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RVing
to a “Secret
City”
Oak
Ridge, Tennessee was built under
a cloak of great secrecy during
World War II. A city and three manufacturing
plants of unprecedented scope were
constructed to develop the technology
that ended the war. Today, the city
is no longer a secret, and RVers
will find robots, science puzzles,
an NOAA weather station, a timeline
of atomic discoveries, the atomic
theater, and a solar demonstration
project there. It’s an educational
and fun trip to east Tennessee.
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The
graphite nuclear reactor
was closed in 1963.
It has been designated
a National Historic
Landmark and is open
to the public.
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Oak
Ridge was created in 1942 as a major
site of the Manhattan Project, a
massive wartime effort that produced
the world's first atomic weapons.
The 60,000-acre tract on which the
town and its plants were built met
military requirements for isolation,
electric power, water, labor and
accessibility to nearby highways
and railroads. At that time, there
were only about 3,000 people, in
a thousand homes scattered throughout
the area.
Scientists
had learned by 1939 that uranium
atoms could be split with the release
of large amounts of energy. Its
use for military purposes was seriously
discussed since development of an
atomic weapon was considered vital
to national security. Albert Einstein
sent a letter to President Franklin
D. Roosevelt expressing the views
of several leading scientists and
explaining the potential of such
a weapon.
Ultimately,
three methods were brought to large-scale
production, and Oak Ridge played
a major role in developing fissionable
material, plutonium 239 and uranium
235. Three facilities, each identified
by a code name, were built in the
Oak Ridge complex, which is called
the Clinton Engineering Works after
the nearby town of Clinton.
The
Y-12 Plant was built to separate
the uranium 235 isotope from natural
uranium in sufficient quantity and
quality to produce the fissionable
material for atomic weapons. This
plant utilized an electromagnetic
process developed at the University
of California at Berkeley and used
$300 million worth of silver borrowed
from the U.S. Treasury. The silver
was used as a substitute for copper
in making equipment for the plant.
Another
enormous facility, the K-25 Plant,
was built to separate uranium 235
by a more economical method. This
plant was one of the largest scale-ups
of laboratory equipment in history
and involved process systems of
unprecedented vacuum tightness and
cleanliness. The original K-25 Plant
covered more than 1,500 acres.
A
third facility, X-10, was the site
where a graphite-moderated nuclear
reactor was constructed as a pilot
facility for the larger plutonium
production complex in Hanford, Washington.
This reactor, later used to produce
radioisotopes, was closed in 1963.
It has been designated a National
Historic Landmark and is open to
the public. The X-10 area became
the Oak Ridge National Laboratory
(ORNL) in 1948.
The
city reached a peak World War II
population of 75,000; it became
the fifth largest city in Tennessee
in just 2 1/2 years. Original housing
included trailers, dormitories and
single family dwellings. The single-family
homes were constructed in a variety
of floor plans and sizes designated
by letters of the alphabet. The
houses, located in the city's hills
and valleys, are still used today.
The
Manhattan District was transferred
to the Atomic Energy Commission
in 1947, and in 1949, Oak Ridge
was opened to the public. Oak Ridge
National Laboratory is still the
largest multi-purpose lab in the
National Laboratory system, and
is also home to the Spallation Neutron
Source, a $1.4 billion project slated
for completion by 2010.
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The
American Museum of Science
and Energy (AMSE) opened
in 1978. Guided tours
explore the history
and peaceful uses of
atomic energy.
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Located
in the heart of Oak Ridge is the
American Museum of Science and Energy
(AMSE). Officially opened in 1975,
the museum has come a long way since
its beginnings in 1949 in an old
wartime cafeteria. The museum was
originally named the American Museum
of Atomic Energy, but that name
was changed in 1978. Guided tours
explore the history and peaceful
uses of atomic energy. The museum
is open seven days a week, and admission
is kept low.
RVers
can explore historic Oak Ridge with
a compact disk or cassette of the
Oak Ridge Driving Tour available
for purchase or rent at the American
Museum of Science and Energy Discovery
Shop and at the Oak Ridge Welcome
Center, 302 So. Tulane Avenue. The
tour takes visitors to the historic
sites around the area while providing
appropriate historical information.
Oak
Ridge is located between I-405 and
I-75 in east Tennessee. From I-40,
take exit 376-A (westbound)
or exit 356 (eastbound). From I-75,
take exit 122 (southbound) or exit
81 (northbound). The Oak Ridge Welcome
Center is on Tulane Avenue.
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