Tuesday, January 03, 2006

Deep River Research - Bob

German prisoners-of-war in 1944 built the Town of Deep River. The town was the result of Winston Churchill's decision (made at the Quebec Conference) that Canada would contribute to the Manhattan Project. Precisely what that contribution might have been is vague. I suspect that the Nuclear Laboratories in nearby Chalk River produced plutonium used in the Manhattan Project. There is no historical reference that I have found to support my suspicion. It may have been just theoretical research that was fed into the project.

The struggle for Heavy Water production was a pivotal part of WW II. Heavy Water produces plutonium from natural uranium. Germany struggled to produce Heavy Water in a Hydro plant in Norway. Between 1942 and 1944 a sequence of sabotage by the Norwegian resistance movement as well as Allied bombing ensured the loss of the heavy water produced. These operations: "Freshman", "Grouse" and "Gunnerside" knocked the plant out of production in 1943 and frustrated German efforts.

This is of interest because much of nuclear research in Deep River revolved around heavy water as opposed to method for plutonium production in the USA. In 1944 Churchill was beginning to think beyond the Germans to the Russians. A plant in wartime Britain was more vulnerable than a plant in the backwoods of Canada.

17 comments:

Anonymous said...

Where is Deep River? In Canada? Manhattan sounds like the States. Is heavy water, water that holds uraniumn naturally? In the plants they made that into plutonium? Was the aim to produce the nuclear bomb? What exactly was the Manhattan project?

Bob, have you ever heard that Amsterdam also goes by the name Mokum? I just found out why. The word from a mix of Hebrew and Jiddish, originated in Poland. Mokum means place or city. The Jews marked cities with their alphabet. Mokum aleph was city A, Amsterdam. Mokum Beth, was city B, Berlin, etc. That all dates from 1769. Only for Amsterdam was the name preserved. Most likely because the Jews loved Amsterdam, felt at home there. First Mokum was only used in the folk tongue, but gradually became common language, also used by the upper classes.

Anonymous said...

Netty - Deep River is a 100 miles Northwest of Ottawa. Samantha was born there. The Manhattan project was not a single location but a network of people working in various locations. It was developed by the USA with assistance from Great Britain and Canada.

The project involved over thirty different research and production sites, the Manhattan Project was largely carried out in three secrets towns similar to Deep River. The existence of these sites and the secret cities of Los Alamos (New Mexico), Oak Ridge (Tennessee), and Hanford (Washington) were officially secret until the end of WWII.

The Town of Hanford (built in 1943) was the model for Deep River. Pictures of the Hanford plant are almost identical to the plant located near Deep River.

Yes the purpose of the Mahattan Project was to develop a Nuclear Weapon before Germany and Japan did. Even though Russia was an ally, American and British leadership seemed more worried about the Russians than the enemy.

Always thought Mokum was just Amsterdam. I wasn’t aware that the term was City and that it applied to other cities.

Anonymous said...

So all these towns,Los Alamos, Deep River,Oakridge, Hanford, were built specially to work on this project? Was there a settlement before, or they just chose a location away from anything? Where does Einstein's work fit in? Did he come up with his theory while they were doing research and were experimenting, or did his breakthrough start it all? I am thinking that he seemed to have been devastated by the results of his findings. But if he was around when they were already aiming for developing a weapon, he must have been able to anticipate devastating results?

I have a book written by Einstein on the theory of relativity. The original introduction written in 1916, and a note to the fifteenth edition in 1952. I just looked that up. That shows me that Einstein was around at the time of the Manhattan project. One date you mention is 1943, the building of Hanford. I have before tried to read Einstein's book, but had a hard time with all these technical words and graphics. Maybe I should try again. I am always thankful for simple explanations. Like a story line rather than just facts. So, thanks Bob. You are helping me think and fill in the gaps in the story of my own background.

All cities are Mokum in the Hebrew-Jiddisch language. The name only stuck to Amsterdam. Amsterdammers love to call their city Mokum. It fits them like an old sweater.

Matthew, if you happen to read this, I followed your instructions for the over write. The problem did'nt occur once, all day, so far. I think it worked! Thank you.

Anonymous said...

Einstein's communications with President Franklin Roosevelt led to the Manhattan Project. Einstein initially favoured construction of the atomic bomb, in order to ensure that Hitler did not do so first, and even sent a letter, dated August 2, 1939, to President Roosevelt encouraging him to initiate a program to create a nuclear weapon. After the war, however, Einstein lobbied for nuclear disarmament and a world government

Anonymous said...

I still don't know what 'heavy' water means. Is it naturally heavy, or is is made heavy? If it is natural, because of holding uranium, it must be found in only cerain places, like gold? But gold dust is not in the water, but in the soil or sand beneath it?

While I am at things I can't forget 'cause I do not understand them, does anyone (I allready asked some editing circle beings)why water in a swimming pool looks blue, even if bottom, nor sides, nor ceiling, nor walls are painted blue? Boy this bugs me. Can anyone suggest where one may obtain such information? I've tried the web. I've searched literature on light division.

I hope you don't mind me diviating from the Manhattan project, Bob. My mind goes all over the place, inspired by your posting.

Anonymous said...

Oops, right before I sent those last questions, your info on Einstein had come in.Thanks. that helps. Were those towns built especially for the project? I just wonder if they expanded allready existing settlements or if they chose secret places.

The time I send this is 6:40 pm. The time I saw undreneath the preview was 3 something. I don't know why.

Anonymous said...

Heavy water is created and is not found naturally. It is called deuterium oxide. Water is H2O. Heavy water is 2H20. The first sample of pure heavy water was isolated in 1933. Instead of one Hydrogen atom, heavy water has two. It can use natural uranium to make plutonium.

Why is water blue....

Typical answer is the sky which given the reflected qualities of water is kinda in a vague way true...

BUT...the truth is that water has an colour and is uniquely blue...thru a process called absorbtion.

Water is the only substance in nature in which colour comes from vibrational transitions. These vibrations are caused by photons and escites a vibrational process and produces the colour blue.

Funny thing is that water absorbs light from red spectrum to agitate it so that it appears blue.

Truth is water is blue...

Anonymous said...

Why Water is Blue

http://www.dartmouth.edu/~etrnsfer/water.htm

Anonymous said...

I'm tickled pink. Thanks for finding me the webside. (Maybe I should say, "I am tickled blue."
So water really is blue, and the depth of the basin makes a difference in how much blue you see. And heavy water D20 is white.It has slower vibrations. So, heavy water does exist without people experimenting? That's how I read it. But you say people add the extra atom.It's a chemical process then. Water is the only element that gets its colour, its blueness from vibrations. Well I sort a repeat what you already said, a bit simplefied. I am excited. I am going to read it all again, take it in better. Thanks Bob!

Larry Keiler said...

Mr. Bacon, will you do me a favour? Read Gravity's Angel by Thomas Pynchon and tell me what it means.

Anonymous said...

okay... if I read it will I know what it means?

Larry Keiler said...

All I know is that a good deal of the novel revolves around the German nuclear research facility at Peenemunde.

Or was that the German rocket research facility?

Can't remember now. See.

If it turns out to be rocket research...never mind.

Anonymous said...

Peenemunde was rockets...

Its a definite read too...

I am interested in WW II rocket research

M@ said...

I still haven't finished Gravity's Rainbow, but my god, what a book. The sequence with the peculiarly British sweets is still one of the most brilliant comedic scenes of all time.

So yeah, go ahead and finish that and give us a five, even ten-sentence summary. You'll be marked on grammar and spelling too.

Larry Keiler said...

That's it! Gravity's Rainbow! An angel was sitting on my shoulder.

Took me ten years to read that book. By the time I finished it, I couldn't remember the title.

Anonymous said...

Okay, I just got around to reading the string of conversation here - and probably no one will ever read this, since it seems this string has reached its natural end, BUT, how come no one seems to finish this [amazing] book called Gravity's Rainbow!!!!?

The title btw is quite poetic... to do a bit of cross-pollination of conversations, having just come from the "Irving Layton" posting.

Larry Keiler said...

Larry sez, he did finish the book eventually. But there was such a long span of time between beginning and end, he probably should have started over. Come to think of it, maybe he'll do just that...if he can find that copy he had.

His altered ego wrote a pome using either Gravity's Rainbow, or Gravity's Angel, (which is probably where the Gravity's Angel thing came from...but altered ego was in fact thinking of Pynchon.)

See, Marianne, you've revived the moribund string.