ABSTRACT
The deuteron splits into a proton of 18-cm range and a neutron of unknown energy; Ernest Lawrence and Stanley Livingston had weak evidence that the two constituents flew apart with equal and opposite momentum. J. Chadwick’s report came next, covering ‘Anomalous Scattering of a-Particles; Transmutation of Elements by a-Particles; The Neutron.’ Among other things, he expressed doubts over the dissociation of the deuteron on energetic grounds. Gilbert Lewis’s heavy-water was in full swing by March of 1933, with a cubic centimeter of the precious liquid soon on hand. Rendered into gaseous form, it was more than enough for Lawrence to feed the ion source of the 27-inch cyclotron across the street. Lewis brewed another batch in his electrolyzer, and on 20 March Lawrence accelerated deuterons for the first time in the big cyclotron. Niels Bohr welcomed Lawrence’s news as a ‘marvelous advancement’ and Robert Millikan, self-centered to a tee, chimed in with his own congratulations.
