Wartime Soviet industry -- Development of nuclear physics before the discovery of fission -- Discovery of fission of uranium -- Soviet Union and Stalin's terror 1937-1939 -- Soviet Union and nuclear research 1934-1942 -- The Manhattan Project creates Los Alamos -- Soviet Union creates laboratory #2 -- Soviet espionage and the atomic project -- Players in the drama -- Stalin, Beria, and Kurchatov -- Industrial plants move to the Urals -- Soviet Union creates Arzamas-16 -- Uranium and plutonium -- German scientists and the Soviet Project -- Semipalatinsk Nuclear Test Range.
Summary:
"The book describes the lives of the people who gave Stalin his weapon -- scientists, engineers, managers, and prisoners during the early post war years from 1945-1953. Many anecdotes and vicissitudes of life at that time in the Soviet Union accompany considerable technical information regarding the solutions to formidable problems of nuclear weapons development. The contents should interest the reader who wants to learn more about this part of the history and politics in 20th century physics. The prevention of nuclear proliferation is a topic of current interest, and the procedure followed by the Soviet Union as described in this book will help us understand the complexities involved"-- Provided by publisher.
This resource is supported by the Institute of Museum and Library Services under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act as administered by State Library of Iowa.