Foundational Atomic Energy Commission Compilation on Uranium-233 and Thorium Fuel Research, 1952

Leonard Katzin

First Edition

[Atomic Energy] Katzin, Leonard I., ed. Production and Separation of U²³³: Collected Papers (1952) documents the identification, production, and chemical isolation of uranium-233 during the Manhattan Project and its immediate postwar consolidation under the United States Atomic Energy Commission. Issued in 1952, the compilation preserves research establishing U²³³ as a third viable nuclear fuel alongside uranium-235 and plutonium-239.
Katzin, Leonard I., ed. Production and Separation of U²³³: Collected Papers. Lemont, IL: Argonne National Laboratory, Technical Information Service Extension, Oak Ridge, TN, 1952. Two volumes (Part 1 and Part 2). Unclassified issue. The set comprises 72 scientific papers organized thematically around the discovery and nuclear properties of U²³³, its fission behavior, thorium and protactinium chemistry, and chemical separation methodologies. Research largely predates July 1, 1945 and originated in laboratories later incorporated into the Atomic Energy Commission structure, including the Metallurgical Laboratory at the University of Chicago, the X-10 reactor at Oak Ridge, Ames Laboratory, and Clinton Laboratories. The opening paper by Glenn T. Seaborg, John W. Gofman, and R. W. Stoughton, “A New Fissionable Isotope of Uranium: U²³³,” establishes the isotope’s fission characteristics and strategic implications. Subsequent contributions by Martin H. Studier, Albert Ghiorso, Frank H. Spedding, and others address neutron absorption cross sections, spontaneous fission rates, decay chains, and countercurrent extraction processes central to isotope isolation.

Issued seven years after the end of World War II, the compilation collects research conducted during the Manhattan Project and clarifies the technical feasibility of converting naturally abundant thorium into fissile U²³³. The thorium fuel cycle would later be examined as a potential alternative to plutonium-based reactor systems amid concerns over weapons proliferation and long-term fuel sustainability. By consolidating previously dispersed laboratory reports into a structured reference work, the volumes document the scientific infrastructure that shaped early Cold War nuclear policy and reactor experimentation. Two volumes. 729 pages total. Side-stapled mimeograph reports with printed wrappers marked “Unclassified.” 6.25 x 9 inches. Wrappers toned and lightly soiled with wear and a small chip to cover of Part 2; previous owner’s name in ink at upper corner of both covers; interiors clean; bindings solid. Very good. A significant documentary record of uranium-233 research at the intersection of wartime atomic science and postwar nuclear development.

Item #22281

Price: $2,500.00