Los Alamos National Laboratory & The University of California; Science in the National Interest, Photographs Celebrating Six Decades of Excellence

Los Alamos, NM: Los Alamos National Laboratory, 2006. Presumed First Edition, First printing. Wraps. 225, [1] pages. Timeline. Illustrations (some in color). Format is approximately 12 inches by 9.5 inches. Gift inscription from Laboratory scientist on title page. Foreword by Robert C. Dynes. Introduction by Robert W. Kuckuck. Los Alamos National Laboratory (Los Alamos or LANL for short) is a United States Department of Energy national laboratory initially organized during World War II for the design of nuclear weapons as part of the Manhattan Project. Los Alamos was selected as the location for bomb design and officially commissioned in 1943. At the time it was known as Project Y, one of a series of laboratories located across the United States given letter names to maintain their secrecy. Los Alamos was the center for design and overall coordination, while the other labs concentrated on the production of uranium and plutonium bomb fuels. Los Alamos was the heart of the project, bringing together some of the world's most famous scientists, among them numerous Nobel Prize winners. In September 1942, the difficulties encountered in conducting preliminary studies on nuclear weapons at universities scattered across the country indicated the need for a laboratory dedicated solely to that purpose. General Leslie Groves wanted a central laboratory at an isolated location for safety, and to keep the scientists away from the populace. It should be at least 200 miles from international boundaries and west of the Mississippi. Manhattan Project scientific director J. Robert Oppenheimer had spent much time in his youth in the New Mexico area, and suggested the Los Alamos Ranch School on the mesa. As soon as Groves saw it he said in effect "This is the place". Oppenheimer became the laboratory's first director. The location was a total secret. Its only mailing address was a post office box, number 1663, in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Though its contract with the University of California was initially intended to be temporary,[citation needed] the relationship was maintained long after the war. Condition: Very good.

Keywords: Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory, LANL, LASL, Project Y, Pictorial Works, Nuclear Weapons, Oppenheimer, Edward Teller, Atomic Bomb

[Book #75722]

Price: $75.00