G. N. Glasoe
Encyclopedia
G. Norris Glasoe was an American
nuclear physicist. He was a member of the Columbia University
team which was the first in the United States to verify the European discovery of the nuclear fission
of uranium
via neutron bombardment. During World War II
, he worked at the MIT Radiation Laboratory. He was a physicist and administrator at the Brookhaven National Laboratory
.
in Northfield, Minnesota
. He received his advanced degrees, including his doctorate, from the University of Wisconsin; a degree was awarded in 1926. After earning his doctorate, Glasoe did research at the University of Wisconsin and then joined the physics faculty at the Columbia University
.
, professor of physics at Columbia, closely followed the work of Ernest Lawrence
on the cyclotron
. Dunning wanted a more powerful neutron source and the cyclotron appeared as an attractive tool to achieve this end. During 1935 and 1936, he was able construct a cyclotron using many salvaged parts to reduce costs and funding from industrial and private donations. Glasoe, Dana P. Mitchell, and Hugh Paxton, junior members of the physics faculty at Columbia, worked on the cyclotron part time. At the suggestion of Mitchell, Dunning offered Herbert L. Anderson
a teaching assistant position if he would also help with the design and building of the cyclotron during work on his doctorate in physics, which he did. Others assisting in the construction of the cyclotron were Eugene T. Booth
and Hugh Glassford. The cyclotron would in a few years be used by Dunning, Glasoe, and Anderson in a historic experiment based on the discovery of nuclear fission in Europe in December 1938 and January 1939.
In December 1938, the German chemists Otto Hahn
and Fritz Strassmann
sent a manuscript to Naturwissenschaften
reporting they had detected the element barium
after bombarding uranium
with neutrons; simultaneously, they communicated these results to Lise Meitner
. Meitner, and her nephew Otto Robert Frisch
, correctly interpreted these results as being nuclear fission
. Frisch confirmed this experimentally on 13 January 1939. In 1944, Hahn received the Nobel Prize for Chemistry for the discovery of nuclear fission. Some historians have documented the history of the discovery of nuclear fission and believe Meitner should have been awarded the Nobel Prize with Hahn.
Even before it was published, Meitner’s and Frisch’s interpretation of the work of Hahn and Strassmann crossed the Atlantic Ocean with Niels Bohr
, who was to lecture at Princeton University
. Isidor Isaac Rabi
and Willis Lamb
, two Columbia University
physicists working at Princeton, heard the news and carried it back to Columbia. Rabi said he told Fermi; Fermi gave credit to Lamb. Bohr soon thereafter went from Princeton to Columbia to see Fermi. Not finding Fermi in his office, Bohr went down to the cyclotron area and found Anderson. Bohr grabbed him by the shoulder and said: “Young man, let me explain to you about something new and exciting in physics.” It was clear to a number of scientists at Columbia that they should try to detect the energy released in the nuclear fission of uranium from neutron bombardment. On 25 January 1939, Glasoe was a member of the experimental team at Columbia University which conducted the first nuclear fission experiment in the United States, which was done in the basement of Pupin Hall
; the other members of the team were Herbert L. Anderson
, Eugene T. Booth
, John R. Dunning
, Enrico Fermi
, and Francis G. Slack
.
During World War II
, Glasoe was a staff member and associate group leader at the Radiation Laboratory
of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology
.
No later than 1948, and as late as 1965, Glasoe was at the Brookhaven National Laboratory
(BNL), Upton
, Long Island
, New York
. He was associate chairman of the BNL physics department no later than 1952 and associate director of BNL no later than 1965.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
nuclear physicist. He was a member of the Columbia University
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
team which was the first in the United States to verify the European discovery of the nuclear fission
Nuclear fission
In nuclear physics and nuclear chemistry, nuclear fission is a nuclear reaction in which the nucleus of an atom splits into smaller parts , often producing free neutrons and photons , and releasing a tremendous amount of energy...
of uranium
Uranium
Uranium is a silvery-white metallic chemical element in the actinide series of the periodic table, with atomic number 92. It is assigned the chemical symbol U. A uranium atom has 92 protons and 92 electrons, of which 6 are valence electrons...
via neutron bombardment. During World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, he worked at the MIT Radiation Laboratory. He was a physicist and administrator at the Brookhaven National Laboratory
Brookhaven National Laboratory
Brookhaven National Laboratory , is a United States national laboratory located in Upton, New York on Long Island, and was formally established in 1947 at the site of Camp Upton, a former U.S. Army base...
.
Background
Gynther Norris Glasoe was born in Northfield, MN to Dr. Paul M. Glasoe and Gena (Kirkwold) Glasoe, both children of Norwegian immigrants. He had two younger brothers: Paul K. Glasoe (1913–2008) and Alf M. Glasoe (1909–2006)Education
Glasoe completed his undergraduate degree in 1924 at St. Olaf CollegeSt. Olaf College
St. Olaf College is a coeducational, residential, four-year, private liberal arts college in Northfield, Minnesota, United States. It was founded in 1874 by a group of Norwegian-American immigrant pastors and farmers, led by Pastor Bernt Julius Muus. The college is named after Olaf II of Norway,...
in Northfield, Minnesota
Northfield, Minnesota
As of the census of 2000, there were 17,147 people, 4,909 households, and 3,210 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,452.2 people per square mile . There were 5,119 housing units at an average density of 732.1 per square mile...
. He received his advanced degrees, including his doctorate, from the University of Wisconsin; a degree was awarded in 1926. After earning his doctorate, Glasoe did research at the University of Wisconsin and then joined the physics faculty at the Columbia University
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
.
Career
John R. DunningJohn R. Dunning
John Ray Dunning was an American physicist who played key roles in the development of the atomic bomb. He specialized in neutron physics and did pioneering work in gaseous diffusion for isotope separation...
, professor of physics at Columbia, closely followed the work of Ernest Lawrence
Ernest Lawrence
Ernest Orlando Lawrence was an American physicist and Nobel Laureate, known for his invention, utilization, and improvement of the cyclotron atom-smasher beginning in 1929, based on his studies of the works of Rolf Widerøe, and his later work in uranium-isotope separation for the Manhattan Project...
on the cyclotron
Cyclotron
In technology, a cyclotron is a type of particle accelerator. In physics, the cyclotron frequency or gyrofrequency is the frequency of a charged particle moving perpendicularly to the direction of a uniform magnetic field, i.e. a magnetic field of constant magnitude and direction...
. Dunning wanted a more powerful neutron source and the cyclotron appeared as an attractive tool to achieve this end. During 1935 and 1936, he was able construct a cyclotron using many salvaged parts to reduce costs and funding from industrial and private donations. Glasoe, Dana P. Mitchell, and Hugh Paxton, junior members of the physics faculty at Columbia, worked on the cyclotron part time. At the suggestion of Mitchell, Dunning offered Herbert L. Anderson
Herbert L. Anderson
Herbert Lawrence Anderson was an American nuclear physicist who contributed to the Manhattan Project. He was also a member of the team which made the first demonstration of nuclear fission in the United States, in the basement of Pupin Hall at Columbia University. He participated in the first...
a teaching assistant position if he would also help with the design and building of the cyclotron during work on his doctorate in physics, which he did. Others assisting in the construction of the cyclotron were Eugene T. Booth
Eugene T. Booth
Eugene Theodore Booth was an American nuclear physicist. He was a member of the historic Columbia University team which made the first demonstration of nuclear fission in the United States. During the Manhattan Project, he worked on gaseous diffusion for isotope separation...
and Hugh Glassford. The cyclotron would in a few years be used by Dunning, Glasoe, and Anderson in a historic experiment based on the discovery of nuclear fission in Europe in December 1938 and January 1939.
In December 1938, the German chemists Otto Hahn
Otto Hahn
Otto Hahn FRS was a German chemist and Nobel laureate, a pioneer in the fields of radioactivity and radiochemistry. He is regarded as "the father of nuclear chemistry". Hahn was a courageous opposer of Jewish persecution by the Nazis and after World War II he became a passionate campaigner...
and Fritz Strassmann
Fritz Strassmann
Friedrich Wilhelm "Fritz" Strassmann was a German chemist who, with Otto Hahn in 1938, identified barium in the residue after bombarding uranium with neutrons, which led to the interpretation of their results as being from nuclear fission...
sent a manuscript to Naturwissenschaften
Die Naturwissenschaften
Naturwissenschaften is a monthly peer-reviewed scientific journal published by Springer on behalf of several learned societies.- History :...
reporting they had detected the element barium
Barium
Barium is a chemical element with the symbol Ba and atomic number 56. It is the fifth element in Group 2, a soft silvery metallic alkaline earth metal. Barium is never found in nature in its pure form due to its reactivity with air. Its oxide is historically known as baryta but it reacts with...
after bombarding uranium
Uranium
Uranium is a silvery-white metallic chemical element in the actinide series of the periodic table, with atomic number 92. It is assigned the chemical symbol U. A uranium atom has 92 protons and 92 electrons, of which 6 are valence electrons...
with neutrons; simultaneously, they communicated these results to Lise Meitner
Lise Meitner
Lise Meitner FRS was an Austrian-born, later Swedish, physicist who worked on radioactivity and nuclear physics. Meitner was part of the team that discovered nuclear fission, an achievement for which her colleague Otto Hahn was awarded the Nobel Prize...
. Meitner, and her nephew Otto Robert Frisch
Otto Robert Frisch
Otto Robert Frisch , Austrian-British physicist. With his collaborator Rudolf Peierls he designed the first theoretical mechanism for the detonation of an atomic bomb in 1940.- Overview :...
, correctly interpreted these results as being nuclear fission
Nuclear fission
In nuclear physics and nuclear chemistry, nuclear fission is a nuclear reaction in which the nucleus of an atom splits into smaller parts , often producing free neutrons and photons , and releasing a tremendous amount of energy...
. Frisch confirmed this experimentally on 13 January 1939. In 1944, Hahn received the Nobel Prize for Chemistry for the discovery of nuclear fission. Some historians have documented the history of the discovery of nuclear fission and believe Meitner should have been awarded the Nobel Prize with Hahn.
Even before it was published, Meitner’s and Frisch’s interpretation of the work of Hahn and Strassmann crossed the Atlantic Ocean with Niels Bohr
Niels Bohr
Niels Henrik David Bohr was a Danish physicist who made foundational contributions to understanding atomic structure and quantum mechanics, for which he received the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1922. Bohr mentored and collaborated with many of the top physicists of the century at his institute in...
, who was to lecture at Princeton University
Princeton University
Princeton University is a private research university located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. The school is one of the eight universities of the Ivy League, and is one of the nine Colonial Colleges founded before the American Revolution....
. Isidor Isaac Rabi
Isidor Isaac Rabi
Isidor Isaac Rabi was a Galician-born American physicist and Nobel laureate recognized in 1944 for his discovery of nuclear magnetic resonance.-Early years:...
and Willis Lamb
Willis Lamb
Willis Eugene Lamb, Jr. was an American physicist who won the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1955 together with Polykarp Kusch "for his discoveries concerning the fine structure of the hydrogen spectrum". Lamb and Kusch were able to precisely determine certain electromagnetic properties of the electron...
, two Columbia University
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
physicists working at Princeton, heard the news and carried it back to Columbia. Rabi said he told Fermi; Fermi gave credit to Lamb. Bohr soon thereafter went from Princeton to Columbia to see Fermi. Not finding Fermi in his office, Bohr went down to the cyclotron area and found Anderson. Bohr grabbed him by the shoulder and said: “Young man, let me explain to you about something new and exciting in physics.” It was clear to a number of scientists at Columbia that they should try to detect the energy released in the nuclear fission of uranium from neutron bombardment. On 25 January 1939, Glasoe was a member of the experimental team at Columbia University which conducted the first nuclear fission experiment in the United States, which was done in the basement of Pupin Hall
Pupin Hall
Pupin Physics Laboratories, also known as Pupin Hall is home to the physics and astronomy departments of the Columbia University in New York City and a National Historic Landmark...
; the other members of the team were Herbert L. Anderson
Herbert L. Anderson
Herbert Lawrence Anderson was an American nuclear physicist who contributed to the Manhattan Project. He was also a member of the team which made the first demonstration of nuclear fission in the United States, in the basement of Pupin Hall at Columbia University. He participated in the first...
, Eugene T. Booth
Eugene T. Booth
Eugene Theodore Booth was an American nuclear physicist. He was a member of the historic Columbia University team which made the first demonstration of nuclear fission in the United States. During the Manhattan Project, he worked on gaseous diffusion for isotope separation...
, John R. Dunning
John R. Dunning
John Ray Dunning was an American physicist who played key roles in the development of the atomic bomb. He specialized in neutron physics and did pioneering work in gaseous diffusion for isotope separation...
, Enrico Fermi
Enrico Fermi
Enrico Fermi was an Italian-born, naturalized American physicist particularly known for his work on the development of the first nuclear reactor, Chicago Pile-1, and for his contributions to the development of quantum theory, nuclear and particle physics, and statistical mechanics...
, and Francis G. Slack
Francis G. Slack
Francis Goddard Slack was an American physicist. He was a physics teacher, researcher, and administrator in academia who was renowned for placing equal emphasis on teaching and on research.-Education:...
.
During World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, Glasoe was a staff member and associate group leader at the Radiation Laboratory
Radiation Laboratory
The Radiation Laboratory, commonly called the Rad Lab, was located at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge, Massachusetts and functioned from October 1940 until December 31, 1945...
of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology is a private research university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts. MIT has five schools and one college, containing a total of 32 academic departments, with a strong emphasis on scientific and technological education and research.Founded in 1861 in...
.
No later than 1948, and as late as 1965, Glasoe was at the Brookhaven National Laboratory
Brookhaven National Laboratory
Brookhaven National Laboratory , is a United States national laboratory located in Upton, New York on Long Island, and was formally established in 1947 at the site of Camp Upton, a former U.S. Army base...
(BNL), Upton
Upton, New York
Upton, New York is a hamlet on Long Island in the town of Brookhaven. It is the home of Brookhaven National Laboratory, and a National Weather Service station.Upton is located in Suffolk County, New York in the USA....
, Long Island
Long Island
Long Island is an island located in the southeast part of the U.S. state of New York, just east of Manhattan. Stretching northeast into the Atlantic Ocean, Long Island contains four counties, two of which are boroughs of New York City , and two of which are mainly suburban...
, New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
. He was associate chairman of the BNL physics department no later than 1952 and associate director of BNL no later than 1965.
Selected Literature
- G. Norris Glasoe Contact Potential Difference between Iron and Nickel and their Photoelectric Work Functions, Phys. Rev. Volume 38, Issue 8, 1490 - 1496 (1931). Institutional citation: University of Wisconsin. Received 5 September 1931.
- E. Mc Millan, H. L. Anderson, E. T. Booth, J. R. Dunning, E. Fermi, G. N. Glasoe, F. G. Slack Radioactive Recoils from Uranium Activated by Neutrons, Phys. Rev. Volume 55, Number 5, 510-511 (1939).
- H. L. AndersonHerbert L. AndersonHerbert Lawrence Anderson was an American nuclear physicist who contributed to the Manhattan Project. He was also a member of the team which made the first demonstration of nuclear fission in the United States, in the basement of Pupin Hall at Columbia University. He participated in the first...
, E. T. BoothEugene T. BoothEugene Theodore Booth was an American nuclear physicist. He was a member of the historic Columbia University team which made the first demonstration of nuclear fission in the United States. During the Manhattan Project, he worked on gaseous diffusion for isotope separation...
, J. R. DunningJohn R. DunningJohn Ray Dunning was an American physicist who played key roles in the development of the atomic bomb. He specialized in neutron physics and did pioneering work in gaseous diffusion for isotope separation...
, E. FermiEnrico FermiEnrico Fermi was an Italian-born, naturalized American physicist particularly known for his work on the development of the first nuclear reactor, Chicago Pile-1, and for his contributions to the development of quantum theory, nuclear and particle physics, and statistical mechanics...
, G. N. Glasoe, and F. G. SlackFrancis G. SlackFrancis Goddard Slack was an American physicist. He was a physics teacher, researcher, and administrator in academia who was renowned for placing equal emphasis on teaching and on research.-Education:...
The Fission of Uranium, Phys. Rev. Volume 55, Number 5, 511 - 512 (1939). Institutional citation: Pupin Physics Laboratories, Columbia University, New York, New York. Received 16 February 1939.
- G. N. Glasoe and J. Steigman Fission Products from Uranium, Phys. Rev. Volume 55, Issue 10, 982 - 983 (1939). Institutional citation: Pupin Physics Laboratories, Columbia University, New York, New York. Received 1 May 1939.
- E. T. Booth, J. R. Dunning, and G. N. Glasoe Range Distribution of the Uranium Fission Fragments, Phys. Rev. Volume 55, Issue 10, 982 - 982 (1939). Institutional citation: Pupin Physics Laboratories, Columbia University, New York, New York. Received 1 May 1939.
- G. N. Glasoe and J. Steigman Radioactive Products from Gases Produced in Uranium Fission, Phys. Rev. Volume 58, Issue 1, 1 - 6 (1940). Glasoe was identified as being at the Columbia University, New York, New York. Steigman was identified as being at the College of the City of New York, New York, New York and Pupin Physics Laboratories, Columbia University. Received 13 May 1940.
- G. N. Glasoe, H. Landon, and W. A. McKinley Progress Report for October 1, 1951 to September 30, 1952, Technical Report NYO-869 48 pages, Rensselaer Polytechnic InstituteRensselaer Polytechnic InstituteStephen Van Rensselaer established the Rensselaer School on November 5, 1824 with a letter to the Rev. Dr. Samuel Blatchford, in which van Rensselaer asked Blatchford to serve as the first president. Within the letter he set down several orders of business. He appointed Amos Eaton as the school's...
. Subject matter of this report: particle physics.
- C. O. Muehlhause, S. D. Bloom, H. E. Wegner, and G. N. Glasoe Neutron Scattering from Iron and Carbon by Time-of-Flight, Phys. Rev. Volume 103, Issue 3, 720 - 726 (1956). Institutional citation: Brookhaven National Laboratory, Upton, New York. Received 26 April 1956. Current address for Wegner: Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory, Los Alamos, New Mexico.
- H. H. Landon, A. J. Elwyn, G. N. Glasoe, and S. Oleksa Neutron Scattering at 2.2 Mev by Time of Flight, Phys. Rev. Volume 112, Issue 4, 1192 - 1200 (1958). Institutional citation: Brookhaven National Laboratory, Upton, New York. Received 17 July 1958. Current address for Landon: National Bureau of Standards, Washington, D. C.
- A. J. Elwyn, H. H. Landon, Sophie Oleksa, and G. N. Glasoe Study of Some (p, n) Reactions by Neutron Time of Flight, Phys. Rev. Volume 112, Issue 4, 1200 - 1209 (1958). Institutional citation: Brookhaven National Laboratory, Upton, New York. Received 17 July 1958. Current address for Landon: National Bureau of Standards, Washington, D. C.
- J. A. Benjamin, J. J. Diener, G. N. Glasoe, J. D. Larson, K. F. Minati, P. C. Rogers, H. E. Wegner, H. R. Hyder Terminal Ion Source System for the Brookhaven Three-Stage Tandem Facility, IEEE Transactions on Nuclear Science Volume 18, Issue 3, 118 – 122 (1971)
Book
- G. N. Glasoe and J. V. Lebacqz (editors) Pulse Generators, MIT Radiation Laboratory Series, Vol. 5 (McGraw-Hill, 1948). Glasoe: Rensselaer Polytechnic InstituteRensselaer Polytechnic InstituteStephen Van Rensselaer established the Rensselaer School on November 5, 1824 with a letter to the Rev. Dr. Samuel Blatchford, in which van Rensselaer asked Blatchford to serve as the first president. Within the letter he set down several orders of business. He appointed Amos Eaton as the school's...
. Lebacqz: Johns Hopkins UniversityJohns Hopkins UniversityThe Johns Hopkins University, commonly referred to as Johns Hopkins, JHU, or simply Hopkins, is a private research university based in Baltimore, Maryland, United States...
. Prepared under the supervision of the Office of Scientific Research and DevelopmentOffice of Scientific Research and DevelopmentThe Office of Scientific Research and Development was an agency of the United States federal government created to coordinate scientific research for military purposes during World War II. Arrangements were made for its creation during May 1941, and it was created formally by on June 28, 1941...
, National Defense Research CommitteeNational Defense Research CommitteeThe National Defense Research Committee was an organization created "to coordinate, supervise, and conduct scientific research on the problems underlying the development, production, and use of mechanisms and devices of warfare" in the United States from June 27, 1940 until June 28, 1941...
.