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In the late 1800s,
tubes like this
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were a staple
of the popular science lecture.
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When electricity was applied
to the metal at this end...
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it would give off a glow
that thrilled crowds
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still mystified by electricity.
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In 1897, physicist J.J. Thomson
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of England's
Cambridge University
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set out to find out
what these mysterious rays were.
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When Thomson moved a magnet
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near a tube
modified to reveal the rays,
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he saw that it bent
the path of that beam.
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Electricity, he realized,
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must be made up of negatively
charged particles---
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what soon came to be called
electrons.
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00:02:48,003 --> 00:02:50,534
But electrons weren't just
the unit of electricity.
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Thomson found that even
when he used different metals
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to generate the rays,
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the resulting electrons
were always the same.
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His bold conclusion was that
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the electron must be
a tiny piece of every atom,
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thousands of times smaller
than the atom itself.
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These things were
much, much smaller
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than anyone had ever thought
a physical thing could be.
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But over time,
people began to agree
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that this was a piece
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of every atom in the universe--
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that all of matter had these
little parts inside them.
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Now the race was on to identify
the rest of the atom's pieces
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and understand
how they fit together.
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00:03:27,138 --> 00:03:30,767
This challenge drew many
of the best minds in science,
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including a 22-year-old
physicist
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from one of England's
leading scientific families.
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"My dear Mother,
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Two letters from you,
so here a second from me."
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- Henry Gwyn Jeffreys Moseley--
- Harry to his friends--
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was born with science
in his blood.
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Both his grandfathers had been
members of the Royal Society,
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and his father was a famous
naturalist and Oxford professor.
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00:03:57,197 --> 00:04:00,335
But he died when Harry
was just three,
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00:04:00,432 --> 00:04:03,762
leaving him to be raised
by his mother, Amabel.
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"Firstly, the garden.
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00:04:05,971 --> 00:04:07,209
"Please occupy yourself
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"in taking many hundreds
of rose cuttings.
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Put them quite close together
and ram the earth round them."
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Harry and his mother
grew very close.
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Together, they laid out a garden
alongside their country cottage.
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And throughout his life,
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his letters home were filled
with instructions.
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"Such penstemons as the mole
killed must be replaced.
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00:04:27,555 --> 00:04:31,024
The quamashes would like
to be planted..."
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As any good gardener, he knew
what he wanted planted where,
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and he told people what to do.
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He got to be very good
at telling people what to do.
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I hope the burrowing progresses
and that it is being done
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with reference
to our pretty ground plan.
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Moseley earned a degree
in physics
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at Trinity College Oxford,
and then elected
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to pursue graduate studies
200 miles to the north,
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in smoggy Manchester,
whose industrialists
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had generously endowed
the local university.
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00:05:01,518 --> 00:05:03,758
The laboratory
that Moseley came to
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in 1910 was, at that time,
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one of the most advanced
physical institutes
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in the world.
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But for Moseley,
the real attraction
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was that it was run by the
brightest star in physics:
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an irrepressible New Zealander
named Ernest Rutherford.
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Rutherford had leapt
into the study of radioactivity
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as soon as Marie and Pierre
Curie announced their findings.
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And he had already won
the Nobel Prize
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for his discovery
that radioactive atoms
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give off different kinds of rays
and particles as they decay.
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So by 1910,
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he was undoubtedly among
the great physical scientists,
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thinking hard about the nature
of radioactivity,
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about how to understand atoms
and their parts.
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Moseley was soon assigned
a research project
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on radioactivity,
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and Rutherford kept close tabs
on his progress.
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Good morning, Moseley.
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So how's it all going?
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He would daily make a round and
visit all of the young workers
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where they were carrying out
their experiments.
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The tube is giving off alpha
and gamma rays.
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They're producing
secondary electrons
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"Papa," as they called him...
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Have you tried
shielding?
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...would pour out advice,
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often seeing right to the heart
of the matter.
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That should do it,
that should help.
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He was constantly at the elbows
and shoulders
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of his young students,
coaxing them on, offering advice
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on the nitty-gritty
of experimental technique.
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He seemed to have the magic
hands to get things to work.
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* Carry onward,
Christian soldiers... *
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It was a very happy atmosphere
in his laboratory
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because it was like
a band of brothers, almost.
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Rutherford's band of brothers
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was one of the finest groups
of young scientists
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ever assembled in one place.
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Among them were Hans Geiger,
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who would invent
the radiation detector
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known as the Geiger counter;
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Charles G. Darwin, grandson
of the great biologist;
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and James Chadwick,
a future Nobel Prize winner.
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He had a very active group
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00:07:01,554 --> 00:07:02,993
of young researchers
who were wondering
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about ultimate questions of,
"What is the nature of matter?"
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with new discoveries
practically every week.
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One of the most exciting
discoveries
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came just a few months
after Moseley's arrival,
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as Rutherford's team
continued to probe
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00:07:16,134 --> 00:07:18,442
the structure of the atom.
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They knew that J.J. Thomson's
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tiny, negatively charged
electron
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was one piece of the puzzle.
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But that left two big
unanswered questions.
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Since atoms are
generally neutral,
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that meant that the atom itself
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had to somehow have
a positive charge
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00:07:33,582 --> 00:07:35,381
to balance
the negative charge out.
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00:07:35,483 --> 00:07:38,983
But where in the atom
were the positive charges needed
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to offset
those negative electrons?
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00:07:42,056 --> 00:07:44,126
And a related question,
since people knew by this point
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that electrons
were so much less massive
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00:07:46,126 --> 00:07:48,996
where was the mass distributed?
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00:07:49,094 --> 00:07:50,994
Rutherford and his students
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had been trying to answer
these questions
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with the help of the positively
charged alpha particles
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00:07:56,568 --> 00:07:59,968
that poured out of radium
during radioactive decay.
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00:08:00,072 --> 00:08:02,371
They aimed a beam
of alpha particles
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00:08:02,473 --> 00:08:05,313
at an ultra-thin sheet
of gold foil.
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Most of the time,
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00:08:06,776 --> 00:08:08,438
these alpha particles
would sail right through.
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00:08:08,546 --> 00:08:09,686
But every now and then,
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some of these projectiles
would actually bounce
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practically right back
in their faces.
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00:08:13,650 --> 00:08:15,649
And that was really,
really unexpected.
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It was the most incredible thing
that has ever happened to me.
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It was almost as if
you had fired a 15-inch shell
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at a piece of tissue paper
and it came back and hit you.
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00:08:28,596 --> 00:08:32,996
In late 1910, Rutherford
came into the lab one day
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and announced he knew what this
surprising result meant.
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It meant that the atom
must be mostly empty space
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00:08:40,874 --> 00:08:43,743
but have some incredibly dense,
hard center.
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00:08:43,841 --> 00:08:47,740
If the atom's positive charge
and most of its mass
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were concentrated
in a tiny central core,
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it would let most particles
sail through
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but repel any positive charge
that came near the center.
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00:08:57,888 --> 00:09:01,427
Then you can give the incoming
alpha particle a real kick
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00:09:01,524 --> 00:09:04,294
and sometimes turn it
all the way around.
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00:09:04,394 --> 00:09:07,333
So with that, we had this really
quite brand new vision
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of the structure of the atom.
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Almost all of its mass
was concentrated
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very, very tightly
in a minute, little space,
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00:09:16,271 --> 00:09:18,170
in what we would now call
the nucleus.
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00:09:18,271 --> 00:09:20,442
And then separated
by mostly nothing,
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you have these negatively
charged electrons
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sort of whizzing around,
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00:09:23,843 --> 00:09:26,812
but at a great, great distance
on the scale of the atom.
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One of the most remarkable
things about the atom
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is that it is mostly made
of nothing!
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00:09:32,584 --> 00:09:34,123
I think the feeling
in those hallways,
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00:09:34,218 --> 00:09:37,389
the laboratories of Manchester
was one of great excitement.
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They could sense that Rutherford
and his team
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00:09:39,757 --> 00:09:43,296
had literally cracked open
a new view of matter.
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00:09:43,393 --> 00:09:46,093
But while all this
was going on around him,
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Moseley was consigned
to plugging away
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00:09:49,065 --> 00:09:51,134
on radioactivity
research projects.
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I'm repeating someone else's
experiment to please Rutherford,
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00:09:54,169 --> 00:09:56,268
so the work is not very
exciting.
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I'm hoping to be through with it
soon.
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From his correspondence,
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00:10:00,376 --> 00:10:02,774
I think he found it actually
slightly mundane
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just to be following on
behind other people
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and not really making his own
distinctive marks.
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So in the spring of 1912,
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when a piece of his
radioactivity equipment broke,
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Moseley seized the opportunity
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00:10:16,790 --> 00:10:19,218
to strike out
in a new direction.
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"My dear Mother,
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00:10:20,792 --> 00:10:22,921
"I'm sorry that I didn't answer
your letter sooner,
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00:10:23,026 --> 00:10:24,597
"but I was very busy.
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"Last Thursday, we got
the result we were searching for
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00:10:27,398 --> 00:10:29,158
using the X-rays."
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Moseley had turned his attention
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00:10:30,933 --> 00:10:34,043
to some exciting news
out of Germany.
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X-rays, the same rays
that had so captivated the world
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15 years earlier,
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00:10:39,675 --> 00:10:42,834
had been found to have
properties like those of light.
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00:10:42,944 --> 00:10:46,012
Ever since Newton,
it had been known that a prism
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00:10:46,113 --> 00:10:49,183
could split light into
a series of distinct colors,
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00:10:49,283 --> 00:10:52,853
each with its own wavelength
or frequency.
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00:10:52,953 --> 00:10:56,593
What the German scientists
had discovered was that X-rays
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00:10:56,691 --> 00:11:00,900
could be split up, or
diffracted, in the same way:
196
00:11:00,993 --> 00:11:03,393
with the help of a crystal.
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00:11:03,497 --> 00:11:05,626
Only the resulting image
was not a rainbow,
198
00:11:05,730 --> 00:11:12,310
but a symmetrical pattern of
spots on a photographic plate.
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Power on.
200
00:11:14,905 --> 00:11:16,775
15 volts and steady.
201
00:11:16,874 --> 00:11:20,643
Intrigued, Moseley asked
Charles G. Darwin
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00:11:20,745 --> 00:11:24,644
to join him in investigating
this curious X-ray pattern.
203
00:11:24,747 --> 00:11:28,917
220 degrees,
ten minutes...
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00:11:29,018 --> 00:11:30,388
Darwin was actually
a mathematician,
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00:11:30,485 --> 00:11:32,055
and that's really why Moseley
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00:11:32,153 --> 00:11:34,592
got hold of his services,
because he knew that this
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00:11:34,688 --> 00:11:36,659
was going to imply some
complex mathematics.
208
00:11:36,758 --> 00:11:38,657
Moseley and Darwin concluded
209
00:11:38,759 --> 00:11:41,388
that the atoms
inside the crystal
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00:11:41,494 --> 00:11:44,705
were neatly arrayed in rows
that reflected the X-rays
211
00:11:44,798 --> 00:11:47,067
to create the pattern of spots.
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00:11:47,166 --> 00:11:48,596
Excited by this discovery,
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00:11:48,701 --> 00:11:52,001
Moseley and Darwin
asked Rutherford for permission
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00:11:52,104 --> 00:11:54,813
to devote all their time
to this new project.
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00:11:54,906 --> 00:11:57,174
I don't really think
that we are equipped.
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00:11:57,274 --> 00:11:58,574
We don't really have
the supervision
217
00:11:58,676 --> 00:11:59,977
for this sort of thing.
218
00:12:00,078 --> 00:12:02,046
Rutherford, who knew nothing
about X-rays,
219
00:12:02,146 --> 00:12:06,244
was not very enthusiastic
about this new departure,
220
00:12:06,348 --> 00:12:08,789
so he at first opposed it.
221
00:12:08,885 --> 00:12:10,585
Are absolutely you sure this is
something you want to do?
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00:12:10,686 --> 00:12:13,855
We were fired by our interest
in this unexplored field,
223
00:12:13,956 --> 00:12:16,827
and we had no idea
where it would lead.
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00:12:16,925 --> 00:12:19,764
At the time,
X-rays were still mysterious.
225
00:12:19,861 --> 00:12:22,660
We simply wanted to know
what they really were.
226
00:12:22,763 --> 00:12:26,333
Finally, we persuaded him
to let us try.
227
00:12:26,434 --> 00:12:29,102
Okay, well,
on the condition
228
00:12:29,201 --> 00:12:32,572
that if you run into trouble
of any kind, you do...
229
00:12:32,673 --> 00:12:35,202
I think it was essentially
their enthusiasm for the subject
230
00:12:35,307 --> 00:12:37,676
which convinced Rutherford that,
yeah, this was worth a shot.
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00:12:37,776 --> 00:12:40,417
And keep me informed
all along the way.
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00:12:40,513 --> 00:12:41,742
Certainly, sir.
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00:12:44,549 --> 00:12:45,878
For six months,
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00:12:45,983 --> 00:12:48,024
the two young researchers
holed up in the laboratory.
235
00:12:48,119 --> 00:12:50,948
220 degrees,
20 minutes.
236
00:12:51,053 --> 00:12:53,663
15 volts and steady.
237
00:12:53,756 --> 00:12:56,057
"I wish I were with you
to see all the fresh spring,
238
00:12:56,159 --> 00:12:58,858
"but here, it's all work.
239
00:12:58,960 --> 00:13:01,460
"I'm like a gnome
after a long winter of darkness,
240
00:13:01,562 --> 00:13:04,334
longing for some light."
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00:13:04,432 --> 00:13:05,871
Working with Moseley
242
00:13:05,967 --> 00:13:08,296
is one of the most strenuous
things I've ever done.
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00:13:08,403 --> 00:13:12,872
He is without exception the
hardest worker I've ever known.
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00:13:12,973 --> 00:13:15,713
I'd arrive at the laboratory
in the morning
245
00:13:15,809 --> 00:13:18,408
and meet Moseley
just as he was leaving.
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00:13:18,511 --> 00:13:20,122
He'd been at it
all through the night--
247
00:13:20,214 --> 00:13:22,842
15 straight hours.
248
00:13:22,949 --> 00:13:26,047
Indeed, one of Moseley's skills
was knowing where in Manchester
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00:13:26,150 --> 00:13:28,321
you could get a meal
at 3:00 in the morning.
250
00:13:28,420 --> 00:13:31,289
"We've sent a letter off
to Nature
251
00:13:31,388 --> 00:13:33,428
"describing what we have found
so far.
252
00:13:33,524 --> 00:13:35,395
"But we must keep on
with the work.
253
00:13:35,493 --> 00:13:38,022
Many others are
on the same track."
254
00:13:38,128 --> 00:13:40,567
Moseley was not alone in
realizing this was exciting.
255
00:13:40,663 --> 00:13:42,163
There was some pretty steep
competition,
256
00:13:42,264 --> 00:13:44,904
like William Bragg and his son
William Lawrence Bragg,
257
00:13:45,000 --> 00:13:47,770
who were already working hard
and fast on similar techniques.
258
00:13:47,870 --> 00:13:50,039
Aware of this competition
259
00:13:50,138 --> 00:13:52,968
and anxious to return to
Rutherford's work on the atom...
260
00:13:53,074 --> 00:13:55,574
I thought I'd come by
to bid you farewell.
261
00:13:55,677 --> 00:13:57,546
Darwin decided
to leave the partnership
262
00:13:57,645 --> 00:13:59,716
in the summer of 1913.
263
00:13:59,814 --> 00:14:01,453
I suppose this makes sense.
264
00:14:01,549 --> 00:14:04,149
You were always
a better theoretician
265
00:14:04,251 --> 00:14:06,079
than you were a lab tinkerer.
266
00:14:06,185 --> 00:14:07,955
Will you go on alone?
267
00:14:08,055 --> 00:14:09,664
Certainly.
268
00:14:09,756 --> 00:14:13,114
I think this might lead
to something.
269
00:14:13,224 --> 00:14:14,994
Rather than abandoning
the work...
270
00:14:15,094 --> 00:14:16,462
I wish all the best.
271
00:14:16,562 --> 00:14:18,562
...Moseley changed his approach,
272
00:14:18,664 --> 00:14:21,973
leaving basic research on X-rays
to others.
273
00:14:22,065 --> 00:14:23,867
Moseley says, "Well, okay.
274
00:14:23,968 --> 00:14:26,038
"I'm not quite sure
what these things are,
275
00:14:26,135 --> 00:14:29,335
but I know perfectly well
how to use them."
276
00:14:29,437 --> 00:14:30,738
Having done the basic work
with Darwin,
277
00:14:30,840 --> 00:14:32,879
he decided to use the method
as a tool
278
00:14:32,975 --> 00:14:35,545
to investigate the nature
of the elements.
279
00:14:35,644 --> 00:14:37,613
And that is when
280
00:14:37,712 --> 00:14:40,282
his brilliant discoveries began.
281
00:14:42,617 --> 00:14:44,456
Moseley set out to learn
if each element
282
00:14:44,551 --> 00:14:47,182
had a unique X-ray spectrum--
283
00:14:47,288 --> 00:14:49,827
a bar code like the ones
that had been discovered
284
00:14:49,923 --> 00:14:51,793
a half century earlier
using light.
285
00:14:51,892 --> 00:14:56,461
To find out, he placed
a sample of an element
286
00:14:56,562 --> 00:14:58,862
inside an X-ray tube.
287
00:15:01,099 --> 00:15:03,770
When a beam of electrons
struck the sample,
288
00:15:03,868 --> 00:15:06,327
the element gave off X-rays.
289
00:15:06,437 --> 00:15:09,716
Moseley could then determine
the element's X-ray spectrum.
290
00:15:09,807 --> 00:15:13,236
The whole subject of X-rays
is opening up wonderfully.
291
00:15:13,342 --> 00:15:15,682
When we fire electrons
at a target made of platinum,
292
00:15:15,779 --> 00:15:20,048
we get a sharp line spectrum
of five wavelengths.
293
00:15:20,148 --> 00:15:22,949
Tomorrow, I will search for the
X-ray spectra of other elements.
294
00:15:23,052 --> 00:15:28,620
I believe they will prove much
more important and fundamental
295
00:15:28,723 --> 00:15:30,063
than the ordinary light spectra.
296
00:15:30,157 --> 00:15:32,727
While the light spectra
had been invaluable
297
00:15:32,826 --> 00:15:35,328
in identifying new elements,
298
00:15:35,429 --> 00:15:37,698
they hadn't solved
certain puzzles
299
00:15:37,797 --> 00:15:40,637
about the ordering of the
elements in the periodic table.
300
00:15:40,733 --> 00:15:43,334
The elements were arranged
in columns
301
00:15:43,436 --> 00:15:45,666
with similar chemical
properties,
302
00:15:45,771 --> 00:15:47,682
but they also tended to fall
303
00:15:47,773 --> 00:15:50,473
in order of increasing
atomic weight--
304
00:15:50,575 --> 00:15:52,944
the amount a single atom
of an element weighed.
305
00:15:53,044 --> 00:15:54,614
But it's not perfect.
306
00:15:54,712 --> 00:15:56,041
Every now and then,
there seemed to be anomalies,
307
00:15:56,146 --> 00:15:59,117
little reversals
where chemical properties
308
00:15:59,216 --> 00:16:01,885
seemed to suggest
one kind of ordering
309
00:16:01,985 --> 00:16:04,154
but their weights suggested
the opposite order.
310
00:16:04,253 --> 00:16:06,794
For example, there was cobalt
and nickel.
311
00:16:06,890 --> 00:16:10,259
Chemically speaking, cobalt,
should occur before nickel,
312
00:16:10,359 --> 00:16:12,088
and yet its weight is higher.
313
00:16:12,193 --> 00:16:15,333
And nobody knew why these
inversions were happening.
314
00:16:15,430 --> 00:16:18,699
To find out if X-rays
could solve this riddle,
315
00:16:18,800 --> 00:16:21,368
Moseley set out to test
ten neighboring elements
316
00:16:21,468 --> 00:16:22,999
in the periodic table,
317
00:16:23,103 --> 00:16:27,073
including that troublesome pair,
cobalt and nickel.
318
00:16:27,174 --> 00:16:29,914
But Moseley quickly realized
he had a problem.
319
00:16:30,009 --> 00:16:32,308
For each element he tested,
320
00:16:32,410 --> 00:16:35,980
he had to use the lab's vacuum
pump to empty the tube of air.
321
00:16:36,080 --> 00:16:39,820
Vacuum pumps were jealously
guarded devices.
322
00:16:39,917 --> 00:16:43,517
Lots of people in the lab needed
a vacuum to do their research,
323
00:16:43,620 --> 00:16:44,959
and you had to join the queue.
324
00:16:45,054 --> 00:16:47,954
But Moseley realized that
if he could put
325
00:16:48,058 --> 00:16:50,557
lots of these little elements
at once in the same tube,
326
00:16:50,660 --> 00:16:52,359
then he could really
make progress.
327
00:16:52,460 --> 00:16:57,700
So he designed a long X-ray tube
and built a tiny railroad car
328
00:16:57,800 --> 00:17:00,769
to carry his samples along
inside it.
329
00:17:00,868 --> 00:17:03,139
He tied a little piece
of silk fishing line to them
330
00:17:03,238 --> 00:17:04,977
and then tied that line
to a little bobbin.
331
00:17:05,072 --> 00:17:07,871
By turning the bobbin,
332
00:17:07,974 --> 00:17:11,544
Moseley could bring his samples,
one after the other,
333
00:17:11,643 --> 00:17:14,744
into the line of fire.
334
00:17:14,848 --> 00:17:16,187
And so he could do
all of these elements
335
00:17:16,281 --> 00:17:18,752
in one go, if you like,
with the same vacuum tube.
336
00:17:24,422 --> 00:17:26,693
As each metal was struck
by the electron beam,
337
00:17:26,791 --> 00:17:28,291
it gave off X-rays.
338
00:17:28,392 --> 00:17:31,431
When diffracted by a crystal,
339
00:17:31,527 --> 00:17:36,127
they created a series of lines
on a strip of film.
340
00:17:36,232 --> 00:17:38,102
I've worked out a simple way
341
00:17:38,201 --> 00:17:41,501
of finding the wavelengths
of my different elements.
342
00:17:41,603 --> 00:17:43,502
Once he got it up and running,
343
00:17:43,604 --> 00:17:47,044
he said, "It's so easy,
it's almost a sin
344
00:17:47,142 --> 00:17:49,882
to snatch the bread
from those hungry Germans."
345
00:17:49,978 --> 00:17:52,448
In five minutes, I can get
a strong, sharp photograph
346
00:17:52,546 --> 00:17:53,816
of the x-ray spectrum.
347
00:17:53,914 --> 00:17:56,813
Moseley found,
just as he had hoped,
348
00:17:56,916 --> 00:18:00,916
that each element had a unique
X-ray spectrum.
349
00:18:01,020 --> 00:18:03,090
In just four days,
I've got the spectrum
350
00:18:03,189 --> 00:18:08,258
of chromium, manganese, iron,
cobalt, nickel and copper.
351
00:18:08,360 --> 00:18:11,829
There is here a whole new branch
of spectroscopy.
352
00:18:11,929 --> 00:18:14,940
But not even Moseley
expected what he found
353
00:18:15,032 --> 00:18:18,862
when he compared the spectra of
all ten elements in his series.
354
00:18:20,403 --> 00:18:24,143
The result of these measurements
was absolutely extraordinary.
355
00:18:24,239 --> 00:18:26,969
He decided to simply take
his photographic film
356
00:18:27,077 --> 00:18:30,116
and to arrange the film
according to its frequency.
357
00:18:30,213 --> 00:18:33,041
Each piece of film represented
358
00:18:33,147 --> 00:18:36,186
a different element
in his series.
359
00:18:36,284 --> 00:18:38,825
The frequencies
of the X-rays that came out
360
00:18:38,920 --> 00:18:43,718
had an amazingly simple
relationship.
361
00:18:43,823 --> 00:18:45,364
As he laid them out,
one after the other,
362
00:18:45,459 --> 00:18:48,827
Moseley found that
their dominant X-ray lines
363
00:18:48,929 --> 00:18:51,897
rose in frequency,
step by step.
364
00:18:51,997 --> 00:18:55,028
And that produces
this beautiful staircase.
365
00:18:55,133 --> 00:18:57,973
He had no idea when he started
to measure these frequencies
366
00:18:58,069 --> 00:19:00,738
that the result, now known as
Moseley's staircase,
367
00:19:00,838 --> 00:19:02,439
would come about.
368
00:19:02,540 --> 00:19:04,739
That was a great surprise.
369
00:19:04,842 --> 00:19:07,111
I think he must have been
astonished.
370
00:19:07,210 --> 00:19:08,779
And I think the scientific world
was astonished
371
00:19:08,878 --> 00:19:11,148
that it was that simple.
372
00:19:11,247 --> 00:19:13,017
It would be years
before scientists understood
373
00:19:13,116 --> 00:19:15,385
the reason
for this striking pattern.
374
00:19:15,483 --> 00:19:19,553
But Moseley knew at once he had
made a fundamental discovery.
375
00:19:19,654 --> 00:19:22,254
He thought, "Now I have
a means for the first time
376
00:19:22,357 --> 00:19:25,857
"to really tell
which element is which
377
00:19:25,961 --> 00:19:29,430
and to put them
in a proper order."
378
00:19:29,529 --> 00:19:32,698
Moseley's X-ray lines
showed that cobalt and nickel
379
00:19:32,798 --> 00:19:35,309
were just where they should be,
380
00:19:35,400 --> 00:19:37,931
even though their atomic weights
were out of order.
381
00:19:38,038 --> 00:19:40,647
The conclusion was inescapable:
382
00:19:40,738 --> 00:19:42,269
the X-ray spectra
of the elements
383
00:19:42,375 --> 00:19:45,714
didn't depend
on their atomic weights
384
00:19:45,811 --> 00:19:48,379
but on something even simpler.
385
00:19:48,478 --> 00:19:50,409
There was a remarkably
simple relationship
386
00:19:50,514 --> 00:19:52,253
between the wavelength
387
00:19:52,349 --> 00:19:54,549
or the frequency of that X-ray
that came out
388
00:19:54,651 --> 00:19:56,580
and something they came to call
389
00:19:56,685 --> 00:19:58,926
the atomic number
of the element.
390
00:19:59,021 --> 00:20:03,391
Up to now, "atomic number"
had simply referred
391
00:20:03,491 --> 00:20:07,531
to the number of an element's
box in the periodic table.
392
00:20:07,628 --> 00:20:11,297
All the way back to Mendeleev,
it's where in the row you are.
393
00:20:11,398 --> 00:20:12,568
It's counting one by one.
394
00:20:12,666 --> 00:20:15,736
But Moseley's results
showed atomic number
395
00:20:15,836 --> 00:20:18,606
was much more than
a convenient label.
396
00:20:18,704 --> 00:20:20,174
What we have here is proof
397
00:20:20,273 --> 00:20:23,573
that there's a fundamental
quantity in the atom
398
00:20:23,675 --> 00:20:25,946
which increases by regular steps
399
00:20:26,045 --> 00:20:28,314
as we pass from one element
to the next.
400
00:20:28,412 --> 00:20:31,113
This fundamental quantity
can only be the charge
401
00:20:31,216 --> 00:20:32,915
on the central positive nucleus.
402
00:20:33,017 --> 00:20:35,456
Moseley had discovered
that the nucleus
403
00:20:35,552 --> 00:20:37,922
was not one big positive blob,
404
00:20:38,023 --> 00:20:41,251
but a collection
of positively charged particles
405
00:20:41,357 --> 00:20:45,267
that increased in number
with each heavier element.
406
00:20:45,362 --> 00:20:48,830
Building on Moseley's work,
Rutherford would soon discover
407
00:20:48,932 --> 00:20:52,231
this next piece of the atom,
the proton,
408
00:20:52,333 --> 00:20:55,834
and show that each element
in the periodic table
409
00:20:55,937 --> 00:20:58,776
is defined by the number
of protons in its nucleus:
410
00:20:58,873 --> 00:21:01,014
its atomic number.
411
00:21:01,109 --> 00:21:02,968
Our experiments show that
the atomic number
412
00:21:03,076 --> 00:21:07,185
always increases by a single
unit from element to element.
413
00:21:07,279 --> 00:21:09,880
For hydrogen,
the atomic number is one;
414
00:21:09,983 --> 00:21:13,522
for helium, two;
for lithium, three, and so on.
415
00:21:13,619 --> 00:21:16,348
Moseley's discovery
put the periodic table
416
00:21:16,455 --> 00:21:18,025
in a whole new light.
417
00:21:18,124 --> 00:21:19,393
For the most part,
418
00:21:19,490 --> 00:21:22,429
elements were arranged
in increasing atomic weight.
419
00:21:22,526 --> 00:21:25,227
But that's not the real reason
for that tremendous order
420
00:21:25,329 --> 00:21:27,899
that we find
among all the elements.
421
00:21:27,998 --> 00:21:29,968
It really is marching along
atomic number,
422
00:21:30,067 --> 00:21:33,266
the amount of positive
electric charge on that nucleus,
423
00:21:33,370 --> 00:21:35,538
none of which was known
in Mendeleev's own day.
424
00:21:35,638 --> 00:21:37,178
Weights didn't matter.
425
00:21:37,272 --> 00:21:40,272
Something fundamental
that was deeper in the atom
426
00:21:40,376 --> 00:21:41,445
was what mattered.
427
00:21:41,544 --> 00:21:44,212
Moseley's proof that
the properties of an element
428
00:21:44,311 --> 00:21:47,080
are determined
by its atomic number,
429
00:21:47,180 --> 00:21:50,012
not its atomic weight,
ranks in importance
430
00:21:50,117 --> 00:21:53,516
with the discovery
of the periodic law itself.
431
00:21:53,620 --> 00:21:56,930
In some respects,
it's even more fundamental.
432
00:21:57,023 --> 00:21:58,523
Moseley and atomic number,
433
00:21:58,623 --> 00:22:00,323
that's really the crucial moment
434
00:22:00,425 --> 00:22:02,624
where we find out
what an element really is.
435
00:22:05,397 --> 00:22:07,236
Armed with his X-ray machine,
436
00:22:07,331 --> 00:22:09,001
Moseley could quickly
sort through
437
00:22:09,100 --> 00:22:10,869
the dozens of supposed
new elements
438
00:22:10,968 --> 00:22:12,999
chemists had claimed
to have found,
439
00:22:13,104 --> 00:22:16,203
separating the real
from the imagined.
440
00:22:16,306 --> 00:22:17,846
He could distinguish
between types of matter
441
00:22:17,941 --> 00:22:19,470
with a brand new technique--
442
00:22:19,575 --> 00:22:22,345
not dependent
on their chemical properties,
443
00:22:22,444 --> 00:22:24,754
but by measuring the atomic
number based on these X-rays.
444
00:22:24,845 --> 00:22:27,345
Moseley's X-rays allowed him
445
00:22:27,448 --> 00:22:30,718
not only to rule out elements
that didn't exist,
446
00:22:30,818 --> 00:22:32,948
but also to predict
what new elements
447
00:22:33,053 --> 00:22:35,323
would eventually be found.
448
00:22:35,422 --> 00:22:39,862
In 1914, Moseley measured
the X-ray spectra
449
00:22:39,959 --> 00:22:42,629
of 30 additional elements beyond
the first ten.
450
00:22:42,728 --> 00:22:46,397
They, too, fell into line
according to atomic number,
451
00:22:46,499 --> 00:22:48,769
clearly revealing
452
00:22:48,866 --> 00:22:50,705
where elements were missing
453
00:22:50,802 --> 00:22:53,462
and where no new ones could fit.
454
00:22:53,572 --> 00:22:55,581
"For the first time,"
one scientist marveled...
455
00:22:55,672 --> 00:22:58,641
40, 41...
456
00:22:58,742 --> 00:23:02,772
"It was possible to call the
roll of the chemical elements--
457
00:23:02,878 --> 00:23:05,318
"to determine
how many there were
458
00:23:05,415 --> 00:23:09,055
and how many remained
to be discovered."
459
00:23:09,152 --> 00:23:11,451
The idea
that somebody could know
460
00:23:11,553 --> 00:23:14,752
how many elements God created,
that was terrific.
461
00:23:14,855 --> 00:23:17,566
After Moseley's work,
462
00:23:17,659 --> 00:23:21,258
it was clear that there were
seven and only seven elements
463
00:23:21,362 --> 00:23:23,561
remaining to be discovered.
464
00:23:23,663 --> 00:23:27,833
But since we can now predict the
X-ray spectra of these elements,
465
00:23:27,933 --> 00:23:29,734
they should not be difficult
to find.
466
00:23:32,672 --> 00:23:36,071
In 1914, Moseley's
continuing work on the elements
467
00:23:36,175 --> 00:23:39,344
was interrupted
when his country called.
468
00:23:39,443 --> 00:23:40,715
"My dearest Mother,
469
00:23:40,812 --> 00:23:43,951
"I am now a second lieutenant
in the Royal Engineers.
470
00:23:44,048 --> 00:23:47,217
England had been drawn into war
by events in Europe.
471
00:23:47,317 --> 00:23:50,017
Like many others
of his generation,
472
00:23:50,119 --> 00:23:53,259
Moseley felt a duty to serve.
473
00:23:53,357 --> 00:23:55,486
I was very lucky
to get into the army so quickly
474
00:23:55,590 --> 00:23:57,860
because RE commissions
are much in demand.
475
00:23:57,960 --> 00:24:01,299
He had a bit of a difficulty
actually getting into the army
476
00:24:01,397 --> 00:24:02,826
because he wasn't an engineer
477
00:24:02,929 --> 00:24:04,141
and the Royal Engineers
wanted engineers.
478
00:24:04,232 --> 00:24:08,701
He badgered the recruiting
officers to allow him in.
479
00:24:08,802 --> 00:24:13,372
By the summer of 1915,
Moseley was stationed in Turkey.
480
00:24:13,475 --> 00:24:15,873
It gets hotter here by the day,
481
00:24:15,975 --> 00:24:19,745
and only cool nights and sea
bathing keep life tolerable.
482
00:24:19,845 --> 00:24:22,414
I had mixed feelings
about the enlistment
483
00:24:22,514 --> 00:24:25,214
of so many young men
of science--
484
00:24:25,317 --> 00:24:29,127
pride over their ready response
to the country's call,
485
00:24:29,221 --> 00:24:34,459
apprehension about irreparable
losses to science.
486
00:24:34,557 --> 00:24:39,826
On August 3, 1915,
he wrote from Gallipoli.
487
00:24:39,929 --> 00:24:42,557
"My insides returned to duty
488
00:24:42,664 --> 00:24:45,534
"and let me once more enjoy the
good things which are sent us,
489
00:24:45,634 --> 00:24:49,742
foremost among them
your Tiptree jam."
490
00:24:57,810 --> 00:25:01,481
One week later, as they
attempted to take a ridge,
491
00:25:01,580 --> 00:25:05,589
Moseley's brigade was
overwhelmed by Turkish troops.
492
00:25:05,683 --> 00:25:08,284
The 27-year-old
communications offer
493
00:25:08,388 --> 00:25:11,226
was shot in the head and killed.
494
00:25:25,735 --> 00:25:27,735
The news of Moseley's death was
a terrible shock at Manchester
495
00:25:27,837 --> 00:25:30,975
because by that time, it was
already clear that Moseley
496
00:25:31,072 --> 00:25:32,842
was one of the most brilliant
497
00:25:32,942 --> 00:25:34,871
young physicists
of his generation.
498
00:25:34,976 --> 00:25:36,445
In the scientific community,
499
00:25:36,545 --> 00:25:38,184
there was a big sense
of outrage,
500
00:25:38,279 --> 00:25:39,739
particularly from Rutherford,
501
00:25:39,848 --> 00:25:43,287
because he did feel Moseley
was someone special.
502
00:25:43,384 --> 00:25:46,753
The services he could have
performed for his country!
503
00:25:46,853 --> 00:25:51,223
Instead, they exposed him
504
00:25:51,324 --> 00:25:54,533
to the chances
of a Turkish bullet.
505
00:25:54,626 --> 00:25:58,126
Tributes poured
in from around the world,
506
00:25:58,230 --> 00:25:59,660
none more moving
507
00:25:59,764 --> 00:26:02,503
than that of American physicist
Robert Millikan,
508
00:26:02,599 --> 00:26:05,570
who had met Moseley during
a visit to Rutherford's lab.
509
00:26:05,669 --> 00:26:08,209
"He threw open the windows
510
00:26:08,306 --> 00:26:12,076
"through which we can glimpse
the sub-atomic world
511
00:26:12,176 --> 00:26:15,076
"with a clarity
never dreamt of before.
512
00:26:15,178 --> 00:26:18,117
"27 years old.
513
00:26:18,213 --> 00:26:22,083
"If the European war
had done nothing worse
514
00:26:22,184 --> 00:26:25,653
"than snuff out
this one young life,
515
00:26:25,752 --> 00:26:30,352
that alone would make it one of
most hideous crimes in history."
516
00:26:34,294 --> 00:26:36,565
In the decades
after Harry Moseley's death,
517
00:26:36,662 --> 00:26:40,762
chemists found all the missing
elements he had left room for.
518
00:26:40,866 --> 00:26:43,936
By 1945, every space was filled,
519
00:26:44,036 --> 00:26:46,135
from the lightest element,
hydrogen,
520
00:26:46,238 --> 00:26:48,378
to the heaviest, uranium.
521
00:26:48,472 --> 00:26:50,973
The periodic table was complete.
522
00:26:51,074 --> 00:26:52,715
Except it wasn't.
523
00:26:52,811 --> 00:26:56,079
By this time, the next
generation of element hunters
524
00:26:56,180 --> 00:26:58,808
had already begun
a whole new chapter.
525
00:26:58,916 --> 00:27:01,824
They had figured out
how to create new elements--
526
00:27:01,918 --> 00:27:05,247
elements that didn't exist
anywhere on earth.
527
00:27:05,354 --> 00:27:07,564
The central character
in these events
528
00:27:07,657 --> 00:27:11,455
was a young American chemist
named Glenn Seaborg.
529
00:27:11,560 --> 00:27:13,559
He set out with a simple desire
530
00:27:13,660 --> 00:27:16,131
to make one of these
new elements.
531
00:27:16,231 --> 00:27:19,300
But he would end up
changing the world forever,
532
00:27:19,399 --> 00:27:23,869
unleashing a force of
unimaginable destructive power.
533
00:27:29,207 --> 00:27:32,508
The story begins
in late January 1939,
534
00:27:32,611 --> 00:27:35,350
when a young physicist
in Berkeley, California,
535
00:27:35,447 --> 00:27:38,917
learned of a startling discovery
in an unusual way.
536
00:27:39,016 --> 00:27:42,715
One of my father's colleagues,
Luis Alvarez,
537
00:27:42,819 --> 00:27:45,158
was sitting in a barber shop
getting his hair cut
538
00:27:45,255 --> 00:27:46,926
when he read about this
in the paper.
539
00:27:47,023 --> 00:27:51,162
Buried on an inside page
of the San Francisco Chronicle
540
00:27:51,260 --> 00:27:52,790
was a story from Washington:
541
00:27:52,894 --> 00:27:55,535
German chemists
had split the uranium atom
542
00:27:55,631 --> 00:27:57,360
by bombarding it
with neutrons.
543
00:27:57,465 --> 00:27:59,866
I stopped the barber mid-snip
544
00:27:59,968 --> 00:28:02,206
and ran all the way
to the radiation laboratory
545
00:28:02,303 --> 00:28:04,103
to spread the word.
546
00:28:05,838 --> 00:28:11,438
The first person I saw was my
graduate student, Phil Abelson.
547
00:28:11,544 --> 00:28:13,843
I was at the control console
operating the cyclotron.
548
00:28:13,946 --> 00:28:15,585
About 9:30 a.m.,
549
00:28:15,682 --> 00:28:17,850
I heard the sound
of running footsteps outside.
550
00:28:19,485 --> 00:28:22,394
Phil, the Germans
have split the uranium atom!
551
00:28:22,487 --> 00:28:24,387
Hahn and Strassman have done it.
552
00:28:24,488 --> 00:28:25,589
Uranium split in two!
553
00:28:25,689 --> 00:28:26,690
Joey!
554
00:28:26,791 --> 00:28:29,130
When he told me
what he had read,
555
00:28:29,225 --> 00:28:32,924
I was stunned.
556
00:28:33,028 --> 00:28:37,998
Word spread quickly across the
University of California campus.
557
00:28:38,100 --> 00:28:41,839
One of the first to hear
the news was Glenn Seaborg,
558
00:28:41,936 --> 00:28:45,336
then a 26-year-old chemistry
instructor.
559
00:28:45,440 --> 00:28:47,550
And he was just stunned,
and he spent hours
560
00:28:47,642 --> 00:28:49,770
walking the streets of Berkeley
thinking about it.
561
00:28:49,876 --> 00:28:52,247
I was exhilarated
at the discovery,
562
00:28:52,345 --> 00:28:55,646
but at the same time,
I felt stupid
563
00:28:55,749 --> 00:28:58,388
for having overlooked
this possibility.
564
00:28:58,485 --> 00:29:01,884
I'd missed the chance
for an astounding discovery.
565
00:29:01,986 --> 00:29:04,796
Many others had missed it too.
566
00:29:04,888 --> 00:29:08,318
In fact, the splitting
of the atom-- nuclear fission--
567
00:29:08,427 --> 00:29:11,137
was so unexpected
that it forced scientists
568
00:29:11,228 --> 00:29:13,327
to rethink what they knew
about the atom.
569
00:29:13,431 --> 00:29:15,261
To understand why,
570
00:29:15,366 --> 00:29:17,736
we need to step back
a few years to 1932,
571
00:29:17,834 --> 00:29:19,874
when another
of Rutherford's boys,
572
00:29:19,969 --> 00:29:25,239
James Chadwick, discovered
the final piece of the atom:
573
00:29:25,341 --> 00:29:27,711
the neutron.
574
00:29:27,809 --> 00:29:31,309
The neutron has almost
the same mass as the proton,
575
00:29:31,413 --> 00:29:33,112
and they both occupy
the nucleus.
576
00:29:33,213 --> 00:29:35,123
But the neutron
is electrically neutral--
577
00:29:35,215 --> 00:29:36,344
hence its name.
578
00:29:40,920 --> 00:29:44,259
Right away, scientists realized
this made the neutron
579
00:29:44,357 --> 00:29:47,528
the perfect projectile
for firing at the atom.
580
00:29:51,196 --> 00:29:53,294
Unlike those positive
alpha particles
581
00:29:53,398 --> 00:29:54,899
that Rutherford and his students
had been using,
582
00:29:55,000 --> 00:29:58,338
it would not be repelled
as it approached the nucleus.
583
00:29:58,436 --> 00:30:00,204
It could go right in.
584
00:30:00,303 --> 00:30:01,903
You didn't have to fight
the electrical repulsion
585
00:30:02,005 --> 00:30:04,944
to get this object
to go inside the nucleus
586
00:30:05,041 --> 00:30:06,571
and probe the structure there.
587
00:30:06,676 --> 00:30:09,845
One of the first
to use the neutron in this way
588
00:30:09,945 --> 00:30:13,385
was an Italian physicist
named Enrico Fermi.
589
00:30:13,483 --> 00:30:18,922
In 1934, Fermi began firing
neutrons at uranium atoms,
590
00:30:19,020 --> 00:30:22,990
creating a shower of fragments
he would then analyze.
591
00:30:23,090 --> 00:30:24,819
He found that a neutron
592
00:30:24,924 --> 00:30:27,565
sometimes chipped off a piece
of the uranium nucleus,
593
00:30:27,661 --> 00:30:29,690
lowering its atomic number
594
00:30:29,796 --> 00:30:32,305
and turning it
into a different element,
595
00:30:32,398 --> 00:30:36,268
a few spots lower
in the periodic table.
596
00:30:36,368 --> 00:30:37,839
But some of Fermi's fragments
597
00:30:37,936 --> 00:30:41,006
didn't match any of the elements
just below uranium.
598
00:30:41,105 --> 00:30:43,666
What could they be?
599
00:30:43,775 --> 00:30:46,714
Fermi concluded that sometimes,
600
00:30:46,811 --> 00:30:50,451
an incoming neutron is absorbed
by the uranium nucleus
601
00:30:50,548 --> 00:30:54,147
and then spontaneously changes.
602
00:30:54,250 --> 00:30:59,320
The neutron
becomes a shape shifter
603
00:30:59,422 --> 00:31:01,731
and changes itself
into a proton!
604
00:31:01,824 --> 00:31:04,152
But when you change the number
of protons in the atom,
605
00:31:04,258 --> 00:31:05,898
you change the chemistry,
606
00:31:05,994 --> 00:31:07,424
you have changed the identity
of the atom.
607
00:31:07,530 --> 00:31:08,669
They eventually concluded...
608
00:31:08,762 --> 00:31:11,362
They published a paper
saying they had found
609
00:31:11,466 --> 00:31:12,895
"transuranic elements"--
610
00:31:12,999 --> 00:31:15,369
elements that were even heavier
than uranium.
611
00:31:15,470 --> 00:31:16,769
They figured they had pushed
612
00:31:16,870 --> 00:31:19,340
beyond the end
of the periodic table.
613
00:31:19,439 --> 00:31:21,649
For this remarkable achievement,
614
00:31:21,741 --> 00:31:24,941
Fermi won the Nobel Prize
in December 1938.
615
00:31:28,045 --> 00:31:30,756
But even as he was shaking
the hand of the King of Sweden,
616
00:31:30,850 --> 00:31:33,548
German scientists
were making the discovery
617
00:31:33,651 --> 00:31:36,020
that would prove Fermi wrong.
618
00:31:38,288 --> 00:31:40,247
Like almost everyone else
at the time,
619
00:31:40,357 --> 00:31:43,066
Fermi had underestimated
the neutron.
620
00:31:43,159 --> 00:31:44,858
It was very much smaller
621
00:31:44,961 --> 00:31:46,561
than the nucleus
it was being fired at.
622
00:31:46,663 --> 00:31:48,132
It had no electric charge.
623
00:31:48,229 --> 00:31:50,629
It couldn't shove things around
by electric repulsion.
624
00:31:50,732 --> 00:31:52,571
So Fermi's team
hadn't checked to see
625
00:31:52,667 --> 00:31:56,197
if the neutron had broken
the uranium nucleus in half,
626
00:31:56,303 --> 00:31:58,943
into much lighter elements.
627
00:31:59,039 --> 00:32:00,838
They figured there's no way
this tiny little wimpy thing
628
00:32:00,939 --> 00:32:04,340
could bust apart something
as huge, as massive,
629
00:32:04,444 --> 00:32:05,744
as an entire uranium nucleus.
630
00:32:05,844 --> 00:32:09,214
Breaking a nucleus in two
with a neutron
631
00:32:09,314 --> 00:32:11,544
would be like breaking
a boulder in half
632
00:32:11,650 --> 00:32:13,690
by tossing a pebble at it.
633
00:32:13,786 --> 00:32:18,085
We all knew it was impossible
for uranium atoms
634
00:32:18,189 --> 00:32:19,689
to break apart in that way.
635
00:32:19,790 --> 00:32:23,529
But when the Germans repeated
Fermi's experiments,
636
00:32:23,627 --> 00:32:26,598
they found that's exactly
what happened.
637
00:32:26,697 --> 00:32:29,337
They did not find things that
looked heavier than uranium.
638
00:32:29,431 --> 00:32:33,231
They found well-known elements
that were about half as heavy--
639
00:32:33,334 --> 00:32:34,875
much, much lower
on the periodic table.
640
00:32:34,971 --> 00:32:37,499
The uranium nucleus
had been split in two
641
00:32:37,606 --> 00:32:39,576
in a way that no one
had imagined possible
642
00:32:39,673 --> 00:32:40,973
or even worth looking for.
643
00:32:41,074 --> 00:32:45,185
The tremendous energy released
when the atom split
644
00:32:45,278 --> 00:32:49,177
had profound implications
for a world at the brink of war.
645
00:32:49,282 --> 00:32:50,722
Across the world,
646
00:32:50,818 --> 00:32:53,777
physicists came to remarkably
similar conclusions right away.
647
00:32:53,886 --> 00:32:55,825
Could the energy trapped
in that nucleus
648
00:32:55,921 --> 00:32:58,662
be used to make an explosive
unthinkably more powerful
649
00:32:58,758 --> 00:33:01,027
than conventional
chemical explosives?
650
00:33:01,126 --> 00:33:03,255
A lot of people were thinking
about the possibility
651
00:33:03,360 --> 00:33:04,800
of the atomic bomb.
652
00:33:04,894 --> 00:33:06,526
But my father,
he was mostly thinking
653
00:33:06,631 --> 00:33:08,531
about the scientific
implications.
654
00:33:08,632 --> 00:33:11,572
For Seaborg,
the discovery of fission
655
00:33:11,667 --> 00:33:14,339
presented an unexpected
opportunity:
656
00:33:14,438 --> 00:33:16,467
a second chance
to be the first
657
00:33:16,572 --> 00:33:19,083
to discover elements
beyond uranium.
658
00:33:19,174 --> 00:33:22,474
Fermi had said he had discovered
all these transuranium elements.
659
00:33:22,578 --> 00:33:24,948
Those findings
just went out the window.
660
00:33:25,046 --> 00:33:27,546
So if there were transuranium
elements to be found,
661
00:33:27,648 --> 00:33:29,720
well, they were still there
to be discovered.
662
00:33:29,817 --> 00:33:33,686
And Berkeley was the perfect
place to do it.
663
00:33:33,787 --> 00:33:36,026
Under the leadership
of Ernest Lawrence,
664
00:33:36,121 --> 00:33:38,592
Cal's Radiation Laboratory
had led the world
665
00:33:38,692 --> 00:33:40,621
in the development
of the cyclotron,
666
00:33:40,726 --> 00:33:43,295
a device for flinging
subatomic particles
667
00:33:43,395 --> 00:33:45,235
at ever-greater speeds.
668
00:33:45,330 --> 00:33:48,729
What Lawrence did was figure out
you could take a proton
669
00:33:48,833 --> 00:33:51,132
or some particle
that you are accelerating
670
00:33:51,234 --> 00:33:52,904
and put it in a circular path
671
00:33:53,004 --> 00:33:56,573
using magnetic fields
to make it go in a circle.
672
00:33:56,674 --> 00:33:58,643
By rapidly switching
the electrical charge
673
00:33:58,742 --> 00:34:01,042
of the two "D"s
674
00:34:01,144 --> 00:34:04,583
Lawrence kept the proton chasing
the ever-moving negative plate,
675
00:34:04,680 --> 00:34:07,180
boosting its speed on each pass.
676
00:34:07,281 --> 00:34:09,083
You hit it once.
677
00:34:09,185 --> 00:34:10,655
When it comes around again,
you hit it again,
678
00:34:10,753 --> 00:34:12,122
you hit it again,
you hit it again.
679
00:34:12,220 --> 00:34:13,420
And then suddenly,
680
00:34:13,521 --> 00:34:15,360
you've got this really energetic
tiny particle.
681
00:34:15,455 --> 00:34:17,355
that you can then aim
at your target
682
00:34:17,458 --> 00:34:21,057
and use it to study
what's going on.
683
00:34:21,161 --> 00:34:23,060
Just weeks after the news
of fission broke,
684
00:34:23,162 --> 00:34:26,831
a young Berkeley physicist
named Ed McMillan
685
00:34:26,933 --> 00:34:29,402
set out to study
this new phenomenon.
686
00:34:29,502 --> 00:34:31,971
He would repeat
the Germans' experiment
687
00:34:32,070 --> 00:34:34,440
by bombarding uranium atoms
with neutrons
688
00:34:34,540 --> 00:34:38,078
from the cyclotron.
689
00:34:38,175 --> 00:34:39,904
To prepare his target,
690
00:34:40,011 --> 00:34:43,481
he applied a thin layer
of uranium oxide
691
00:34:43,580 --> 00:34:46,020
to a piece of filter paper.
692
00:34:46,116 --> 00:34:48,986
His goal was to split
the uranium atoms
693
00:34:49,086 --> 00:34:52,685
and track how far
the resulting fragments flew.
694
00:34:52,788 --> 00:34:55,357
Ed started by capturing
the fission products
695
00:34:55,456 --> 00:34:58,427
in a stack of thin foils.
696
00:34:58,527 --> 00:35:00,226
But eventually,
697
00:35:00,328 --> 00:35:03,797
he found that cigarette papers
worked just as well.
698
00:35:03,896 --> 00:35:06,408
He stacked the cigarette papers
699
00:35:06,500 --> 00:35:08,869
behind the uranium-coated
filter paper.
700
00:35:11,503 --> 00:35:14,713
When this target was struck with
neutrons from the cyclotron,
701
00:35:14,807 --> 00:35:18,006
atomic fragments would scatter
in all directions.
702
00:35:18,110 --> 00:35:22,510
Some would burrow into the stack
of cigarette papers,
703
00:35:22,613 --> 00:35:24,254
penetrating
to different distances.
704
00:35:24,348 --> 00:35:28,318
McMillan then checked the papers
one at a time
705
00:35:28,418 --> 00:35:33,218
to see how far the radioactive
fragments had traveled.
706
00:35:33,323 --> 00:35:34,932
As expected,
707
00:35:35,024 --> 00:35:37,824
he found different levels of
radioactivity on each paper.
708
00:35:37,928 --> 00:35:42,526
The surprise came when he
measured the target itself.
709
00:35:42,630 --> 00:35:46,800
It was much more radioactive
than expected,
710
00:35:46,901 --> 00:35:51,080
suggesting that one product of
the reaction hadn't moved at all
711
00:35:51,172 --> 00:35:53,502
but remained
on the filter paper.
712
00:35:53,608 --> 00:35:55,906
This lack of mobility
713
00:35:56,009 --> 00:35:58,918
implied that it might not be
a fission product at all.
714
00:35:59,011 --> 00:36:02,542
As the possibilities raced
through McMillan's mind,
715
00:36:02,648 --> 00:36:05,417
he quickly arrived
at an explanation:
716
00:36:05,517 --> 00:36:07,586
this fragment had stayed put
717
00:36:07,686 --> 00:36:10,127
because it was much heavier
than the others.
718
00:36:10,222 --> 00:36:12,620
Instead of splitting
into smaller pieces,
719
00:36:12,724 --> 00:36:16,293
a uranium atom had absorbed
an incoming neutron,
720
00:36:16,394 --> 00:36:19,393
and then that neutron
had spontaneously changed
721
00:36:19,496 --> 00:36:23,805
into a proton, in just the way
Fermi had proposed.
722
00:36:23,900 --> 00:36:25,430
What McMillan was seeing
723
00:36:25,535 --> 00:36:26,934
was what Fermi thought
he was seeing.
724
00:36:27,036 --> 00:36:31,275
If so, this would be
a brand new form of matter--
725
00:36:31,372 --> 00:36:34,781
the real element 93.
726
00:36:34,876 --> 00:36:38,075
But to prove it, he would need
to show that its chemistry
727
00:36:38,179 --> 00:36:43,648
was unlike any other element,
a precaution Fermi hadn't taken.
728
00:36:43,751 --> 00:36:45,921
For help on this, McMillan
turned to an old friend,
729
00:36:46,019 --> 00:36:50,928
Phil Abelson, who was back
in Berkeley on a short vacation.
730
00:36:51,023 --> 00:36:53,653
Phil Abelson was really taken
731
00:36:53,759 --> 00:36:56,659
by this activity
McMillan had found,
732
00:36:56,762 --> 00:36:58,571
and he decided he was going
to follow up on it.
733
00:36:58,662 --> 00:37:00,832
It was certainly
a very productive vacation,
734
00:37:00,932 --> 00:37:02,691
because it didn't
take him long--
735
00:37:02,799 --> 00:37:04,970
really a few days--
to rule out
736
00:37:05,069 --> 00:37:08,708
that it was any of the other
elements, 92 and down.
737
00:37:17,412 --> 00:37:19,440
We had discovered element 93.
738
00:37:19,547 --> 00:37:24,557
They named it neptunium
because it was beyond uranium,
739
00:37:24,652 --> 00:37:27,851
just as the planet Neptune
is beyond Uranus.
740
00:37:27,954 --> 00:37:29,795
With this discovery,
741
00:37:29,891 --> 00:37:32,920
the search for elements
had entered a whole new realm.
742
00:37:33,026 --> 00:37:35,164
Up to now,
it had been a matter
743
00:37:35,260 --> 00:37:38,760
of finding elements
that already existed in nature.
744
00:37:38,864 --> 00:37:40,604
But from this point on,
745
00:37:40,699 --> 00:37:44,228
element hunters would be
creating new elements.
746
00:37:44,335 --> 00:37:48,145
There was no telling how far
the periodic table might extend.
747
00:37:48,238 --> 00:37:54,137
McMillan immediately set out
to create element 94.
748
00:37:54,243 --> 00:37:56,283
While Ed was doing
this research,
749
00:37:56,380 --> 00:37:59,278
he lived at the Faculty Club,
just down the hall from me.
750
00:37:59,382 --> 00:38:02,451
I kept track of his progress
at breakfast, in the hallway,
751
00:38:02,551 --> 00:38:04,320
even in the shower.
752
00:38:04,420 --> 00:38:07,688
My father was fascinated
by McMillan's search for 94,
753
00:38:07,789 --> 00:38:09,959
and he knew that McMillan
was closing in on it.
754
00:38:10,057 --> 00:38:11,727
And then suddenly,
McMillan disappeared.
755
00:38:11,826 --> 00:38:15,295
Like many other
American scientists,
756
00:38:15,395 --> 00:38:19,094
McMillan had been called to help
the country prepare for war.
757
00:38:19,199 --> 00:38:20,699
He had moved
758
00:38:20,801 --> 00:38:22,500
to the Massachusetts Institute
of Technology
759
00:38:22,601 --> 00:38:25,971
to join the team
developing radar.
760
00:38:26,071 --> 00:38:28,170
So my father wrote to him
761
00:38:28,273 --> 00:38:30,171
and asked him if he could
continue with this project,
762
00:38:30,274 --> 00:38:33,145
looking for 94
as a collaborator.
763
00:38:33,245 --> 00:38:35,184
And Ed McMillan
very graciously said,
764
00:38:35,279 --> 00:38:37,878
"Yes, I would be delighted
if you would do so."
765
00:38:37,981 --> 00:38:41,281
If Ed had left for MIT
just a few months later,
766
00:38:41,384 --> 00:38:45,123
he certainly would have been
the one to find element 94.
767
00:38:45,222 --> 00:38:49,591
As it was, I was in the right
place at the right time.
768
00:38:49,691 --> 00:38:54,690
It would be the discovery
that changed everything for me.
769
00:38:54,795 --> 00:38:57,995
As a chemist,
Seaborg was thrilled
770
00:38:58,098 --> 00:39:01,398
at the chance to create
a new element.
771
00:39:01,501 --> 00:39:03,071
But he conducted his research
772
00:39:03,169 --> 00:39:06,169
with one eye on the changes
that were sweeping the world.
773
00:39:06,272 --> 00:39:10,311
In the past year,
Germany had invaded Poland.
774
00:39:10,408 --> 00:39:13,149
France and Great Britain
had declared war.
775
00:39:13,246 --> 00:39:15,945
Italy had sided with Germany.
776
00:39:16,048 --> 00:39:21,288
Fighting now raged across much
of Europe and North Africa.
777
00:39:21,386 --> 00:39:24,115
Albert Einstein,
alarmed at these events
778
00:39:24,220 --> 00:39:26,860
and aware of Germany's
head start in nuclear research,
779
00:39:26,956 --> 00:39:29,158
had written
to President Roosevelt,
780
00:39:29,259 --> 00:39:31,329
urging him to launch
an American effort
781
00:39:31,427 --> 00:39:35,996
to create an atomic bomb powered
by the fission of uranium.
782
00:39:36,099 --> 00:39:37,968
By now, it was clear
783
00:39:38,067 --> 00:39:41,277
there are two very different
kinds of uranium.
784
00:39:41,370 --> 00:39:43,899
Only one of them
was easy to split.
785
00:39:44,006 --> 00:39:45,975
The one that would do that
most readily
786
00:39:46,073 --> 00:39:47,744
was a very unusual
kind of uranium
787
00:39:47,841 --> 00:39:50,270
that had fewer neutrons
in the nucleus,
788
00:39:50,376 --> 00:39:52,817
this very fissionable,
potentially explosive
789
00:39:52,914 --> 00:39:54,953
kind of U-235.
790
00:39:55,047 --> 00:39:58,476
But that's only about
one percent of all the uranium.
791
00:39:58,583 --> 00:40:02,353
The much more common element
is the uranium 238,
792
00:40:02,453 --> 00:40:03,593
but it doesn't fission.
793
00:40:03,688 --> 00:40:05,757
But Seaborg realized
794
00:40:05,857 --> 00:40:08,787
he might be able
to turn this inactive uranium
795
00:40:08,895 --> 00:40:12,163
into a new element
that was capable of splitting.
796
00:40:12,262 --> 00:40:13,661
We knew early on
797
00:40:13,762 --> 00:40:16,234
that element 94
could be a big prize.
798
00:40:16,333 --> 00:40:20,672
If we could transform U-238
into a fissionable material,
799
00:40:20,769 --> 00:40:22,968
we would increase 100-fold
800
00:40:23,071 --> 00:40:25,211
the amount of material
usable for a bomb.
801
00:40:25,307 --> 00:40:27,507
With this goal in mind,
802
00:40:27,609 --> 00:40:31,649
Seaborg picked up
where McMillan had left off.
803
00:40:31,746 --> 00:40:33,046
He knew from McMillan's work
804
00:40:33,148 --> 00:40:34,917
that uranium bombarded
with neutrons
805
00:40:35,016 --> 00:40:37,885
sometimes changed
into neptunium.
806
00:40:37,984 --> 00:40:41,124
But neptunium itself
was radioactive,
807
00:40:41,221 --> 00:40:44,381
spontaneously changing form.
808
00:40:44,490 --> 00:40:48,270
Could it be shape-shifting
into element 94?
809
00:40:48,361 --> 00:40:52,590
To find out, Seaborg and
graduate student Arthur Wahl
810
00:40:52,697 --> 00:40:57,037
used the Berkeley cyclotron
to create a sample of neptunium
811
00:40:57,134 --> 00:40:59,305
in the same way McMillan had.
812
00:40:59,402 --> 00:41:03,272
Now, Arthur, what we want here
is the sample...
813
00:41:03,374 --> 00:41:04,443
Okay
814
00:41:04,541 --> 00:41:05,770
directly in line.
815
00:41:05,874 --> 00:41:07,314
You see?
816
00:41:07,409 --> 00:41:10,138
They would then watch for signs
that neutrons inside it
817
00:41:10,245 --> 00:41:14,085
were changing into protons,
forming element 94.
818
00:41:20,855 --> 00:41:23,364
Sure enough,
a special radiation detector
819
00:41:23,457 --> 00:41:27,857
showed that's exactly
what was happening.
820
00:41:27,961 --> 00:41:29,561
But to be sure they had
a new element,
821
00:41:29,662 --> 00:41:33,601
they'd need to create enough
of it to test its chemistry.
822
00:41:33,698 --> 00:41:37,338
For that, they'd have to wait
for neptunium to break down,
823
00:41:37,435 --> 00:41:42,373
atom by atom, into what
they hoped was element 94.
824
00:41:42,473 --> 00:41:47,672
After a month, Seaborg and Wahl
had enough material to test.
825
00:41:47,778 --> 00:41:52,218
Mindful of Fermi's mistake,
they painstakingly checked
826
00:41:52,315 --> 00:41:54,485
to make sure the product
of their experiment
827
00:41:54,583 --> 00:41:57,882
was not an element that had
already been discovered.
828
00:41:57,987 --> 00:42:00,057
And it took them weeks
829
00:42:00,155 --> 00:42:02,555
to actually separate it
from every other known element,
830
00:42:02,656 --> 00:42:06,195
but they were eventually
successful in doing that.
831
00:42:06,294 --> 00:42:09,133
The last possibility
was finally eliminated
832
00:42:09,229 --> 00:42:12,259
late one night in February 1941.
833
00:42:16,369 --> 00:42:21,667
There was then no doubt
they had discovered element 94:
834
00:42:21,772 --> 00:42:23,943
plutonium.
835
00:42:25,376 --> 00:42:28,376
We felt like shouting our
discovery from the rooftops.
836
00:42:28,479 --> 00:42:31,749
Under normal circumstances,
we would have rushed
837
00:42:31,849 --> 00:42:35,688
to publish our claim to the
discovery of a new element.
838
00:42:35,785 --> 00:42:38,553
But they realized that if this
was a fissionable element,
839
00:42:38,655 --> 00:42:41,553
it was of military importance,
and there was a war going on.
840
00:42:41,657 --> 00:42:44,286
And so they actually had
to keep it secret.
841
00:42:44,393 --> 00:42:45,802
Maybe for the first time ever
842
00:42:45,892 --> 00:42:48,922
in this history of this race
to find and create new elements,
843
00:42:49,030 --> 00:42:51,301
Seaborg was not able
to just tell anyone he knew
844
00:42:51,399 --> 00:42:54,338
about this very exciting
new discovery.
845
00:42:54,435 --> 00:42:55,935
What had changed was
the condition of the world.
846
00:42:56,038 --> 00:42:58,207
By now, German planes
847
00:42:58,305 --> 00:43:02,273
were regularly bombing
English cities,
848
00:43:02,375 --> 00:43:04,945
Japan had entered the war,
849
00:43:05,044 --> 00:43:07,545
and there were reports
that Adolf Hitler
850
00:43:07,646 --> 00:43:10,586
had launched an effort
to create an atomic bomb.
851
00:43:10,682 --> 00:43:14,452
In response to Einstein's plea,
President Roosevelt
852
00:43:14,552 --> 00:43:17,281
had authorized
a modest research program
853
00:43:17,387 --> 00:43:19,798
into the possibility of a weapon
854
00:43:19,890 --> 00:43:22,719
fueled by the fission
of uranium-235.
855
00:43:22,825 --> 00:43:25,534
And Seaborg realized,
here is a type of material
856
00:43:25,627 --> 00:43:28,298
he'd made from scratch
in the laboratory
857
00:43:28,397 --> 00:43:30,457
that might be
an even more efficient fuel
858
00:43:30,566 --> 00:43:31,776
for that kind of weapon.
859
00:43:31,867 --> 00:43:34,096
But was it?
860
00:43:34,202 --> 00:43:37,602
Discovering plutonium
was just the first step.
861
00:43:37,705 --> 00:43:40,444
Seaborg would need to create
much more of it
862
00:43:40,540 --> 00:43:44,540
to find out if this new element
was capable of fission.
863
00:43:44,644 --> 00:43:47,284
Joining Seaborg to answer
this critical question
864
00:43:47,380 --> 00:43:50,321
was Emilio Segrè,
a Jewish physicist
865
00:43:50,416 --> 00:43:53,285
who had fled Italy
amidst rising anti-Semitism.
866
00:43:53,386 --> 00:43:56,415
I hope he's paying attention
to Mussolini.
867
00:43:56,521 --> 00:43:59,162
They placed a two-and-a-half-
pound sample of uranium
868
00:43:59,258 --> 00:44:02,897
next to the cyclotron
and bombarded it with neutrons.
869
00:44:02,994 --> 00:44:05,962
During the early work
on the discovery of plutonium,
870
00:44:06,063 --> 00:44:07,723
they were working
with very small amounts,
871
00:44:07,831 --> 00:44:10,900
so they were not concerned
about radioactivity.
872
00:44:11,000 --> 00:44:12,539
But to test
for the fissile nature,
873
00:44:12,635 --> 00:44:14,966
they had to use
much larger quantities,
874
00:44:15,071 --> 00:44:19,070
and that meant that they had to
worry about radiation exposure.
875
00:44:19,174 --> 00:44:21,714
They were not really set up
to do that kind of work,
876
00:44:21,809 --> 00:44:23,140
but they had to just improvise.
877
00:44:23,245 --> 00:44:24,414
And so they would have goggles,
878
00:44:24,512 --> 00:44:26,112
they would have
lead-lined gloves,
879
00:44:26,214 --> 00:44:28,853
and they ended up using buckets
on poles.
880
00:44:28,948 --> 00:44:30,409
On looking back on it,
my father said,
881
00:44:30,518 --> 00:44:32,127
"Gee, you know,
it really seemed primitive,"
882
00:44:32,219 --> 00:44:34,149
although they managed to do it.
883
00:44:34,254 --> 00:44:38,123
Seaborg and Segrè
separated element 93
884
00:44:38,225 --> 00:44:40,993
from the rest
of the reaction products,
885
00:44:41,093 --> 00:44:43,033
spun it to further purify
the sample,
886
00:44:43,129 --> 00:44:45,798
and then did it all over again.
887
00:44:45,895 --> 00:44:47,896
We called it a night
at 10:00 p.m.,
888
00:44:47,999 --> 00:44:50,268
but we were back
first thing in the morning
889
00:44:50,367 --> 00:44:51,968
to repeat the process--
890
00:44:52,067 --> 00:44:55,108
six cycles
over the next three days.
891
00:44:55,206 --> 00:44:58,274
It was tedious work,
but the hours flew by
892
00:44:58,375 --> 00:45:00,674
because we knew we were
on the verge of a discovery.
893
00:45:00,776 --> 00:45:05,315
The work was finally completed
in March 1941.
894
00:45:05,414 --> 00:45:06,574
The result of all these
separations
895
00:45:06,682 --> 00:45:09,251
was a very small amount
of plutonium
896
00:45:09,350 --> 00:45:11,221
that they put on a small dish.
897
00:45:11,320 --> 00:45:12,788
And they actually covered it
with Duco Cement
898
00:45:12,887 --> 00:45:14,916
so that it wouldn't go anywhere.
899
00:45:15,022 --> 00:45:17,461
They labeled it Sample A.
900
00:45:17,557 --> 00:45:19,728
Then came the moment of truth:
901
00:45:19,826 --> 00:45:22,226
was this new element fissile?
902
00:45:22,328 --> 00:45:26,298
Was it a potential source
of immense power?
903
00:45:26,400 --> 00:45:29,668
We placed Sample A in the path
of the cyclotron's neutrons...
904
00:45:31,803 --> 00:45:33,332
Okay, Joe.
905
00:45:35,839 --> 00:45:38,639
...and had our answer
almost immediately.
906
00:45:38,742 --> 00:45:43,941
The counter registered the
unmistakable kicks of fission.
907
00:45:47,517 --> 00:45:50,387
They knew immediately
what the implications were.
908
00:45:50,487 --> 00:45:53,126
There was a large portion
of uranium
909
00:45:53,222 --> 00:45:55,262
that could not be used
in a bomb.
910
00:45:55,357 --> 00:45:58,457
What plutonium offered
was a chance
911
00:45:58,560 --> 00:46:02,199
to turn all of that uranium 238
into a fissionable material.
912
00:46:02,297 --> 00:46:05,996
Seaborg figured out how to take
913
00:46:06,099 --> 00:46:07,769
this uranium 238
914
00:46:07,866 --> 00:46:10,296
and turn it into a new element,
plutonium,
915
00:46:10,403 --> 00:46:12,572
which readily fissions.
916
00:46:12,671 --> 00:46:15,282
And that meant there could be
much more material
917
00:46:15,375 --> 00:46:17,803
made for bombs,
or for use in nuclear power.
918
00:46:17,909 --> 00:46:21,679
Seaborg's discovery
soon came to the attention
919
00:46:21,779 --> 00:46:24,678
of the leaders
of the nascent American effort
920
00:46:24,781 --> 00:46:27,121
to create an atomic bomb,
921
00:46:27,218 --> 00:46:29,417
including physicist
Arthur Compton
922
00:46:29,519 --> 00:46:32,189
and Harvard president
James Bryant Conant,
923
00:46:32,288 --> 00:46:36,827
who met in late 1941
to discuss Seaborg's findings.
924
00:46:36,925 --> 00:46:39,496
That lunch where they discussed
the possibility
925
00:46:39,594 --> 00:46:43,034
of creating a bomb
was on December 6, 1941.
926
00:46:43,131 --> 00:46:45,731
Just right
on the ten yard line...
927
00:46:45,834 --> 00:46:48,673
The next day, my father was
home at the Faculty Club,
928
00:46:48,769 --> 00:46:51,468
listening to a football game
on the radio,
929
00:46:51,571 --> 00:46:54,342
when the announcer broke in.
930
00:46:54,442 --> 00:46:56,041
We interrupt this program
931
00:46:56,142 --> 00:46:57,472
to bring you
a special news bulletin.
932
00:46:57,576 --> 00:47:00,186
The Japanese have attacked
Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, by air,
933
00:47:00,278 --> 00:47:01,308
President Roosevelt
has just announced.
934
00:47:01,413 --> 00:47:02,914
The attack also...
935
00:47:03,014 --> 00:47:04,854
Our team had already
been working hard
936
00:47:04,950 --> 00:47:07,349
in anticipation of war.
937
00:47:07,452 --> 00:47:11,592
In an instant "the day
that shall live in infamy"
938
00:47:11,688 --> 00:47:15,288
made work on anything else
seem irrelevant.
939
00:47:15,391 --> 00:47:17,532
The American people,
in their righteous might,
940
00:47:17,628 --> 00:47:20,927
will win through
to absolute victory!
941
00:47:23,099 --> 00:47:24,797
With America now in the war,
942
00:47:24,899 --> 00:47:28,099
the atom bomb effort
took on a new urgency.
943
00:47:28,202 --> 00:47:30,542
The leaders of the effort
944
00:47:30,638 --> 00:47:33,438
asked Seaborg to report
to the University of Chicago,
945
00:47:33,541 --> 00:47:35,980
where he would spend
the next four years
946
00:47:36,076 --> 00:47:39,415
working on the Manhattan
Project.
947
00:47:39,512 --> 00:47:41,843
Newly married
and just 30 years old,
948
00:47:41,948 --> 00:47:44,487
he was put in charge
of a team responsible
949
00:47:44,584 --> 00:47:49,123
for separating plutonium
from other fission products.
950
00:47:49,221 --> 00:47:52,090
The responsibility
for creating the plutonium
951
00:47:52,190 --> 00:47:54,049
fell to Enrico Fermi,
952
00:47:54,158 --> 00:47:58,128
who had fled fascist Italy
after winning the Nobel Prize.
953
00:47:58,229 --> 00:48:00,298
In an abandoned squash court
954
00:48:00,398 --> 00:48:02,667
under the university
football stands,
955
00:48:02,766 --> 00:48:05,576
Fermi's team built
a nuclear reactor
956
00:48:05,669 --> 00:48:09,368
out of wood, graphite
and uranium.
957
00:48:09,472 --> 00:48:14,311
In a historic experiment
in December 1942,
958
00:48:14,411 --> 00:48:17,880
"Chicago Pile 1" went critical,
959
00:48:17,979 --> 00:48:22,319
spitting out energy and neutrons
at an ever-rising rate.
960
00:48:22,417 --> 00:48:25,317
Their first-ever nuclear reactor
was actually creating
961
00:48:25,419 --> 00:48:27,588
a self-sustaining
nuclear reaction.
962
00:48:27,686 --> 00:48:29,887
Certain nuclei
would split in two.
963
00:48:29,989 --> 00:48:32,358
That would release some neutrons
as well as energy.
964
00:48:32,458 --> 00:48:35,128
Those neutrons then collide
with other atoms.
965
00:48:35,226 --> 00:48:38,597
And then you get a cascade,
which we call a chain reaction.
966
00:48:38,697 --> 00:48:41,466
Fermi's chain reaction
967
00:48:41,566 --> 00:48:44,735
not only showed
an atomic bomb was possible,
968
00:48:44,835 --> 00:48:47,405
but also provided
a more efficient way
969
00:48:47,504 --> 00:48:51,133
to turn uranium-238
into plutonium.
970
00:48:51,239 --> 00:48:55,480
From Fermi's experiment
emerged two distinct strategies
971
00:48:55,578 --> 00:48:57,818
for making an atomic bomb.
972
00:48:57,913 --> 00:49:00,782
One would seek to concentrate
the tiny amount
973
00:49:00,882 --> 00:49:04,152
of natural uranium
that could be split.
974
00:49:04,252 --> 00:49:08,220
The other would focus
on making plutonium.
975
00:49:08,322 --> 00:49:09,952
Our challenge was to find a way
976
00:49:10,058 --> 00:49:12,826
to separate relatively small
amounts of plutonium
977
00:49:12,926 --> 00:49:16,365
from tons of material
so intensely radioactive
978
00:49:16,463 --> 00:49:18,563
that no one could come near it.
979
00:49:18,666 --> 00:49:21,574
As the magnitude
of the challenge became clear,
980
00:49:21,668 --> 00:49:24,868
Seaborg would recruit
more than a hundred chemists
981
00:49:24,971 --> 00:49:26,939
to join him in the effort.
982
00:49:27,037 --> 00:49:29,008
"No matter what you do with
the rest of your life," I said,
983
00:49:29,106 --> 00:49:34,236
"nothing will be as important
as your work on this project.
984
00:49:34,346 --> 00:49:36,854
It will change the world."
985
00:49:36,946 --> 00:49:43,185
In 1943, banking on the process
Seaborg's team had developed,
986
00:49:43,285 --> 00:49:45,485
the U.S. government
began building
987
00:49:45,588 --> 00:49:49,589
a huge separation plant
in Hanford, Washington.
988
00:49:49,692 --> 00:49:52,601
Here, in buildings as long
as three football fields,
989
00:49:52,694 --> 00:49:55,693
plutonium would be made
by remote control.
990
00:49:55,796 --> 00:49:57,727
When my father got out there,
991
00:49:57,832 --> 00:50:00,601
he was just awestruck,
and he couldn't believe
992
00:50:00,701 --> 00:50:02,511
that this element
that he had discovered
993
00:50:02,602 --> 00:50:04,532
would result in these
huge plants being built.
994
00:50:04,638 --> 00:50:05,878
From Hanford
995
00:50:05,972 --> 00:50:07,931
came the pounds of plutonium
that were needed for a bomb.
996
00:50:11,308 --> 00:50:14,450
On July 16, 1945,
997
00:50:14,546 --> 00:50:18,116
at a desert site near
Alamogordo, New Mexico,
998
00:50:18,215 --> 00:50:21,356
scientists
from nearby Los Alamos
999
00:50:21,453 --> 00:50:24,652
conducted the first test
of an atomic bomb
1000
00:50:24,755 --> 00:50:29,764
with a weapon made
from plutonium.
1001
00:50:34,962 --> 00:50:38,502
A blinding flash of light
and a deafening explosion
1002
00:50:38,600 --> 00:50:43,298
signaled the beginning
of the nuclear age.
1003
00:50:43,403 --> 00:50:46,873
Just three weeks later,
an American bomber
1004
00:50:46,973 --> 00:50:49,913
dropped a uranium bomb
on the city of Hiroshima,
1005
00:50:50,009 --> 00:50:53,849
killing 100,000 Japanese.
1006
00:50:53,947 --> 00:50:56,746
Three days after that,
1007
00:50:56,849 --> 00:51:01,189
a plutonium bomb destroyed
the city of Nagasaki,
1008
00:51:01,286 --> 00:51:06,524
finally bringing the war
to an end.
1009
00:51:10,894 --> 00:51:14,123
Only then could Seaborg
reveal the discovery
1010
00:51:14,230 --> 00:51:18,100
that had made this bomb
possible.
1011
00:51:18,201 --> 00:51:22,338
For their discovery of the first
two elements beyond uranium,
1012
00:51:22,437 --> 00:51:25,578
Ed McMillan and Glenn Seaborg
1013
00:51:25,674 --> 00:51:29,574
won the Nobel Prize
in Chemistry.
1014
00:51:29,677 --> 00:51:33,447
But Seaborg wasn't content
to rest on his laurels.
1015
00:51:33,547 --> 00:51:36,217
Seaborg had the ambition
to create more new elements,
1016
00:51:36,315 --> 00:51:38,785
to go beyond element 94,
beyond plutonium.
1017
00:51:38,884 --> 00:51:42,624
So even before the war ended,
he and his Chicago team
1018
00:51:42,721 --> 00:51:47,060
had resumed the hunt
for new elements.
1019
00:51:47,158 --> 00:51:49,628
Thank you, Bob Murphy,
and good evening, everyone...
1020
00:51:49,728 --> 00:51:50,987
Late in 1945,
1021
00:51:51,095 --> 00:51:54,104
my father was on a radio program
called "Quiz Kids."
1022
00:51:54,198 --> 00:51:57,298
A most distinguished scientist,
Glenn T. Seaborg.
1023
00:51:57,401 --> 00:52:00,600
And one of the kids asked him,
as kids do,
1024
00:52:00,704 --> 00:52:02,543
"Have you found any
new elements lately?"
1025
00:52:02,638 --> 00:52:04,169
Well yes, Dick.
1026
00:52:04,273 --> 00:52:07,512
Recently, there have been
two new elements discovered--
1027
00:52:07,610 --> 00:52:11,109
elements with atomic number 95
and 96.
1028
00:52:11,212 --> 00:52:14,422
And that's how the world came to
know about americium and curium.
1029
00:52:14,516 --> 00:52:17,515
Back at Berkeley after the war,
1030
00:52:17,619 --> 00:52:20,558
Seaborg and his team
continued their quest,
1031
00:52:20,655 --> 00:52:23,153
bombarding heavy elements
with smaller ones
1032
00:52:23,255 --> 00:52:27,255
in hopes they would fuse to form
a brand new type of matter.
1033
00:52:27,359 --> 00:52:31,699
They created five new elements
in the next ten years,
1034
00:52:31,796 --> 00:52:36,636
including berkelium
and californium,
1035
00:52:36,736 --> 00:52:41,035
and rearranged the periodic
table in the process.
1036
00:52:41,138 --> 00:52:45,048
Since Seaborg and McMillan
first ventured beyond uranium,
1037
00:52:45,142 --> 00:52:48,471
more than 25 new entries
have been added to the table,
1038
00:52:48,578 --> 00:52:52,808
including elements named
for Lawrence, Mendeleev,
1039
00:52:52,915 --> 00:52:59,053
Fermi, Einstein, Curie,
Rutherford, and Seaborg himself.
1040
00:53:04,792 --> 00:53:07,291
Around the world today,
1041
00:53:07,393 --> 00:53:09,464
others continue to hunt
for new elements
1042
00:53:09,564 --> 00:53:13,003
using techniques like those
Seaborg pioneered.
1043
00:53:13,099 --> 00:53:16,868
So far, there are 118
known elements,
1044
00:53:16,970 --> 00:53:20,239
each with its own distinct
personality.
1045
00:53:20,337 --> 00:53:24,038
And yet all these elements,
and any new ones we might find,
1046
00:53:24,142 --> 00:53:29,120
are made up of just a few things
in combination--
1047
00:53:29,213 --> 00:53:32,442
not air, water, earth and fire,
as the ancient Greeks believed,
1048
00:53:32,549 --> 00:53:37,588
but protons, neutrons
and electrons.
1049
00:53:37,687 --> 00:53:39,787
Amazingly, all of matter--
1050
00:53:39,889 --> 00:53:43,758
planets and stars,
plants and animals, you and me--
1051
00:53:43,859 --> 00:53:46,898
it's all made of just
these three basic parts--
1052
00:53:46,994 --> 00:53:50,064
protons, neutrons
and electrons--
1053
00:53:50,163 --> 00:53:51,733
mixed in different ratios.
1054
00:53:51,832 --> 00:53:54,661
We know all of this because
of a long chain of people
1055
00:53:54,767 --> 00:53:58,678
who've struggled to answer
the simple question,
1056
00:53:58,771 --> 00:54:00,871
"What is the world made of?"
1057
00:54:00,974 --> 00:54:03,543
We're surrounded by matter.
1058
00:54:03,643 --> 00:54:05,782
It's everything that we see
and interact with.
1059
00:54:05,877 --> 00:54:08,907
And yet at the time
this quest began,
1060
00:54:09,014 --> 00:54:10,983
nobody understood
what it was made of.
1061
00:54:11,081 --> 00:54:13,681
Nobody understood anything
about it.
1062
00:54:13,783 --> 00:54:15,624
Just making one tiny step
1063
00:54:15,720 --> 00:54:17,649
in the understanding
of the natural world
1064
00:54:17,754 --> 00:54:19,925
sometimes takes generations.
1065
00:54:20,024 --> 00:54:23,093
There is no guide book
to tell us how to do this.
1066
00:54:23,192 --> 00:54:24,762
We have to figure it out.
1067
00:54:24,860 --> 00:54:27,631
Nature is wonderful and
mysterious, and it is hidden.
1068
00:54:27,730 --> 00:54:30,769
But if you apply
the tools of science,
1069
00:54:30,866 --> 00:54:34,265
you can make it reveal
its secrets.
1070
00:54:36,370 --> 00:54:39,939
It's taken centuries
just to identify the elements,
1071
00:54:40,041 --> 00:54:42,149
with each generation
of scientists
1072
00:54:42,241 --> 00:54:44,542
building on the work of those
who came before.
1073
00:54:44,646 --> 00:54:46,444
But this is just the first step.
1074
00:54:46,546 --> 00:54:48,946
Still to be answered
are myriad questions
1075
00:54:49,048 --> 00:54:51,288
about how these building blocks
fit together
1076
00:54:51,383 --> 00:54:55,013
to make the infinite variety
of substances in nature,
1077
00:54:55,119 --> 00:54:57,688
and how we can combine them
in novel ways
1078
00:54:57,788 --> 00:55:01,698
to make fantastic new materials
nature never imagined.
1079
00:55:01,792 --> 00:55:04,492
Answering those questions
will take the efforts
1080
00:55:04,594 --> 00:55:06,094
of many more
scientific detectives
1081
00:55:06,195 --> 00:55:08,236
like the ones we've met.
1082
00:55:08,331 --> 00:55:11,100
As much as we've learned
in the search for the elements,
1083
00:55:11,200 --> 00:55:14,829
we've only begun to solve
the mystery of matter.
87887
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