electrical engineering and propulsion. It was a great achievement to become an EDO, but he was now barred from exercising command afloat.
What set Rickover apart at the time and would set the NNPP up for the highest of standards, was his severely practical approach, tireless energy and refusal to compromise on technical excellence. These things made him truly successful, even though some opposed him for his gruff demeanor and what appeared to be an almost spiteful frankness.
As we now know, H. G. Rickover was absolutely the right person to birth the naval nuclear power propulsion program.
Rickover was a visionary who understood the need for strict safety design and strong controls in a time when scientists were unwittingly experimenting with elements before they fully understood the consequences.
Rickover would lead a small group of naval officers at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, a facility recently vacated by the Manhattan Project, to organize and work with private industry in the design and construction of nuclear reactors. They became Naval Reactors.
The rest, as they say, is history.
References:
— Nuclear Navy 1946–1962, by Richard G. Hewlett and Francis Duncan, published 1974 by The University of Chicago Press
— Radium Girls, The Dark Story of America’s Shining Women by Kate Moore, published in 2017 by Sourcebooks Inc.
Here’s an interesting fact about the Curies
Pierre Curie died in an accident in Paris, France, on April 19, 1906. Mr. Curie lost his footing while crossing the street and fell beneath the wheels of a horse-drawn vehicle, suffering a fatal skull fracture.
Mr. Curie was in fact, suffering from the effects of Radium poisoning at the time. Marie and Pierre had been married for almost eleven years. Marie also suffered from Radium poisoning but would take long summer breaks away from her work, allowing her body enough time to recover between exposures.
