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Splitting of the Atom - apparatus used by Dr J D Cockcroft
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Splitting of the Atom - apparatus used by Dr J D Cockcroft
Dr John D Cockcroft listening for sounds indicating atomic disintegration brought about by the bombardment with high-velocity protons of the lithium nucleus, which appears to break up into two helium nuclei. Physicists Cockcroft and E Ts Walton developed the Cockcroft-Walton accelerator to artificially accelerate atomic particles to high energies, to enable them to observe the results of splitting the atom. At the Cavendish Laboratory, Cambridge.
1932
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Media ID 14266434
© Illustrated London News Ltd/Mary Evans
1932 Adjusting Adjusts Apparatus Atom Atomic Breakthrough Cambridge Cavendish Department Electricity Experiment Headphones Laboratory Listening Listens Machinery Nuclear Particles Physicist Pump Scientist Sounds Split Splits Splitting Vacuum Accelerator Disintegration High Voltage
EDITORS COMMENTS
This evocative image captures the pivotal moment in the history of nuclear physics, as Dr. John Douglas Cockcroft (1897-1967) listens intently for signs of atomic disintegration at the Cavendish Laboratory in Cambridge, England, during the early 1930s. In this groundbreaking experiment, Cockcroft and his colleague Ernest Thomas Sinton Walton (1903-1995) employed their newly-developed Cockcroft-Walton accelerator to artificially accelerate atomic particles to unprecedented energies. By bombarding a lithium nucleus with high-velocity protons, they aimed to observe the results of splitting the atom. The apparatus in the foreground of the photograph reveals the intricacies of their machinery. The vacuum creating pump sits at the bottom left, ensuring a vacuum environment for the experiment. Cockcroft, wearing a lab coat and adjusting a knob, focuses intently on the sounds emanating from the experiment, listening for the distinctive indicators of atomic disintegration. He wears headphones to amplify the faint sounds, while the high-voltage electrical equipment hums in the background. The successful splitting of the atom, achieved in 1932, marked a significant breakthrough in the understanding of nuclear physics. This experiment paved the way for further research into the structure of the atom and the development of nuclear energy. The Cockcroft-Walton accelerator, a testament to the ingenuity and perseverance of these pioneering scientists, opened new doors to the exploration of the subatomic world.
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