LBNL Image Library -- Collection BERKELEY-LAB/ACCELERATORS/CALUTRONS

Design of receiver for alpha calutron.

Image File

pg37_diagram

Title

Design of receiver for alpha calutron.

Description

Design of receiver for alpha calutron. Uranium- 235 collects in the small pocket between The calutron design settled on in 1942, called "alpha," provided for enrichment of natural uranium to about 15 percent U-235. Extravagant effort went into designing powerful ion sources and aptly shaped, eventually parabolic collecting slots. The many modifications and security codes proliferated whimsical names: sources Plato, Cyclops, Bicyclops, and Goofy mated with receivers Gloria, Irene, Mona, or Zulu. Ions from Plato and his friends traversed an arc 48 inches in radius to reach collector slits placed 0.6 inch apart. (The preceding information was excerpted from the text of the Fall 1981 issue of LBL Newsmagazine.)

Citation Caption

LBL News, Vol.6, No.3, Fall 1981 | Design of receiver for alpha calutron. Uranium-235 collects in the small pocket between "Q carbon" and "defining carbon."

Date

Spring 1981