Bulletin of the American Physical Society
78th Annual Meeting of the Southeastern Section of the APS
Volume 56, Number 9
Wednesday–Saturday, October 19–22, 2011; Roanoke, Virginia
Session GD: The 100th Anniversary of the Discovery of the Atomic Nucleus: A historical reflection of nuclear science in the Southeast |
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Chair: Paul Cottle, Florida State University Room: Crystal Ballroom DE |
Friday, October 21, 2011 8:30AM - 9:00AM |
GD.00001: Selected Highlights in Nuclear Research in the Southeast by Vanderbilt and ORNL Invited Speaker: On the one hundredth anniversary of the discovery of the nucleus, selected highlights in nuclear research by Vanderbilt scientists and by Oak Ridge National Laboratory scientists as well as their joint research are described. These will include the earliest work involving the first confirmation of neutron induced fission and classic papers on the fission process. This was followed by the development of the barrier for the gaseous diffusion separation of $^{235}$U from $^{238}$U. In the 1940's the first working nuclear reactor became operational at ORNL, to make $^{239}$Pu followed by the first radioisotopes for nuclear medicine, neutron scattering to probe materials leading to a Nobel Prize and the first observation of the $\beta $ decay of the free neutron. In 1953 Hill and Wheeler published their classic nuclear theory paper that has over 2000 citations. In the 1960's large E0 transitions were observed in decays of $\beta $ but not $\gamma $ vibrational bands to confirm the predictions of Bohr and Mottelson that $\beta $ vibrations change the nuclear deformation. Then the first failures of the B-M model were observed. In the 1970's the paradigm that each nucleus had one fixed shape was changed when the discovery of the coexistence of overlapping bands built on different deformations were observed. This was made possible, in part, by universities building the first isotope separator on-line to the Oak Ridge cyclotron. This was followed by the discovery of the reinforcement of proton and neutron shell gaps at the same deformation to give superdeformed double magic nuclei. Other highlights will be presented, including the recent discovery of the new element 117 and confirmation of new elements 113 and 115. [Preview Abstract] |
Friday, October 21, 2011 9:00AM - 9:30AM |
GD.00002: A Personal Perspective on Triangle Universities Nuclear Laboratory Development Invited Speaker: Nuclear physics research in NC began seriously in 1950 when Henry Newson and his colleagues at Duke attracted support for a 4 MeV Van de Graaff accelerator with which they grew their doctoral training program. The lab's scientific achievements also grew, including the discovery in 1966 of fine structure of nuclear analog states. By then UNC and NC State had attracted Eugen Merzbacher and Worth Seagondollar who, with Newson, brought more faculty to work at an enlarged three-university, cooperative lab. Launched at Duke in 1967 with a 30 MeV Cyclograff accelerator, and subsequently equipped with a polarized H and D ion source and polarized H and $^{3}$He targets, an extensive program in light-ion and neutron physics ensued. Faculty interest in electromagnetic interactions led to development since 2001 of TUNL's HI$\gamma$S facility to produce intense 1-100 MeV polarized photon beams with small energy spread. Photonuclear reaction studies there today are producing results of unmatched quality. These 60 years of nuclear physics research have produced $\sim$250 doctoral graduates, many of whom have gone on to very distinguished careers. A personal perspective on these activities will be presented. [Preview Abstract] |
Friday, October 21, 2011 9:30AM - 10:00AM |
GD.00003: A personal view of nuclear physics in the Southeast Invited Speaker: Numerous physicists who have carried part or all of their work in the Southeast have made major contributions to our present understanding of the nucleus, from Robert Van de Graaff whose accelerator became the work horse of experimental nuclear physics to John Wheeler whose early work at North Carolina began a tradition there that continues until today. Many early major results from southern researchers will be presented as well as some outstanding current work. The shift from exploring nuclear structure to generating the chemical elements in stars to unraveling the structure of the nucleon are evidence of the impact made in the field of nuclear physics by the Southeast. [Preview Abstract] |
Friday, October 21, 2011 10:00AM - 10:30AM |
GD.00004: Early History of Jefferson Laboratory Invited Speaker: This talk will focus on the history of Jefferson Laboratory from its inception as the NEAL proposal by the Southeastern Universities Research Association (SURA) in 1980, to about 1986 -- two years after the arrival of Hermann Grunder and his Berkeley team. Major themes are (i) a national decision to build a high energy, high duty factor electron accelerator for basic nuclear physics research, (ii) open competition established by the DOE, (iii) formation of SURA, and (iv) interest of SURA physicists (particularly at UVA and W{\&}M) in this research. I will discuss the scientific, technical, and political issues that eventually lead to the selection of the SURA proposal, the choice of Newport News as the site, and the decision to adopt a recirculating superconducting ring for the final design. [Preview Abstract] |
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