Boyce McDaniel
Encyclopedia
Boyce Dawkins McDaniel was an American nuclear physicist who worked on the Manhattan Project
and later directed the Cornell University
Laboratory of Nuclear Studies (LNS). McDaniel was skilled in constructing "atom smashing" devices to study the fundamental structure of matter and helped to build the most powerful particle accelerator
s of his time. Together with his graduate student, he invented the pair spectrometer.
During World War II, McDaniel used his electronics expertise to help develop cyclotrons used to separate Uranium isotopes. McDaniel is also noted as having performed the final check on the first atomic bomb prior to its detonation in the Trinity test.
, McDaniel attended Chesterville High School in Ohio
. After graduating in 1933, he attended Ohio Wesleyan University
, from which he graduated in 1938 with a Bachelor of Science. His initial postgraduate studies took place at the Case School of Applied Science
, graduating with a Masters degree in 1940. McDaniel continued postgraduate studies when he moved to Cornell University
, and in 1943 he completed his doctoral thesis, examining the absorption rates of neutrons in indium
. The research was not classified, but McDaniel and Robert Bacher
, his adviser at Cornell, marked it as "secret" on their own initiative. From Cornell, McDaniel moved to MIT where he held a postdoctoral position, studying "the rapidly evolving field of fast electronics", which he applied to research in particle physics
.
After the outbreak of World War II
, McDaniel joined Bacher in Los Alamos, New Mexico
to work for the Manhattan Project
, where he became a part of Robert R. Wilson
's cyclotron
research team. McDaniel was to have "a crucial role in helping to identify the amount of uranium-235 needed to ... detonate the world's first nuclear bomb". McDaniel is also noted as having performed the final check on the first atomic bomb prior to its detonation in the Trinity test
.
McDaniel was one of many Manhanttan Project researches to join the Cornell faculty after the war. He became an assistant professor in 1946 and became a full professor in 1955. With his Ph.D. student Robert Walker, he invented the pair spectrometer, a device that measures gamma ray
energies. He was a co-founder of Cornell's Laboratory for Nuclear Studies (LNS) and had a helped create the 300 megavolt (MeV) electron synchrotron
, one of the first such accelerators in the world. He and Wilson, who was McDaniel's predecessor as director of LNS, built three more electron synchrotrons of 1 GeV
, 2 GeV, and 10 GeV, each of which enabled physicists to study phenomena in a new energy range. McDaniel quickly earned a reputation as a hands-on designer as indicated by this episode in the construction of the 300 MeV synchrotron:
He was a Fulbright research fellow in 1953 at the Australian National University
and a Guggenheim fellow in 1959 at the University of Rome.
In 1967, McDaniel became director of LNS and served until he retired from the Cornell faculty in 1985. He research included important measurements with each of the series of LNS accelerators, including studies lambda-meson photo production, K-meson production, and measurements of the neutron electromagnetic form factors.
Wilson and McDaniel continued to collaborate at Cornell until Wilson left to head Fermilab
in Batavia, Illinois
in 1967. In 1972, Wilson invited McDaniel to serve as acting head of the accelerator section at Fermilab, and McDanield took a one year leave of absence from Cornell. Though the Fermilab accelerator had been placed into operation, it suffered from frequent component failures. When McDaniels left eight months later, he led the effort which increased the power of Fermilab's accelerator from 20 GeV to 300 GeV and its beam density by a factor of 1000. Of McDaniel's contribution to Fermilab, Wilson said, "This bravura performance demonstrated Mac’s skill for leadership as well as his celebrated sixth sense for finding sources of trouble and fixing them.” Upon returning to Cornell in 1974, McDaniel proposed upgrading the then existing 10 GeV synchrotron with an 8 GeV electron-positron storage ring, which would greatly increase the energy of particle collisons when the particles in the storage ring hit the particles traveling in the opposite direction in the synchrotron. When constructed in 1979, the Cornell Electron Storage Ring
became the world's primary source of information about one of the fundamental building blocks of matter, the b-quark. After the end of particle physics experiments 20 years later, CESR is now used as a test facility of damping rings for a future international linear collider
. In 1981, McDaniel developed a proposal for a new mile-diameter electron-positron collider called CSER II, but could not obtain the necessary $200 million in funding for it. In 1988, McDaniel was Visiting Distinguished Professor at Arizona State University
.
When interviewed in 1973 about his feelings on his work resulting in the dropping of atomic bombs on Japanese cities, McDaniel said:
in 1981. He was a governing board member of Fermilab, a trustee of the Associated Universities, a member of the Department of Energy High Energy Advisory Panel, a trustee of the Universities Research Association and a board member of Brookhaven National Laboratory
.
In 1993, the McDaniels donated a farm to the Cornell Plantations
, which named the 60.6 acre property the Jane McDaniel Preserve.
McDaniel died of a heart attack in Ithaca, New York at the age 84.
Manhattan Project
The Manhattan Project was a research and development program, led by the United States with participation from the United Kingdom and Canada, that produced the first atomic bomb during World War II. From 1942 to 1946, the project was under the direction of Major General Leslie Groves of the US Army...
and later directed the Cornell University
Cornell University
Cornell University is an Ivy League university located in Ithaca, New York, United States. It is a private land-grant university, receiving annual funding from the State of New York for certain educational missions...
Laboratory of Nuclear Studies (LNS). McDaniel was skilled in constructing "atom smashing" devices to study the fundamental structure of matter and helped to build the most powerful particle accelerator
Particle accelerator
A particle accelerator is a device that uses electromagnetic fields to propel charged particles to high speeds and to contain them in well-defined beams. An ordinary CRT television set is a simple form of accelerator. There are two basic types: electrostatic and oscillating field accelerators.In...
s of his time. Together with his graduate student, he invented the pair spectrometer.
During World War II, McDaniel used his electronics expertise to help develop cyclotrons used to separate Uranium isotopes. McDaniel is also noted as having performed the final check on the first atomic bomb prior to its detonation in the Trinity test.
Biography
Born in Brevard, North CarolinaBrevard, North Carolina
Brevard is a town in Transylvania County, North Carolina, United States. The 2005 population estimate by the United States Census Bureau was 6,643. It is the county seat of Transylvania County....
, McDaniel attended Chesterville High School in Ohio
Ohio
Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...
. After graduating in 1933, he attended Ohio Wesleyan University
Ohio Wesleyan University
Ohio Wesleyan University is a private liberal arts college in Delaware, Ohio, United States. It was founded in 1842 by Methodist leaders and Central Ohio residents as a nonsectarian institution, and is a member of the Ohio Five — a consortium of Ohio liberal arts colleges...
, from which he graduated in 1938 with a Bachelor of Science. His initial postgraduate studies took place at the Case School of Applied Science
Case Western Reserve University
Case Western Reserve University is a private research university located in Cleveland, Ohio, USA...
, graduating with a Masters degree in 1940. McDaniel continued postgraduate studies when he moved to Cornell University
Cornell University
Cornell University is an Ivy League university located in Ithaca, New York, United States. It is a private land-grant university, receiving annual funding from the State of New York for certain educational missions...
, and in 1943 he completed his doctoral thesis, examining the absorption rates of neutrons in indium
Indium
Indium is a chemical element with the symbol In and atomic number 49. This rare, very soft, malleable and easily fusible post-transition metal is chemically similar to gallium and thallium, and shows the intermediate properties between these two...
. The research was not classified, but McDaniel and Robert Bacher
Robert Bacher
Robert Fox Bacher was an American nuclear physicist and one of the leaders of the Manhattan Project.-Early life and career:...
, his adviser at Cornell, marked it as "secret" on their own initiative. From Cornell, McDaniel moved to MIT where he held a postdoctoral position, studying "the rapidly evolving field of fast electronics", which he applied to research in particle physics
Particle physics
Particle physics is a branch of physics that studies the existence and interactions of particles that are the constituents of what is usually referred to as matter or radiation. In current understanding, particles are excitations of quantum fields and interact following their dynamics...
.
After the outbreak of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, McDaniel joined Bacher in Los Alamos, New Mexico
Los Alamos, New Mexico
Los Alamos is a townsite and census-designated place in Los Alamos County, New Mexico, United States, built upon four mesas of the Pajarito Plateau and the adjoining White Rock Canyon. The population of the CDP was 12,019 at the 2010 Census. The townsite or "the hill" is one part of town while...
to work for the Manhattan Project
Manhattan Project
The Manhattan Project was a research and development program, led by the United States with participation from the United Kingdom and Canada, that produced the first atomic bomb during World War II. From 1942 to 1946, the project was under the direction of Major General Leslie Groves of the US Army...
, where he became a part of Robert R. Wilson
Robert R. Wilson
Robert Rathbun Wilson was an American physicist who was a group leader of the Manhattan Project, a sculptor, and an architect of Fermi National Laboratory , where he was also the director from 1967–1978....
's cyclotron
Cyclotron
In technology, a cyclotron is a type of particle accelerator. In physics, the cyclotron frequency or gyrofrequency is the frequency of a charged particle moving perpendicularly to the direction of a uniform magnetic field, i.e. a magnetic field of constant magnitude and direction...
research team. McDaniel was to have "a crucial role in helping to identify the amount of uranium-235 needed to ... detonate the world's first nuclear bomb". McDaniel is also noted as having performed the final check on the first atomic bomb prior to its detonation in the Trinity test
Trinity test
Trinity was the code name of the first test of a nuclear weapon. This test was conducted by the United States Army on July 16, 1945, in the Jornada del Muerto desert about 35 miles southeast of Socorro, New Mexico, at the new White Sands Proving Ground, which incorporated the Alamogordo Bombing...
.
McDaniel was one of many Manhanttan Project researches to join the Cornell faculty after the war. He became an assistant professor in 1946 and became a full professor in 1955. With his Ph.D. student Robert Walker, he invented the pair spectrometer, a device that measures gamma ray
Gamma ray
Gamma radiation, also known as gamma rays or hyphenated as gamma-rays and denoted as γ, is electromagnetic radiation of high frequency . Gamma rays are usually naturally produced on Earth by decay of high energy states in atomic nuclei...
energies. He was a co-founder of Cornell's Laboratory for Nuclear Studies (LNS) and had a helped create the 300 megavolt (MeV) electron synchrotron
Synchrotron
A synchrotron is a particular type of cyclic particle accelerator in which the magnetic field and the electric field are carefully synchronised with the travelling particle beam. The proton synchrotron was originally conceived by Sir Marcus Oliphant...
, one of the first such accelerators in the world. He and Wilson, who was McDaniel's predecessor as director of LNS, built three more electron synchrotrons of 1 GeV
GEV
GEV or GeV may stand for:*GeV or gigaelectronvolt, a unit of energy equal to billion electron volts*GEV or Grid Enabled Vehicle that is fully or partially powered by the electric grid, see plug-in electric vehicle...
, 2 GeV, and 10 GeV, each of which enabled physicists to study phenomena in a new energy range. McDaniel quickly earned a reputation as a hands-on designer as indicated by this episode in the construction of the 300 MeV synchrotron:
The magnet coil was wound incorrectly, a fatal flaw. To get it repaired by the manufacturer could take months. Mac made a toy model of the coil, studied it carefully for an evening, and discovered an ingenious but simple way to repair it, which he did in about a day, and defused the crisis.
He was a Fulbright research fellow in 1953 at the Australian National University
Australian National University
The Australian National University is a teaching and research university located in the Australian capital, Canberra.As of 2009, the ANU employs 3,945 administrative staff who teach approximately 10,000 undergraduates, and 7,500 postgraduate students...
and a Guggenheim fellow in 1959 at the University of Rome.
In 1967, McDaniel became director of LNS and served until he retired from the Cornell faculty in 1985. He research included important measurements with each of the series of LNS accelerators, including studies lambda-meson photo production, K-meson production, and measurements of the neutron electromagnetic form factors.
| Power | Year |
|---|---|
| 300 MeV Cornell | 1947 |
| 1 GeV Cornell | 1957 |
| 2 GeV Cornell | 1964 |
| 10 GeV Cornell | 1967 |
| 12 GeV (effective) CESR | 1979 |
| 300 GeV FermiLab | 1973 |
Fermilab
Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory , located just outside Batavia, Illinois, near Chicago, is a US Department of Energy national laboratory specializing in high-energy particle physics...
in Batavia, Illinois
Batavia, Illinois
Batavia was founded in 1833, and is the oldest city in Kane County, Illinois, with a small portion in DuPage County. During the Industrial Revolution, Batavia became known as ‘The Windmill City’ for being the largest windmill producer of the time...
in 1967. In 1972, Wilson invited McDaniel to serve as acting head of the accelerator section at Fermilab, and McDanield took a one year leave of absence from Cornell. Though the Fermilab accelerator had been placed into operation, it suffered from frequent component failures. When McDaniels left eight months later, he led the effort which increased the power of Fermilab's accelerator from 20 GeV to 300 GeV and its beam density by a factor of 1000. Of McDaniel's contribution to Fermilab, Wilson said, "This bravura performance demonstrated Mac’s skill for leadership as well as his celebrated sixth sense for finding sources of trouble and fixing them.” Upon returning to Cornell in 1974, McDaniel proposed upgrading the then existing 10 GeV synchrotron with an 8 GeV electron-positron storage ring, which would greatly increase the energy of particle collisons when the particles in the storage ring hit the particles traveling in the opposite direction in the synchrotron. When constructed in 1979, the Cornell Electron Storage Ring
Cornell Electron Storage Ring
The Cornell Electron Storage Ring is an electron-positron collider at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York, United States. The CLEO and CUSB particle detectors collected data at CESR, and the CHESS facility used the synchrotron radiation to perform a variety of studies.CESR was built in the...
became the world's primary source of information about one of the fundamental building blocks of matter, the b-quark. After the end of particle physics experiments 20 years later, CESR is now used as a test facility of damping rings for a future international linear collider
International Linear Collider
The International Linear Collider is a proposed linear particle accelerator. It is planned to have a collision energy of 500 GeV initially, and, if approved after the project has published its Technical Design Report, planned for 2012, could be completed in the late 2010s. A later upgrade to 1000...
. In 1981, McDaniel developed a proposal for a new mile-diameter electron-positron collider called CSER II, but could not obtain the necessary $200 million in funding for it. In 1988, McDaniel was Visiting Distinguished Professor at Arizona State University
Arizona State University
Arizona State University is a public research university located in the Phoenix Metropolitan Area of the State of Arizona...
.
It's so difficult to assess these things today. I would have preferred to see a demonstration and am rather sad that it didn't work out that way ... but I don't know if it would have worked out as a useful venture. I have no idea what the Japanese would have done.
Honors
McDaniel was elected to the National Academy of SciencesUnited States National Academy of Sciences
The National Academy of Sciences is a corporation in the United States whose members serve pro bono as "advisers to the nation on science, engineering, and medicine." As a national academy, new members of the organization are elected annually by current members, based on their distinguished and...
in 1981. He was a governing board member of Fermilab, a trustee of the Associated Universities, a member of the Department of Energy High Energy Advisory Panel, a trustee of the Universities Research Association and a board member of Brookhaven National Laboratory
Brookhaven National Laboratory
Brookhaven National Laboratory , is a United States national laboratory located in Upton, New York on Long Island, and was formally established in 1947 at the site of Camp Upton, a former U.S. Army base...
.
In 1993, the McDaniels donated a farm to the Cornell Plantations
Cornell Plantations
The Cornell Plantations are botanical gardens located adjacent to the Cornell University campus in Ithaca, New York. The Plantations proper consist of of botanical gardens and of the F.R. Newman Arboretum...
, which named the 60.6 acre property the Jane McDaniel Preserve.
McDaniel died of a heart attack in Ithaca, New York at the age 84.