The Y-12 National Security Complex is a United States Department of Energy National Nuclear Security Administration facility located in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, near Oak Ridge National Laboratory. It was
Y-12 National Security Complex in Oak Ridge, Tennessee
Employees of the Manhattan Project operating calutron control panels at Y-12, in a US government photo by Ed Westcott.
April 2011 Oak Ridge Environmental Peace Alliance rally at the Y-12 entrance
Calutron
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A calutron is a mass spectrometer originally designed and used for separating the isotopes of uranium. It was developed by Ernest Lawrence during the Manhattan Project and was based on his earlier inv
Y-12 National Security Complex
…to the Treasury. The Y-12 facility began operating in November 1943, separating uranium-235 from natural uranium, which is 99.3% uranium-238, by using calutrons to perform electromagnetic isotope separation. Y-12 separated the uranium-235 for Little Boy, the nuclear weapon that was dropped on Hiroshima, Japan…
An Alpha calutron tank removed from the magnet for recovery of uranium-235
Alpha I magnet, called the "Racetrack". The calutrons are located around the ring.
Frank Oppenheimer (center right) and Robert Thornton (right) examine the 4-source emitter for the improved Alpha calutron.
The XAX development unit at Oak Ridge was used for research, development and training.