The Angry Genie: One Man's Walk Through the Nuclear Age

431 Pages·1999·2.92 MB·English

by  Karl Ziegler Morgan

The Angry Genie
One Man's Walk through the Nuclear Age
By Karl Z. Morgan
and Ken M. Peterson
UNIVERSITY OF OKLAHOMA PRESS
NORMAN

The Angry Genie : One Man's Walk
title:
Through the Nuclear Age
author: Morgan, K. Z.; Peterson, Ken M.
publisher: University of Oklahoma Press
isbn10 | asin: 0806131225
print isbn13: 9780806131221
ebook isbn13: 9780806170367
language: English
Morgan, Karl Ziegler,--1908- , Medical
physics--United States--History--20th
subject
century, Manhattan Project (U.S.) , Nuclear
physicists--United States--Biography.
publication date: 1999
lcc: R895.6.U6M67 1999eb
ddc: 363.17/995/092
Morgan, Karl Ziegler,--1908- , Medical
physics--United States--History--20th
subject:
century, Manhattan Project (U.S.) , Nuclear
physicists--United States--Biography.
Page iv
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Morgan, Karl Ziegler, 1908-
The angry genie : one man's walk through the nuclear age / by Karl
Z. Morgan and Ken M. Peterson.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 0-8061-3122-5 talk. paper)
1. Morgan, Karl Ziegler, 1908-2. Medical physicsUnited
StatesHistory20th century. 3. Manhattan Project (U.S.)
4. Nuclear physicistsUnited StatesBiography. I. Peterson, Ken
M. II. Title.
R895.6.U6M67 1998
363.17´995´092dc21 98-34766
CIP
The paper in this book meets the guidelines for permanence and
durability of the Committee on Production Guidelines for Book
Longevity of the Council on Library Resources, Inc.¥
Copyright © 1999 by the University of Oklahoma Press, Norman,
Publishing Division of the University. All rights reserved.
Manufactured in the U.S.A.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Page v
Contents
List Of Figures vii
Preface ix
Acknowledgments xv
List Of Abbreviations xvii
Prologue 3
My Life before the Nuclear Age
Chapter One 9
The Genie Leaves the Bottle: The Manhattan Project
Chapter Two 39
The Genie's Anger Unleashed: The Truman
Administration's Greatest Mistake
Chapter Three 53
The Early Years at Oak Ridge National Laboratory
Chapter Four 67
My Biggest Mistake
Chapter Five 75
Nuclear incidents in Other Facilities
Chapter Six 84
The Price
Chapter Seven 103
The Advance and Decline of Health Physics
Chapter Eight 122
Ecology and Nuclear Waste Disposal Studies
Chapter Nine 135
The Genie Goes to Court
Chapter Ten 154
A Time for Reflection and Resolution
Appendix One 161
Albert Einstein to President Roosevelt, August 2, 1939
Appendix Two 163
A Preliminary Report on the Low-Draft Fly Swat, April 1,
1946
Page vi
Appendix Three 165
Aide-Memoire of Conversation between President
Roosevelt and Prime Minister Churchill, September 18,
1944
Appendix Four 167
Albert Einstein to President Roosevelt, March 25, 1945
Appendix Five 169
"Urgent" Message "To the President from the Secretary of
War," Memo 41011, July 30, 1945, and President
Truman's Reply
Appendix Six 171
Honorable Frank G. Theis to Whom It May Concern,
December 10, 1990
Notes 175
Glossary 195
Bibliography 209
Index 213
Page vii
Figures
1. Trinity Test, .053 seconds after detonation ix
2. Radioactive cinders formed by Trinity Test x
3. Karl Z. Morgan's family 4
4. Gladys Morgan 5
5. Wedding of Karl Morgan and Helen McCoy 7
6. Karl and Helen Morgan in 1993 7
7. Scientific "brain trust": E. O. Lawrence, A. H. Compton, 11
V. Bush, J. B. Conant, K. T. Compton, and A. Loomis
8. E. O. "Ernie" Wollan and Clifford Shull 13
9. West Stands of Stagg Field at University of Chicago 14
10. Lise Meitner and Otto Hahn 16
11. Albert Einstein 16
12. President Franklin D. Roosevelt 17
13. "Chang and Eng," portable fast neutron survey 20
instrument
14. X-10 facility under construction 23
15. Groundbreaking for Y-12 operation 23
16. K-25 operation in wartime 24
17. Enrico Fermi 30
18. Oak Ridge Graphite Reactor (Clinton Pile) 34
19. Leo Szilard 40
20. Winston Churchill and Franklin D. Roosevelt 41
21. President Harry S. Truman 42
22. General Leslie R. Groves 43
23. Preparation for the Trinity Test 44
24. J. Robert Oppenheimer and Major General Leslie R. 45
Groves, after Trinity Test
Page viii
25. Colonel K. D. Nichols 46
26. Truman with Churchill at Potsdam Conference 47
27. "Little Boy" and "Fat Man" 48
28. Senator Estes Kefauver of Tennessee 51
29. Niels Bohr 51
30. Sam Hurst and Rufus Ritchie 57
31. Al Weinberg, ORNL director 58
32. Then senator John F. Kennedy and Jackie Kennedy 62
33. L. H. "Hal" Gray with Hubert Yockey, Bob Birkhoff, 63
and Jim Hart
34. Rolf Sievert 64
35. Sir John Cockcroft 65
36. Eugene Wigner, acting director of ORNL 65
37. Members of the ORNL health physics team, early 72
1950s
38. Ed Struxness and others at ORNL 85
39. Map: Sources of radioactive contamination in ORNL 88
environment
40. Map: Path of waterway contamination in region of 89
Oak Ridge
41. Cattle affected by radiation fallout from Trinity Test 100
42. Elda Anderson 106
43. Isabel Tipton, Tom Burnett, and Doyle Davis 108
44. Initial meeting of IRPA, Rome, 1966 112
45. Orlando Park 124
46. Stan Auerbach 124
47. H. J. "Joe" Muller 128
48. John Gofman 136
49. Karl Z. Morgan in 1979 137
50. Gerry Spence 138
51. Judge Frank G. Theis 139
52. Judge Bruce S. Jenkins 146