The Man in the Cyclotron Magnet Turns 100

[beamjockey]

Today marks 100 years since the birth of Robert Alden Cornog (1912-1998), physicist and engineer.

With Luis Alvarez, he discovered that tritium (the hydrogen-3 nucleus) is radioactive, and that helium-3 occurs in nature. He was an early recruit to the Manhattan Project, working with Robert R. Wilson and Richard Feynman on isotope separation at Princeton, then packing up and moving to Los Alamos for the duration of World War II.

Cornog eventually worked in the emerging aerospace industry of 1950s California. When the U.S. made its first attempt to launch a rocket to the Moon, Cornog was involved. Later he specialized in high-vacuum systems.

Here's a 1992 video interview with Bob Cornog:

Some years ago, I wrote an article about Cornog and his close friendship with Robert Heinlein, for Eric Picholle's book on Heinlein and nuclear weapons. If you'd like to see this chapter, let me know and I'll send you a PDF.

Happy 100th, Dr. Cornog.