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Production of heavy water
BOOK
REVIEWS
PRODUCTIONOF HEAVY WATER, edited by George M. Murphy. 394 pages, diagrams, New York, McGraw-Hill 16X24 cm. Book Co., Inc., 1955. Price, $5.25. This book presents a detailed account of the development of processes for the separation of heavy water and the commercial production of heavy water undertaken by the Manhattan District in the years 1941-1946. The first part of the volume is a condensation of the excellent report by J. 0. Maloney and the late H. S. Ray on the commercial production of heavy water by the Manhattan District. This report gives the detailed history of three of the processes investigated by the Manhattan District, with much information on the design and operation of commercial plants which will be of interest to other groups wishing to use the same processes. The processes described are the catalytic exchange between hydrogen and steam based on electrolytic hydrogen, the distillation of water, and the distillation of liquid hydrogen. Part 2 of this volume contains a series of chapters describing the basic research work on these and other processes for heavy-water production which was conducted largely at Columbia University, under the direction of H. S. Urey, and at Princeton University, under the direction of H. S. Taylor. The book makes no mention of the dualtemperature, hydrogen-sulfide exchange process, which was also investigated by the Manhattan District, and is now used by the USAEC for the primary concentration of heavy water. The individual chapters of this text are informative and well written and have been conscientiously edited for the present pubThe principal shortcoming of the lication. work is that it makes no mention of developments in heavy water subsequent to MANSON BENEDICT 1946. THE VIKING STORY, by Milton J. Rosen. 242 pages, 15 X 22 cm. New York, Harper & Brothers, 1955. Price, $3.75. The significance of this book is heightened by the fact that the Department of Defense has recently signed a contract for the launch-
ing into space of a series of earth satellites or moons. This contract places the responsibility on the Glenn L. Martin Company of Baltimore whose principal experience in the field of rocketry has been the production and operation of the Viking, hero of Milton J. Rosen’s story. The Viking Story is a tale of man vs. machine with a wholly unexpected quality of suspense that makes it a far more gripping narrative for the non-technically minded than the title would suggest. Intense and dedicated personalities are involved in the build-up to the successful climax, an American-made rocket coasting silently, straight up, through the almost perfect vacuum of the outer atmosphere for minutes after the fierce thrust of the motor has died-up to a new world’s record of 158 miles above the earth. No group of men deserve more credit than the crews of experts in many specialties from both Martin and the Navy, particularly the Naval Research Laboratory, the “home port” of Milton Rosen who contributed to all phases and was in actual charge of the firings. This volume is so well written that they will not soon be forgotten, even with the current pace of developments on the rocket front. In view of the underlying popular demand that the United States beat the Russians into the sky with at least a moderately conspicuous satellite, it is interesting to examine Tllc Viking Story for evidence of our ability to do this. Under military security a whole new range of rocket techniques will be called on to get the baby moons into the sky. This much is certain: The highest officially announced speed for any large scale American rocket (6300 ft. per second, the speed of the brilliant Viking II which set the altitude record) is nowhere near good enough. We have set ourselves a hard task and every reader of Rosen’s book will believe it is a very hard task. This country has undertaken to stack up an assembly of three rockets each with a performance markedly superior to the best efforts of the original Viking project. The largest, or first stage, rocket will presumably have to be far larger than any with which Americans have direct 5.50
REVIEWS
PRODUCTIONOF HEAVY WATER, edited by George M. Murphy. 394 pages, diagrams, New York, McGraw-Hill 16X24 cm. Book Co., Inc., 1955. Price, $5.25. This book presents a detailed account of the development of processes for the separation of heavy water and the commercial production of heavy water undertaken by the Manhattan District in the years 1941-1946. The first part of the volume is a condensation of the excellent report by J. 0. Maloney and the late H. S. Ray on the commercial production of heavy water by the Manhattan District. This report gives the detailed history of three of the processes investigated by the Manhattan District, with much information on the design and operation of commercial plants which will be of interest to other groups wishing to use the same processes. The processes described are the catalytic exchange between hydrogen and steam based on electrolytic hydrogen, the distillation of water, and the distillation of liquid hydrogen. Part 2 of this volume contains a series of chapters describing the basic research work on these and other processes for heavy-water production which was conducted largely at Columbia University, under the direction of H. S. Urey, and at Princeton University, under the direction of H. S. Taylor. The book makes no mention of the dualtemperature, hydrogen-sulfide exchange process, which was also investigated by the Manhattan District, and is now used by the USAEC for the primary concentration of heavy water. The individual chapters of this text are informative and well written and have been conscientiously edited for the present pubThe principal shortcoming of the lication. work is that it makes no mention of developments in heavy water subsequent to MANSON BENEDICT 1946. THE VIKING STORY, by Milton J. Rosen. 242 pages, 15 X 22 cm. New York, Harper & Brothers, 1955. Price, $3.75. The significance of this book is heightened by the fact that the Department of Defense has recently signed a contract for the launch-
ing into space of a series of earth satellites or moons. This contract places the responsibility on the Glenn L. Martin Company of Baltimore whose principal experience in the field of rocketry has been the production and operation of the Viking, hero of Milton J. Rosen’s story. The Viking Story is a tale of man vs. machine with a wholly unexpected quality of suspense that makes it a far more gripping narrative for the non-technically minded than the title would suggest. Intense and dedicated personalities are involved in the build-up to the successful climax, an American-made rocket coasting silently, straight up, through the almost perfect vacuum of the outer atmosphere for minutes after the fierce thrust of the motor has died-up to a new world’s record of 158 miles above the earth. No group of men deserve more credit than the crews of experts in many specialties from both Martin and the Navy, particularly the Naval Research Laboratory, the “home port” of Milton Rosen who contributed to all phases and was in actual charge of the firings. This volume is so well written that they will not soon be forgotten, even with the current pace of developments on the rocket front. In view of the underlying popular demand that the United States beat the Russians into the sky with at least a moderately conspicuous satellite, it is interesting to examine Tllc Viking Story for evidence of our ability to do this. Under military security a whole new range of rocket techniques will be called on to get the baby moons into the sky. This much is certain: The highest officially announced speed for any large scale American rocket (6300 ft. per second, the speed of the brilliant Viking II which set the altitude record) is nowhere near good enough. We have set ourselves a hard task and every reader of Rosen’s book will believe it is a very hard task. This country has undertaken to stack up an assembly of three rockets each with a performance markedly superior to the best efforts of the original Viking project. The largest, or first stage, rocket will presumably have to be far larger than any with which Americans have direct 5.50