Re: Under pressure
Posted: Mon Jun 23, 2008 5:07 am
Yea, in a very closely related way. Mark Oliphant was sent to the US from the British government in August 1941. His cover was his radar work. His actual purpose was to goad, convince, persuade or drag the Americans into working on the fission bomb. The British report written to inform the US of the opinions based upon the science of the European refugees then still in England was that the Germans were making progress on the bomb. And that the Allies had better start making one. It described the means to do that. It was siting unread in the safe of the chairman of the S1 (Uranium) Committee. Shortly thereafter the committee basically became the Manhattan Project. EO Lawrence was on the committee. His medical work at his cyclotron (under John Lawrence) rapidly transformed into weapons work.Griffin wrote:Langley-
You also wrote:
“Why August 1941 A Ha. The Poms landed in the US and told the S1 committee to pull its finger out.”
Are you referring to the American-British agreement which Sir William Stephenson helped broker, with some quid pro quo technology disclosures including radar information?
As ever,
Griffin
Ive found an excellent disccussion of "Born Secret" as a legal concept.
http://www.fas.org/sgp/eprint/cardozo.pdf
"However, by August 1, 1946, when the Atomic Energy Act reached President Truman for signature, the new second purpose was “(2) A program for the control of scientific and technical information . . .,” 3 and Section 9 was gone, replaced by a new Section 10, “Control of Information.” This new section contained the novel doctrine later described as “born secret.” Slightly modified in 1954, it is still in force today. When the Atomic Energy Act became law, it defined a new legal term “restricted data” as “all data concerning the manufacture or utilization of atomic weapons, the production of fissionable material, or the use of fissionable material in the production of power,” unless the information has been declassified. The phrase “all data” included every suggestion, speculation, scenario, or rumor—past, present, or future, regardless of its source, or even of its accuracy—unless it was declassified. All such data were born secret and belonged to the government. If you related a dream about nuclear weapons, you were breaking the law"
At this point we have to ask ourselves "What is an atomic weapon". An atomic weapon defines itself by its effects. It produces ionisation at distance via radiation (as well as blast, heat, etc)
Well, if ionisation is the thing that defines the weapon and its radiaiton then how hard would be to extent the legal constraints to the work of TT Brown and to the legally enforcible gag requirements to him and all who had an inkling of what he did? I submit, not hard at all. In fact it fits like a glove.
I figure an application of Brown's work is incorporated in the radiation pressure component of the H bomb. And before that, possibly in the electromagnetic uranium separation as used by Lawrence. Concepts and applications less than that invovke "Born Secret". Ionisation is electrostatics. Brown's work, whoever said it first, is hidden beneath the security cloak of the atomic bomb. And he might have been free to pursue his research so long as he didnt relate to any unauthorised person. And seeing as he was an originator, the stuff he dreamed up was Born Secret even before he wrote it down. Any whiff of what he was doing not just created a an ordinary security risk, it placed him at risk as originator. For his activity is the first relating - hence his moving about - research interuptus, discontinuity, impossible to follow, a deliberate failure to communicate. Anyhow sorry to be a thread hog. Im done now. I think I see. If someone unauthorised got wind of his doings, he was potentially in very hot water.
"it is still in force today" Gulp. What the weather like in Cuba at the moment?....