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World
War II
 cience
and technology assumed paramount importance during World War II,
as illustrated most dramatically by the development of the atomic
bomb.
Just before
the war, scientists found that, by bombarding uranium atoms with
neutrons, they could split the nucleus, releasing huge amounts of
energy. Fearing that the Germans would be the first to discover
how to put nuclear fission to practical use, Albert Einstein, along
with Leo Szilard of Columbia University, sent a letter to President
Franklin Roosevelt, explaining the significance of the experiments
and the need to be first in overcoming this challenge. The letter
was transmitted shortly after Germany started the war by invading
Poland.
President Roosevelt
consulted NIST Director Lyman J. Briggs, his principal official
counselor on scientific matters, and then appointed an advisory
committee chaired by Briggs to look into the question of uranium
fission. The committee reported that the energy produced might be
useful for a new explosive as well as a new power source for submarines.
In early 1940, the first funds were made available for research
on what became the atomic bomb.
While many
university scientists studied different aspects of the problem,
dozens of NIST staff members carried out important initial research.
The Institute served as a central control lab for determination
of the properties of uranium; the staff also found a way to remove
virtually all impurities from uranium oxide and developed analytical
procedures for controlling the purity of critical materials used
in nuclear reactors and bombs. Eventually, development and engineering
tasks were transferred to the military's Manhattan Project.
The bomb work
was classified. By 1940-before the United States officially entered
the war-NIST had so many confidential projects under way that Briggs
obtained authority to close the street running through the campus,
and fences went up around the grounds. By 1943, the entire staff
was engaged in war work. They calibrated gage blocks; tested quartz
crystals used in radio equipment; made effective coatings for everything
from munitions to matches; developed new metal alloys; designed
carbon monoxide indicators for fighter plane cockpits; and tested
new plastic products and textiles. In addition, researchers developed
a method for making special paper for war maps that was used extensively,
one of many NIST achievements over the years in paper research (including
techniques for making durable U.S. currency).
The war also
drew NIST into the increasingly important field of electronics.
NIST weapons research led to a contractor's development of printed
circuits, which substituted printed wiring, resistors, and coils
for the conventional discrete components in electronic devices.
This technology contributed to a new field of electronic miniaturization
for which the Institute provided useful engineering data and components.
Among its contributions, NIST built a rotary printer that applied
printed circuits on either flat or cylindrical surfaces
During and
after the war, federal officials came to recognize the importance
of supporting the basic research that made useful applications of
science and technology possible. At the same time, research costs
became so great that government support was critical to the nation.
NIST was thus a key player in the scientific revolution, along with
new federal institutions such as the Office of Naval Research and
the National Science Foundation.
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Date created:
11/2/00
Last updated: 11/14/00
Contact: inquiries@nist.gov
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