The Neutron and the Bomb: A Biography of Sir James Chadwick [Hardcover]

Andrew Brown (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 31, 1997 | ISBN-10: 0198539924 | ISBN-13: 978-0198539926

This is the first biography of Sir James Chadwick (1891-1974), best known as the discoverer of the neutron, for which he won the Nobel Prize. Chadwick's central role in the unfolding drama of nuclear physics is reflected in his publications and voluminous correspondence (many selections of which are included here) with other leading figures like Niels Bohr and Lord Rutherford. In the 1920s, Chadwick rose to become the operations director of the Cavendish Laboratory under Rutherford, and the discovery of the neutron came from an intense burst of work in 1930s, after a decade of disappointment. Chadwick's life was molded by great events, including both world wars (which carried him though internment camps and narrow escapes) and the development of the atom bomb. Indeed, during the Second World War, he was to become Britain's foremost authority on nuclear weaponry and chief British scientist on the Manhattan Project. His story thus offers unique insights into the behind-the-scenes activities of the U.S. and U.K. secret services and their quest for knowledge of German advances in the nuclear field. As an eye-witness account of some of the most dramatic discoveries and developments of the 20th century, Chadwick's biography is both gripping and insightful.

Editorial Reviews

Review

`Andrew Brown has made good use of what seem to be all the available archives except for a few still classified as secret. There is already a substantial collection of biographies of modern physicists, and this book is a fine addition to their number.' Nature

About the Author

Andrew P. Brown is a radiation oncologist practising in southern New Hampshire.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 424 pages
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA (July 31, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0198539924
• ISBN-13: 978-0198539926
• Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 6.5 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.9 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,662,634 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars a first class scientific biography, November 9, 2005

By 

trc (london) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Neutron and the Bomb: A Biography of Sir James Chadwick (Hardcover)

i found this to be a finely written story of an interesting life - how rare and refreshing to have a complicated scientific subject described in good english that is neither condescending nor too complicated.

well done mr brown! i look forward to your further works.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars little remembered these days, February 28, 2005

By 

W Boudville (Terra, Sol 3) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Neutron and the Bomb: A Biography of Sir James Chadwick (Hardcover)

If you ask a typical physics undergrad for who discovered the neutron, you'll likely get a null answer. Chadwick is not widely remembered these days, which is why Brown's biography of him is a salutary reminder of his achievements.

We see how Chadwick's life spanned the seminal developments of modern physics, to which he made his worthy contributions. The book is also a good exposure to the international academic environments before World War 2. Especially the traditional British ivory tower.

It is the chapters on WW2 and later that we see Chadwick, and indeed physics generally, emerge and interact strongly with the real world. His efforts in directing the British contribution to the Manhattan Project may indeed be mostly overlooked today. But that may be primarily that the remembrance of the entire British effort was always overshadowed by the prodigious investment in manpower and resources that the Americans were able to bring to bear, in developing the atomic bomb.

Chadwick's involvement in the Manhattan Project was certainly appropriate. The chain reaction involves a heavy nucleus capturing a slow neutron. Which triggers fission and the production of more neutrons and excess energy. As the discoverer of the neutron, and the premier authority on how to generate and manipulate these, he was one of the obvious, key members of the Project.

5 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars An Impressive Breakthrough, April 9, 2000

By 

Bruce P. Barten - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Neutron and the Bomb: A Biography of Sir James Chadwick (Hardcover)

In order to become more well-rounded in his studies of physics, Chadwick went to Germany before the outbreak of the first world war and was locked up as an enemy of the Germans when the war came. The total breakdown in the existing order of things might help explain why the British were so keen on finding the subatomic particle structure of matter. The previous discovery of the mass and charge of an electron and experiments with radium, which naturally decays, had indicated that atoms might be capable of being broken into smaller parts. The discovery of the neutron in 1932 paved the way for experiments in chain reactions in which neutrons, which were the products of splitting atoms, were used to split other atoms. The powers which have had uses for this knowledge have been so quick to put it to use that it is still considered a great secret from anyone that isn't a member in good standing of their club. This book may be read as a description of the life of a man who was a member of the club before anyone knew that there was a club. About the earliest sign in the book that some kind of club was being formed was when Chadwick obtained some German radioactive toothpaste, for people who need to have teeth that glow in the dark, and tried to figure out what was in it during World War One.