Mark Oliphant

Marcus Laurence Elwin Oliphant
Born	October 8, 1901 Kent Town, Adelaide, Australia
Died	July 14, 2000 Canberra, Australia
Residence	Australia UK USA
Nationality	Australian
Institutions	Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory University of Birmingham Australian National University
Alma mater	University of Adelaide Cambridge University
Academic advisor	Ernest Rutherford
Notable students	Ernest William Titterton
Known for	Discovery of Deuterium, Tritium, and Helium 3
Notable prizes	Hughes Medal (1943)

Sir Marcus 'Mark' Laurence Elwin Oliphant AC KBE (October 8, 1901 – July 14, 2000) was an Australian physicist and humanitarian who played a fundamental role in the development of the Atomic bomb. Image File history File links MarkOliphantPortrait. ... October 8 is the 281st day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (282nd in leap years). ... 1901 (MCMI) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Wednesday of the 13-day-slower Julian calendar). ... Kent Town is a suburb of Adelaide in the City of Norwood Payneham St Peters. ... Adelaide is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of South Australia, and is the fifth largest city in Australia, with a population of over 1. ... July 14 is the 195th day (196th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian calendar, with 170 days remaining. ... 2000 (MM) was a leap year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... For other uses, see Canberra (disambiguation). ... Image File history File links This is a lossless scalable vector image. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_the_United_Kingdom. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links This is a lossless scalable vector image. ... The Berkeley Lab is perched on a hill overlooking the Berkeley central campus and San Francisco Bay. ... Website http://www. ... The Australian National University, or ANU, is a public university located in Canberra, the national capital of Australia. ... The University of Adelaide (colloquially Adelaide University or Adelaide Uni) is a public university located in Adelaide. ... The University of Cambridge is the second-oldest university in the English-speaking world, with one of the most selective sets of entry requirements in the United Kingdom. ... Ernest Rutherford, 1st Baron Rutherford of Nelson OM PC FRS (30 August 1871 – 19 October 1937), widely referred to as Lord Rutherford, was a nuclear physicist born in New Zealand and known as the father of nuclear physics. ... Image File history File links Nobel. ... Sir Ernest (Ernie) William Titterton Ph. ... Deuterium, also called heavy hydrogen, is a stable isotope of hydrogen with a natural abundance in the oceans of Earth of approximately one atom in 6500 of hydrogen (~154 PPM). ... Tritium (symbol T or 3H) is a radioactive isotope of hydrogen. ... Helium-3 is a light, non-radioactive isotope of helium. ... The Hughes Medal, named after microphone inventor David Edward Hughes, is one of several medals awarded by the Royal Society, Englands reigning academy of science. ... Insignia of a Companion of the Order of Australia. ... The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by King George V. The Order includes five classes in civil and military divisions; in decreasing order of seniority, these are Knight Grand Cross or Dame Grand Cross (GBE) Knight Commander... October 8 is the 281st day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (282nd in leap years). ... 1901 (MCMI) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Wednesday of the 13-day-slower Julian calendar). ... July 14 is the 195th day (196th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian calendar, with 170 days remaining. ... 2000 (MM) was a leap year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... ... This does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... The mushroom cloud of the atomic bombing of Nagasaki, Japan, 1945, rose some 18 kilometers (11 mi) above the hypocenter. ...

Oliphant's Early Life and Family

Oliphant was born the eldest of five sons in Kent Town, a suburb of Adelaide, South Australia. As a child, after witnessing the killing of farm pigs he became a life-long vegetarian. He was also found to be completely deaf in one ear and needed glasses for severe astigmatism and short-sightedness. Oliphant wasn't well off, and his father was a civil servant and his mother an artist. He went to school at Unley High School in Adelaide. Kent Town is a suburb of Adelaide in the City of Norwood Payneham St Peters. ... Adelaide is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of South Australia, and is the fifth largest city in Australia, with a population of over 1. ... Capital Adelaide Government Constitutional monarchy Governor Marjorie Jackson-Nelson Premier Mike Rann (ALP) Federal representation  - House seats 11  - Senate seats 12 Gross State Product (2004-05)  - Product ($m)  $59,819 (5th)  - Product per capita  $38,838/person (7th) Population (End of September 2006)  - Population  1,558,200 (5th)  - Density  1. ... Unley High School is one of the largest Public high schools in South Australia. ...

He was at first interested in a career in medicine or dentistry and began studying at the University of Adelaide in 1919. However, his physics lecturer, Dr. Roy Burdon, persuaded him towards becoming a Physicist by showing him "the extraordinary exhiliration there was in even minor discoveries in the field of physics".^[1] medicines, see medication and pharmacology. ... A Dentist and Dental Assistant perform surgery on a patient. ... The University of Adelaide (colloquially Adelaide University or Adelaide Uni) is a public university located in Adelaide. ... Physics (Greek: (phúsis), nature and (phusiké), knowledge of nature) is the science concerned with the fundamental laws of the universe. ... ...

Cavendish Laboratory

In 1925 he heard a speech given by New Zealand physicist Ernest Rutherford and decided then and there that he would work for him - an ambition he fulfilled by gaining a position at the Cavendish Laboratory at the University of Cambridge in 1927 which was at the time carrying out the most advanced research into nuclear physics in the world. It was at the Cavendish, for example, that the atom was first split in 1932. Amongst other research, Oliphant worked on the artificial disintegration of the atomic nucleus and positive ions, and designed complex particle accelerators. 1925 (MCMXXV) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar). ... Ernest Rutherford, 1st Baron Rutherford of Nelson OM PC FRS (30 August 1871 – 19 October 1937), widely referred to as Lord Rutherford, was a nuclear physicist born in New Zealand and known as the father of nuclear physics. ... Plaque, at old site The Cavendish Laboratory is the University of Cambridges Department of Physics, and is part of the universitys School of Physical Sciences. ... The University of Cambridge (usually abbreviated as Cantab. ... 1927 (MCMXXVII) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display full calendar). ... Nuclear physics is the branch of physics concerned with the nucleus of the atom. ... Year 1932 (MCMXXXII) was a leap year starting on Friday (the link will take you to a full 1932 calendar). ... Artificial disintegration is the term coined by Ernest Rutherford for the process by which an atomic nucleus is broken down by bombarding it with high speed alpha particles, either from a particle accelerator, or a naturally decaying radioactive substance such as radium, as Rutherford originally used. ... The nucleus of an atom is the very small dense region, of positive charge, in its centre consisting of nucleons (protons and neutrons). ... “Multivalent” redirects here. ... For the DC Comics Superhero also called Atom Smasher, see Albert Rothstein. ...

Oliphant's contribution to this work was his discovery of helium 3 and tritium. He was also the first to discover heavy hydrogen nuclei could be made to react with each other. This fusion reaction is the basis of a hydrogen bomb. Ten years later American scientist Edward Teller would press to use Oliphant's discovery in order to build one. However, Oliphant did not foresee this: Helium-3 is a light, non-radioactive isotope of helium. ... Tritium (symbol T or 3H) is a radioactive isotope of hydrogen. ... The deuterium-tritium (D-T) fusion reaction is considered the most promising for producing fusion power. ... The mushroom cloud of the atomic bombing of Nagasaki, Japan, in 1945 lifted nuclear fallout some 18 km (60,000 feet) above the epicenter. ... Edward Teller (original Hungarian name Teller Ede) (January 15, 1908 – September 9, 2003) was a Jewish Hungarian-American theoretical physicist, known colloquially as the father of the hydrogen bomb. ...

...we had no idea whatever that this would one day be applied to make hydrogen bombs. Our curiosity was just curiosity about the structure of the nucleus of the atom, and the discovery of these reactions was purely, as the Americans would put it, coincidental.^[1]

Mark Oliphant (left)

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University of Birmingham

In 1937 Oliphant was appointed Professor of Physics at the University of Birmingham. While visiting prototype radar stations, he realized that a shorter wavelength was needed urgently. In 1939, he obtained a grant from the British Admiralty to develop radar with a wavelength less than 10 centimetres, compared to the best available at the time of 150 cm. 1937 (MCMXXXVII) was a common year starting on Friday (link will take you to calendar). ... Website http://www. ... Flag of the Lord High Admiral The Admiralty was formerly the authority in the United Kingdom responsible for the command of the Royal Navy. ...

In 1939 he also visited Berkeley, California, where he met Ernest Lawrence, who gave him a complete set of specifications for his 60-inch cyclotron at Birmingham, but the war prevented this from being completed until 1950. Berkeley is a city on the east shore of San Francisco Bay in northern California, in the United States. ... Ernest O. Lawrence Ernest Orlando Lawrence (August 8, 1901 – August 27, 1958) was an American physicist and Nobel Laureate best known for his invention, utilization, and improvement of the cyclotron beginning in 1929, and his later work in uranium-isotope separation in the Manhattan Project. ...

Role in airborne radar development

Oliphant's group at Birmingham included John Randall and Harry Boot who developed the resonant-cavity magnetron in 1940, achieving the wavelengths needed for an airborne radar. The magnetron's power was soon increased 100-fold, and Birmingham concentrated on magnetron development. The first operational magnetrons were delivered in August 1941. This invention was one of the key scientific breakthroughs during the war and played a major part in defeating the German U-boats, intercepting enemy bombers and in directing Allied bombers. See also Tizard Mission. Sir John Randall Sir John Randall (March 23, 1905 – June 16, 1984) was a British physicist, credited with radical improvement of the cavity magnetron, an essential component of the centimetre radar, which was one of the keys to the Allied victory in the Second World War. ... Dr Henry Albert Howard Harry Boot (29 July 1917 — 8 February 1983) was a physicist who with Sir John Randall and James Sayers developed the cavity magnetron, which was one of the keys to the Allied victory in the Second World War. ... A cavity magnetron is a high-powered vacuum tube that generates coherent microwaves. ... U-boat is also a nickname for some diesel locomotives built by GE; see List of GE locomotives October 1939. ... In the late Sepember 1940 during the Battle of Britain in the Second World War, a delegation arrived from the UK in the United States on a mission instigated by Henry Tizard, known as the Tizard Mission. ...

Role in atomic bomb development

Also at Birmingham, in 1940, Otto Frisch and Rudolf Peierls had calculated that a uranium-235 atomic bomb was feasible. Oliphant took their findings at once to higher authority. A committee, code-named Maud, sent the report to the US "Uranium Committee" around March 1941 but the Americans took no action. Sir Rudolf Ernst Peierls, (June 5, 1907, Berlin – September 19, 1995, Oxford), was a German-born British physicist. ... Uranium-235 is an isotope of uranium that differs from the elements other common isotope, uranium-238, by its ability to cause a rapidly expanding fission chain reaction. ... The Maud Committee was the beginning of the British atomic bomb project, before the United Kingdom joined forces with the United States in the Manhattan Project. ... The S-1 Uranium Committee was a Committee of the National Defense Research Committee (NDRC) that superseded the Briggs Advisory Committee on Uranium and later evolved into the Manhattan Project. ...

Britain was at war and felt an atomic bomb was urgent; there was less urgency in the USA. Mark Oliphant was one of the people who pushed the American programme into action. Oliphant flew to the United States in late August 1941 in an unheated bomber, ostensibly to discuss the radar programme but was actually tasked finding out why the United States was ignoring the Maud Committee's findings. Oliphant said that: "The minutes and reports had been sent to Lyman Briggs, who was the Director of the Uranium Committee, and we were puzzled to receive virtually no comment. I called on Briggs in Washington, only to find out that this inarticulate and unimpressive man had put the reports in his safe and had not shown them to members of his committee. I was amazed and distressed." Lyman James Briggs (7 May 1874 - April 1963) was a scientist and administrator, who is now chiefly known for delaying the start of the American atomic bomb program, and for the School of Science at Michigan State University named after him. ... The S-1 Uranium Committee was a Committee of the National Defense Research Committee (NDRC) that superceded the Briggs Advisory Committee on Uranium and later grew into the Manhattan Project. ...

Oliphant then met with the Uranium Committee. Samuel K. Allison was a new committee member, a talented experimentalist and a protege of Arthur Compton at the University of Chicago. Oliphant "came to a meeting," Allison recalls, "and said 'bomb' in no uncertain terms. He told us we must concentrate every effort on the bomb and said we had no right to work on power plants or anything but the bomb. The bomb would cost 25 million dollars, he said, and Britain did not have the money or the manpower, so it was up to us." Allison was surprised that Briggs had kept the committee in the dark. Samuel King Allison Samuel King Allison (November 13, 1900 – September 15, 1965) was an American physicist, most notable for his role in the Manhattan Project — where among other things he read the countdown for the detonation of the Trinity test — and his postwar work in the scientists movement. Biography Samuel... Arthur Holly Compton (September 10, 1892 – March 15, 1962) won the Nobel Prize in Physics (1927) for discovery of the Compton effect named in his honor. ... The University of Chicago is an elite private university located principally in the Hyde Park neighborhood of Chicago. ...

Oliphant then visited his friends Ernest Lawrence, James Conant and Enrico Fermi to explain the urgency. Lawrence then also contacted Conant and Arthur Compton. On July 1, 1941 Vannevar Bush, chairman of the National Defense Research Committee, created the larger and more powerful Office of Scientific Research and Development (OSRD) which was empowered to engage in large engineering projects in addition to research. The Uranium Committee became the S-1 Project of the OSRD and in December of 1941, following the attack on Pearl Harbor, the Manhattan Engineering District was built, and the project was dubbed the Manhattan Project. Ernest O. Lawrence Ernest Orlando Lawrence (August 8, 1901 – August 27, 1958) was an American physicist and Nobel Laureate best known for his invention, utilization, and improvement of the cyclotron beginning in 1929, and his later work in uranium-isotope separation in the Manhattan Project. ... James Bryant Conant (March 26, 1893 - February 11, 1978) was a chemist, educational administrator, and public servant. ... Enrico Fermi (September 29, 1901 – November 28, 1954) was an Italian physicist most noted for his work on the development of the first nuclear reactor, and for his contributions to the development of quantum theory, particle physics and statistical mechanics. ... Arthur Holly Compton (September 10, 1892 – March 15, 1962) won the Nobel Prize in Physics (1927) for discovery of the Compton effect named in his honor. ... For the movie, see 1941 (film). ... Vannevar Bush (March 11, 1890 – June 30, 1974) was an American engineer and science administrator, known for his political role in the development of the atomic bomb, and the idea of the memex—seen as a pioneering concept for the World Wide Web. ... In June of 1940, U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt established the National Defense Research Committee (NDRC) to coordinate, supervise, and conduct scientific research on the problems underlying the development, production, and use of mechanisms and devices of warfare. ... In June of 1941, the Office of Scientific Research and Development (OSRD) superseded the committee structure [of the National Defense Research Committee (NDRC)]. The OSRD projects gave the United States and Allied troops more powerful and more accurate bombs, more reliable detonators, lighter and more accurate weapons, safer and more... For the movie, see 1941 (film). ... Combatants United States Empire of Japan Commanders Husband Kimmel (USN), Walter Short (USA) Chuichi Nagumo (IJN), Mitsuo Fuchida (IJNAS), Shigekazu Shimazaki (IJNAS) Strength 8 battleships, 8 cruisers, 29 destroyers, 9 submarines, ~50 other ships, ~390 planes 6 aircraft carriers, 9 destroyers, 2 battleships, 2 heavy cruisers, 1 light cruiser, 8... Control panels and operators for calutrons at the Y-12 Plant in Oak Ridge, Tennessee. ... The Manhattan Project resulted in nuclear weapons, and the first-ever nuclear detonation, at the Trinity test of July 16, 1945. ...

In November 1943, Oliphant moved to work on the Manhattan Project as part of the British delegation. The work on the bomb made him uneasy and he preferred to concentrate on processes for refining Uranium 235 at Berkeley with his friend Ernest Lawrence - a vital but less overtly military part of the project. He was awarded the 1943 Hughes Medal. The Manhattan Project resulted in nuclear weapons, and the first-ever nuclear detonation, at the Trinity test of July 16, 1945. ... Uranium-235 is an isotope of uranium that differs from the elements other common isotope, uranium-238, by its ability to cause a rapidly expanding fission chain reaction, i. ... The Berkeley Lab is perched on a hill overlooking the Berkeley central campus and San Francisco Bay. ... Ernest O. Lawrence Ernest Orlando Lawrence (August 8, 1901 – August 27, 1958) was an American physicist and Nobel Laureate best known for his invention, utilization, and improvement of the cyclotron beginning in 1929, and his later work in uranium-isotope separation in the Manhattan Project. ... The Hughes Medal, named after microphone inventor David Edward Hughes, is one of several medals awarded by the Royal Society, Englands reigning academy of science. ...

He returned to England in April 1945 and after VE-Day returning to his post as Professor of Physics at the University of Birmingham. It was here that he first heard of the use of the atomic bomb on Hiroshima. He was later to remark that he felt "sort of proud that the bomb had worked, and absolutely appalled at what it had done to human beings." He became a harsh critic of nuclear weapons and a member of the Pugwash Conferences on Science and World Affairs. "... I, right from the beginning, have been terribly worried by the existence of nuclear weapons and very much against their use."^[1] His wartime work would have earned him a Congressional Medal of Freedom with Gold Palm, but the Australian government vetoed the honour. 1945 (MCMXLV) was a common year starting on Monday. ... Website http://www. ... For other uses, see Hiroshima (disambiguation). ... Pugwash encounter and tour held at the National Accelerator Laboratory, now Fermilab, September 12, 1970. ...

Later years in Australia

The remains of the ANU 500MJ generator

In 1950 Oliphant returned to Australia as first Director of the ANU Research School of Physical Sciences at the new Australian National University, where he initiated the design and construction of the world's largest (500MJ) homopolar generator. This machine was used to power the large scale railgun which was used as a scientific instrument. He established the Australian Academy of Science in 1954 and was its first President until 1956. After retiring from the University in 1967, Oliphant was invited to become State Governor of South Australia, a position he held from 1971 to 1976. During his period as Governor he was involved in the dismissal of the Whitlam government, and caused great concern to Premier Don Dunstan when he strongly supported Kerr's actions. On the day of the dismissal he was placed in a unique situation, as writs for the election of Senators must be issued by State Governors. Under the Federal constitution writs must be issued with 10 days of the dissolution, but a South Australian law "The Election of Senators Act" required him to give nine days notice of their issue. The unexpected dissolution at 4:45 pm on 1975-11-11 therefore required him to issue the notice immediately. It was his proclamation that told Australians when the election would be held. Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1600x1231, 595 KB) Summary The remains of the RSPhysSE, ANU Homopolar generator. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1600x1231, 595 KB) Summary The remains of the RSPhysSE, ANU Homopolar generator. ... The Research School of Physical Sciences and Engineering (RSPhysSE) was established with the creation of the Australian National University (ANU) in 1947. ... The Australian National University, or ANU, is a public university located in Canberra, the national capital of Australia. ... A homopolar generator, also known as a unipolar generator, acyclic generator, or disk dynamo, is an electrical generator in which the magnetic field has the same polarity at every point, so that the armature passes through the magnetic field lines of force continually in the same direction. ... // A railgun is a form of gun that converts electrical energy (rather than the more conventional chemical energy from an explosive propellant) into projectile kinetic energy. ... The Australian Academy of Science (AAS) was founded in 1954 by Australian Fellows of the Royal Society of London, the first president was Sir Mark Oliphant. ... 1954 (MCMLIV) was a common year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 1956 (MCMLVI) was a leap year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 1967 (MCMLXVII) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar (the link is to a full 1967 calendar). ... See Governors of the Australian states for a description and history of the office of Governor. ... 1971 (MCMLXXI) was a common year starting on Friday. ... 1976 (MCMLXXVI) was a leap year starting on Thursday. ... 1975 (MCMLXXV) was a common year starting on Wednesday. ... November 11 is the 315th day of the year (316th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar, with 50 days remaining. ...

He was knighted in 1959 and was made a Companion in the Order of Australia (AC) in 1977. Insignia of a Companion of the Order of Australia. ... For the album by Ash, see 1977 (album). ...

Late in life he watched his wife, Rosa, suffer before her death in 1987 and became an advocate for voluntary euthanasia. 1987 (MCMLXXXVII) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Euthanasia (from Greek: ευθανασία -ευ, eu, good, θάνατος, thanatos, death) is the practice of terminating the life of a person or animal in a presumably painless or minimally painful way, usually by lethal injection. ...

He died in Canberra on July 14, 2000, aged 98. For other uses, see Canberra (disambiguation). ... July 14 is the 195th day (196th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian calendar, with 170 days remaining. ... 2000 (MM) was a leap year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Legacy

Places named after Sir Mark Oliphant include the Oliphant building at the Australian National University, the Mark Oliphant Conservation Park, A South Australian High Schools science competition, the Oliphant wing of the Physics Building at the University of Adelaide and the Mark Oliphant Building, Bedford Park, South Australia. The University of Adelaide (colloquially Adelaide University or Adelaide Uni) is a public university located in Adelaide. ... Bedford Park (35°01′ S 138°34′ E) is a southern suburb of Adelaide in South Australia. ...

Sir Mark’s nephew, Pat Oliphant, is a Pulitzer Prize winning cartoonist. Patrick Pat Oliphant (b. ... The Pulitzer Prize is an American award regarded as the highest national honor in print journalism, literary achievements, and musical composition. ...

Notes

2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the Anno Domini era. ... January 28 is the 28th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ...

External links

• Obituary in Physics Today
• Annotated bibliography for Mark Oliphant from the Alsos Digital Library for Nuclear Issues
• Bright Sparcs Online Exhibition