The Atomic Secret of Huemul Island: A history of the origins of atomic energy in Argentina

ISBN: 1545569940

Author: Mariscotti, Mario A. J.

Condition: New

In 1948, Austrian physicist Ronald Richter promised President Perón to develop atomic energy based on the fusion process. In March 1951 Perón announced that "controlled thermonuclear reactions at a technical scale" had been achieved. Understandably this announcement shocked the world as no other country had attained such a feat up to that time (not even now). The Project, carried out in a remote island in the Patagonia, came to an end in November 1952 after a committee of reputable Argentine scientists were allowed to visit the facilities and found that there was no evidence to support such a claim.Until the publication of this book, what actually happened in Huemul Island that led the Government to make such a sensational announcement remained unknown. How Richter was able to convince Perón and other close Government officials that he was in possession of a secret unknown to the rest of the world scientific community? What led Richter to think that he had reached success in early 1951? How the US Atomic Energy Commission reacted to Peróns atomic announcement? What was the nature of Richters ideas and experiments? What was Richters background? With the indispensable knowledge of nuclear physics, the author gathered documents from innumerable sources all over the world including the US State Department that declassified material for him. Also he obtained valuable testimonies from most of the protagonists of this story such as Richter himself. All this material was the base of a captivating and true account of the bizarre origins of the atomic energy activity in Argentina. Most of the reference material on which the historical research undertaken for this book is based, such as illuminating personal letters between Perón, Richter and close assistants are published for the first time. The history of the origins of atomic energy in Argentina starts before the Huemul Project and it goes well beyond it. Already in 1947 the international press denounced the invitation to Professor Werner Heisenberg (one of the founders of Quantum Mechanics and discoverer of the Uncertainty Principle) to come to Argentina, as an attempt of Peróns Government to fabricate the atomic bomb. The research undertook by the author includes this pre-Huemul story as well as a description of how the failed adventure of Huemul Island eventually led to the development of a strong and successful activity in atomic energy, pioneer in Latin America.This book magnificently blends the rigor of the scientific method with the amenity of a fascinated story told in journalistic style. It succeeds in conveying to the non-specialists an important part of Argentine history, offering at the same time valuable elements for the endless debate on the destiny of nuclear research in a developing country.