Elizabeth Riddle Graves
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Elizabeth Riddle Graves (23 January 1916 – 6 January 1972) was an American nuclear physicist who pioneered the physics of
neutron The neutron is a subatomic particle, symbol or , that has no electric charge, and a mass slightly greater than that of a proton. The Discovery of the neutron, neutron was discovered by James Chadwick in 1932, leading to the discovery of nucle ...
s and the detection and measurement of fast neutrons. She served at the
Manhattan Project The Manhattan Project was a research and development program undertaken during World War II to produce the first nuclear weapons. It was led by the United States in collaboration with the United Kingdom and Canada. From 1942 to 1946, the ...
's
Metallurgical Laboratory The Metallurgical Laboratory (or Met Lab) was a scientific laboratory from 1942 to 1946 at the University of Chicago. It was established in February 1942 and became the Argonne National Laboratory in July 1946. The laboratory was established i ...
and the
Los Alamos Laboratory The Los Alamos Laboratory, also known as Project Y, was a secret scientific laboratory established by the Manhattan Project and overseen by the University of California during World War II. It was operated in partnership with the United State ...
during
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
. After the war, she became a group leader in the experimental physics division at Los Alamos.


Life and education

Elizabeth Riddle was born in
Nashville, Tennessee Nashville, often known as Music City, is the capital and List of municipalities in Tennessee, most populous city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County in Middle Tennessee, locat ...
, on 23 January 1916 to James Marion Riddle from
South Carolina South Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders North Carolina to the north and northeast, the Atlantic Ocean to the southeast, and Georgia (U.S. state), Georg ...
and Georgia Clymetra Boykin from
Arkansas Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the West South Central region of the Southern United States. It borders Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, Texas to the southwest, and Oklahoma ...
. She had two brothers, James Marion Riddle Jr. and John Burwell Boykin Riddle. Around 1921, the Riddle family moved to Chicago, Illinois. Graves entered the
University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, or UChi) is a Private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Its main campus is in the Hyde Park, Chicago, Hyde Park neighborhood on Chicago's South Side, Chic ...
, where she was known as "Diz". She earned her
Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, B.S., B.Sc., SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree that is awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Scienc ...
degree in
physics Physics is the scientific study of matter, its Elementary particle, fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior through space and time, and the related entities of energy and force. "Physical science is that department of knowledge whi ...
in 1936, and developed a keen interest in the physics of
neutrons The neutron is a subatomic particle, symbol or , that has no electric charge, and a mass slightly greater than that of a proton. The neutron was discovered by James Chadwick in 1932, leading to the discovery of nuclear fission in 1938, the f ...
, particularly the detection and measurement of
fast neutrons The neutron detection temperature, also called the neutron energy, indicates a free neutron's kinetic energy, usually given in electron volts. The term ''temperature'' is used, since hot, thermal and cold neutrons are moderated in a medium with ...
. While there, she met and married Alvin C. Graves, a fellow physics major. In 1939, Alvin took a position at the
University of Texas The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public research university in Austin, Texas, United States. Founded in 1883, it is the flagship institution of the University of Texas System. With 53,082 students as of fall 2 ...
, but Elizabeth was unable to secure a job there as well due to its anti-
nepotism Nepotism is the act of granting an In-group favoritism, advantage, privilege, or position to Kinship, relatives in an occupation or field. These fields can include business, politics, academia, entertainment, sports, religion or health care. In ...
rules, which tended to discriminate against women. Graves earned her
PhD A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of graduate study and original research. The name of the deg ...
at the University of Chicago in 1940, writing her thesis on the "Energy Released from Be 9 (d, α) Li 7 and the Production of Li 7" under the supervision of Samuel K. Allison.


Manhattan Project

In 1942, Graves joined the
Manhattan Project The Manhattan Project was a research and development program undertaken during World War II to produce the first nuclear weapons. It was led by the United States in collaboration with the United Kingdom and Canada. From 1942 to 1946, the ...
's
Metallurgical Laboratory The Metallurgical Laboratory (or Met Lab) was a scientific laboratory from 1942 to 1946 at the University of Chicago. It was established in February 1942 and became the Argonne National Laboratory in July 1946. The laboratory was established i ...
, working with
Enrico Fermi Enrico Fermi (; 29 September 1901 – 28 November 1954) was an Italian and naturalized American physicist, renowned for being the creator of the world's first artificial nuclear reactor, the Chicago Pile-1, and a member of the Manhattan Project ...
on the calculations involved in determining the feasibility of a
nuclear chain reaction In nuclear physics, a nuclear chain reaction occurs when one single nuclear reaction causes an average of one or more subsequent nuclear reactions, thus leading to the possibility of a self-propagating series or "positive feedback loop" of thes ...
, which eventually led to the development of
Chicago Pile-1 Chicago Pile-1 (CP-1) was the first artificial nuclear reactor. On 2 December 1942, the first human-made self-sustaining nuclear chain reaction was initiated in CP-1 during an experiment led by Enrico Fermi. The secret development of the react ...
, the world's first nuclear reactor. In 1943, Elizabeth Graves joined the Manhattan Project's
Los Alamos Laboratory The Los Alamos Laboratory, also known as Project Y, was a secret scientific laboratory established by the Manhattan Project and overseen by the University of California during World War II. It was operated in partnership with the United State ...
in
New Mexico New Mexico is a state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States. It is one of the Mountain States of the southern Rocky Mountains, sharing the Four Corners region with Utah, Colorado, and Arizona. It also ...
. Alvin Graves, who was recruited first, insisted that Elizabeth be allowed to work at Los Alamos as a condition of his participation in the project. According to Howes and Herzenberg in 2003, even if Alvin had not insisted, Elizabeth "probably would have been recruited anyway". She was one of the few scientists who knew about fast neutron scattering, which was crucial to
nuclear weapon design Nuclear weapons design are physical, chemical, and engineering arrangements that cause the physics package of a nuclear weapon to detonate. There are three existing basic design types: # Pure fission weapons are the simplest, least technically de ...
, and who knew how to operate the Cockcroft–Walton accelerator that had been brought from the
University of Illinois The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC, U of I, Illinois, or University of Illinois) is a public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Champaign–Urbana metropolitan area, Illinois, United ...
. Employed as a "scientist", which was a high-ranking role in the project as compared to "associate scientist" or "junior scientist", Graves worked as a member of R-division. She contributed greatly to the Project, including measuring cross-sections pertaining to
nuclear reaction In nuclear physics and nuclear chemistry, a nuclear reaction is a process in which two atomic nucleus, nuclei, or a nucleus and an external subatomic particle, collide to produce one or more new nuclides. Thus, a nuclear reaction must cause a t ...
s, measuring neutron multiplication effects in
uranium Uranium is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol, symbol U and atomic number 92. It is a silvery-grey metal in the actinide series of the periodic table. A uranium atom has 92 protons and 92 electrons, of which 6 are valence electrons. Ura ...
metal, and investigating the different neutron scattering properties of tamper materials considered for use in atomic weapons. She worked on selecting a neutron reflector to "surround the core of the atomic bomb". At the time of the Trinity nuclear test in 1945, Graves was seven months pregnant with her first child. The Graves family therefore requested that they be assigned to a post far from the blast. They listened to Allison's countdown to the explosion on the radio, and using
Geiger counter A Geiger counter (, ; also known as a Geiger–Müller counter or G-M counter) is an electronic instrument for detecting and measuring ionizing radiation with the use of a Geiger–Müller tube. It is widely used in applications such as radiat ...
s, they monitored the test's
radioactive fallout Nuclear fallout is residual radioactive material that is created by the reactions producing a nuclear explosion. It is initially present in the radioactive cloud created by the explosion, and "falls out" of the cloud as it is moved by the a ...
, which took until the afternoon to reach them. Graves finished an experiment while in labor, timing her contractions with a stopwatch. The child was a healthy daughter, Marilyn Edith. Elizabeth and Alvin had two more children, Alvin Palmer and Elizabeth Anne.


Post-war

Elizabeth and Alvin Graves remained at Los Alamos after the war. On 21 May 1946, Alvin was in the room with seven other men when Canadian physicist Louis Slotin accidentally slipped and filled the room with a "blue ionization glow" during a demonstration of what became known as the
demon core The demon core was a sphere of plutonium that was involved in two fatal radiation accidents when scientists tested it as a fissile core of an early atomic bomb. It was manufactured in 1945 by the Manhattan Project, the U.S. nuclear weapon deve ...
. Slotin knew he had absorbed a fatal dose of radiation, and Alvin Graves was standing the closest to Slotin when the incident occurred. Louis Slotin asked Elizabeth Graves to calculate whether or not a human could survive that dosage of radiation, referring to her husband, without telling her about the accident. Elizabeth was a self-proclaimed stoic, but "she froze when she learned who the subject of her calculation was". Alvin developed acute radiation sickness and was hospitalized for several weeks. He survived but had chronic neurological and vision problems. In 1950, Graves became a group leader in the experimental physics division at Los Alamos, and researched neutron interactions with matter and material. Graves died of cancer at age 55 on 6 January 1972, at Bataan Memorial Hospital in
Albuquerque, New Mexico Albuquerque ( ; ), also known as ABQ, Burque, the Duke City, and in the past 'the Q', is the List of municipalities in New Mexico, most populous city in the U.S. state of New Mexico, and the county seat of Bernalillo County, New Mexico, Bernal ...
. She was buried at Guaje Pines Cemetery, Los Alamos, Los Alamos County, New Mexico. Alvin had died in 1965 of a heart attack.


Personality

Colleagues described her as a "very" hard worker and someone who was "very good at her job". Graves was a self-proclaimed
Stoic Stoic may refer to: * An adherent of Stoicism Stoicism is a school of Hellenistic philosophy that flourished in ancient Greece and Rome. The Stoics believed that the universe operated according to reason, ''i.e.'' by a God which is immersed i ...
, and reportedly once described the atomic bombing of Hiroshima as being no worse than (an attack by)
napalm Napalm is an incendiary mixture of a gelling agent and a volatile petrochemical (usually gasoline or diesel fuel). The name is a portmanteau of two of the constituents of the original thickening and gelling agents: coprecipitated aluminium ...
. Despite having what was described as a conventional outlook, she was an independent thinker and was able to assert her point of view when she thought it necessary. Graves was said to have a sense of humor. One story told by her colleagues was that she once had a bet with them that she could persuade a "very proper" European physicist to go through a door before her (as was customary for males to allow a woman through a door before them). She won the bet by telling the man that she had ripped her dress and "that
modesty Modesty, sometimes known as demureness, is a mode of dress and deportment which intends to avoid the encouraging of sexual attraction in others. The word ''modesty'' comes from the Latin word ''wikt:modestus, modestus'' which means 'keeping with ...
dictated that he go first".


Select publications


Patents

*Low voltage 14 MeV neutron source.Graves, E. R., & Little Jr, Robert N. (1959). . Washington, DC: U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.


Dissertation and thesis

*Energy Released from Be 9 (d, α) Li 7 and the Production of Li 7. 1940.


Thesis


Papers


1930s–1940s

* Allison, Samuel K., Graves, Elizabeth R., Skaggs, Lester S., & Smith Jr, Nicholas M. (1939). A Precise Measurement of the Mass Difference Be 9 4—Be 8 4; The Stability of Be 8 4. Physical Review. 55(1): 107. *Allison, S. K., Graves, E. R., & Skaggs, L. S. (1940). Alpha-Particle Groups from the Disintegration of Beryllium by Deuterons. Physical Review. 57(2): 158. *Graves, A. C., Graves, E. R., Coon, J. H., & Manley, J. H. (January 1946). Cross Section of D (D, P) H-3 Reaction. Physical Review. 70(1-2): 101. *Manley, J. H., Coon, J. H., & Graves, E. R. (January 1946). Cross Section of D (D, N) He-3 Reaction. Physical Review. 70(1-2): 101. *Graves, E. R., & Coon, J. H. (January 1946). Disintegrations of Neon and Argon by dd Neutrons. Physical Review. 70(1-2): 101. *Manley, J. H., Agnew, H. M., Barschall, H. H., Bright, W. C., Coon, J. H., Graves, E. R., Jorgensen, T. & Waldman, B. (1946). Elastic Backscattering of d− d Neutrons. Physical Review. 70(9-10): 602. *Barschall, Henry Herman, Battat, M. E., Bright, W. C., Graves, E. R., Jorgensen, T., & Manley, J. H. (1947). Measurement of Transport and Inelastic Scattering Cross Sections for Fast Neutrons. II. Experimental Results. Physical Review. 72(10): 881. *Graves, E. R. (1949). Mayer. Physical Review. 76(1): 183. *Graves, E. R., Rodrigues, A. A., Goldblatt, M., & Meyer, D. I. (1949). Preparation and use of tritium and deuterium targets. Review of Scientific Instruments. 20(8): 579-582.am


1950s–1960s

*Coon, J. H., Graves, E. R., & Barschall, H. H. (1952). Total Cross Sections for 14-MeV Neutrons. Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory of the University of California. *Graves, E. R., & Rosen, L. (January 1952). Energy Spectrum of Neutrons from the Interaction of 14-Mev Neutrons with C, Al, Fe, Cu, Zn, Ag, Cd, Sn, Au, Pb, and Bi. Physical Review. 87(1): 239. *Coon, J. H., Graves, E. R., & Barschall, H. H. (1952). Total Cross Sections for 14-Mev Neutrons. Physical Review. 88(3): 562. *Phillips, D. D., Davis, R. W., & Graves, E. R. (1952). Inelastic Collision Cross Sections for 14-Mev Neutrons. Physical Review. 88(3): 600. *Forbes, S. G., Graves, E. R., & Little, R. N. (1953). Low Voltage 14‐Mev Neutron Source. Review of Scientific Instruments. 24(6): 424-427. *Graves, E. R., & Rosen, Louis. (1953). Distribution in Energy of the Neutrons from the Interaction of 14-MeV Neutrons with some Elements. Physical Review. 89(2): 343. *Graves, E. R., & Davis, Roland W. (1955). Cross sections for nonelastic interactions of 14-Mev neutrons with various elements. Physical Review. 97(5): 1205. *Battat, M. E., & Graves, E. R. (1955). Gamma Rays from 14-Mev Neutron Bombardment of C 12. Physical Review. 97(5): 1266. *McDole, C. J., Graves, E. R., & Davis, R. W. (1955). Calibration of a Mock Fission Neutron Source by Indium Resonance Mapping of the Standard Graphite Pile (No. LA-1982). Los Alamos Scientific Lab., New Mexico. *Seagrave, J. D., Graves, E. R., Hipwood, S. J., & McDole, C. J. (1958). D (d, n) 3 He and T (d, n) 4 He Neutron Source Handbook. Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory Lams, 2162. *Graves, E. R. (1963). Howard Eberline Neutron Survey Instrument PNC-1 Evaluation and Recommendation for Use. (No. LA-2860). Los Alamos Scientific Lab., New Mexico. *Davis, R. W., & Graves, E. R. (1969). The Radiation Instrument Calibration Facility at the Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory. (No. LA—4090). Los Alamos Scientific Lab., New Mexico. *Davis, R., & Graves, E. (1969). The Radiation Instrument Calibration Facility at the Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory. (Construction and calibration of radiation survey instruments).


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Graves, Elizabeth Riddle 1916 births 1972 deaths Scientists from Nashville, Tennessee University of Chicago alumni Los Alamos National Laboratory personnel Manhattan Project people 20th-century American women scientists 20th-century American physicists 20th-century American inventors American women inventors Women on the Manhattan Project