Ames Project

The Ames Project was a research effort that helped build the first atomic bombs during World War II. It started in Ames, Iowa and was led by a scientist named Frank Spedding from Iowa State College. The project focused on chemistry and metallurgy, which are ways to study and work with metals.

One of the big things the Ames Project did was create a special method called the Ames Process. This process made pure uranium metal, which was very important for the atomic bombs and for early nuclear reactors. From 1942 to 1945, the project made more than 1,000 tons of uranium metal.

The Ames Project also worked with other metals like thorium, cerium, and beryllium. In 1945, Iowa State College got a special award called the Army-Navy "E" Award for doing excellent work. Later, in 1947, the project became known as the Ames Laboratory, a big science lab run by the Atomic Energy Commission.

Background

The discovery of the neutron by James Chadwick in 1932, and nuclear fission by Otto Hahn and Fritz Strassmann in 1938, showed that it might be possible to create a controlled nuclear chain reaction using uranium. After the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor brought the United States into World War II, physicist Arthur H. Compton was put in charge of the plutonium project, which aimed to build atomic bombs. This became part of the larger Manhattan Project.

Compton set up the Metallurgical Laboratory at the University of Chicago in February 1942 to build nuclear reactors. He asked Frank Spedding from Iowa State College in Ames, Iowa to lead the Chemistry Division. Because there wasn’t enough space in Chicago, part of the work was done in Ames. The team there became so successful that it stayed as a separate part of the Manhattan Project.

Organization

Frank Spedding started the Ames Project by recruiting two fellow scientists from Iowa State College to help lead it. Harley A. Wilhelm led the Metallurgy Division, focusing on the study of metals, while Iral B. Johns led the Plutonium Division. Over time, the project grew to include more than 90 scientists and eventually exceeded 500 staff members. Senior staff met every Sunday morning to discuss their work and set goals for the week, calling these meetings "Speddinars."

Spedding received strong support from Charles E. Friley, the president of Iowa State College, even before the full details of the project could be shared due to security checks. After these checks were completed, Harold V. Gaskill was brought in to manage the project. In late 1942, the United States Army Corps of Engineers took control of the Ames Project as part of the larger Manhattan Project.

Uranium

Ames Process

The Ames Project needed uranium for early nuclear reactors. Uranium ore was available, but it contained impurities that could stop a nuclear reaction. Scientists looked for better ways to purify uranium. They discovered a method called the Ames Process, which used uranium tetrachloride and calcium to create pure uranium metal. This process was tested and improved, allowing scientists to make larger pieces of pure uranium for use in experiments.

Production

The Ames Project grew quickly. They turned an old building into a lab and bought machine tools to help make uranium metal. By December 1942, they were making enough uranium for the world’s first nuclear reactor. They improved the process to use magnesium, which was cheaper and easier to find. The project made uranium metal ingots, which were shipped to other labs for use in early nuclear reactors. By 1943, they were making thousands of pounds of uranium metal each month. The cost of uranium metal dropped from $1,000 per pound to about one dollar per pound. The Ames Project helped supply much of the uranium used in early nuclear science and production.

Other metals

Beginning in 1942, the Ames Project worked on producing and purifying important metals such as thorium, beryllium, and cerium, in addition to uranium. These metals were needed for various parts of the Manhattan Project.

Scientists discovered that thorium could be turned into a material called uranium-233, which could also be used in atomic bombs. Although this idea wasn't used for the bombs, it was interesting because thorium was more common than uranium at the time. The project tried to make thorium metal but faced challenges due to its high melting point. By the end of 1945, they had produced about 4,500 pounds of thorium.

Beryllium was important because it could help control the reaction in nuclear bombs. The Ames Project developed ways to produce beryllium safely, though it was difficult because the metal is very poisonous. Work on cerium, another useful metal, began in 1944. Cerium was needed to make special containers for plutonium. By August 1945, the project had produced nearly pure cerium metal in the shape of small rods.

Alloys

During World War II, the Ames Project explored different mixtures of uranium with other metals to improve its use in reactors. They tested uranium carbide, which could serve as reactor fuel, and uranium-bismuth alloys because bismuth does not easily absorb neutrons. They also studied uranium-copper alloys for protecting uranium from corrosion and looked at mixtures with aluminum, tin, and several other metals.

The project further examined thorium mixed with various metals and also tested beryllium combined with bismuth, lead, thorium, uranium, and zinc, searching for useful combinations for their research.

Chemistry

The Ames Project studied the chemistry of uranium, looking at different forms like uranium oxides and uranium hydride. At one time, scientists thought about using uranium hydride in atomic bombs, but decided it wasn’t a good idea. They also found ways to recover depleted uranium from leftover materials.

Plutonium was even less understood back then, as scientists had only tiny amounts. The Ames Project worked on ways to separate plutonium from uranium and other materials, even though most plutonium research happened at the Metallurgical Laboratory.

Post-war

Major General Leslie R. Groves Jr., the director of the Manhattan Project, visited Iowa State College and presented the Army-Navy "E" Award for Excellence in Production. This award was special because it was usually given to big companies, not colleges. The award was a banner with four white stars.

After the war, the Iowa State Board of Education created the Institute of Atomic Research to coordinate studies in the Midwestern United States. The Ames Laboratory became a national laboratory in 1947 and stayed on the Iowa State College campus. Permanent buildings were built and named Wilhelm Hall and Spedding Hall. The laboratory continued to focus on chemistry and metallurgy.