Description:

Various
Various, Various
Richard P. Feynman and Nobel Prize Winning Scientists Archive of Letters
Archive
A fine group of 16 typed letters signed by Nobel Prize-winning scientists, from the collection of Willliam S. Ginell, a physical chemist and contributor in The Manhattan Project. The letters span the years 1959-60 and contain 17 responses to the requests sent by Ginell, and other Chairs of the Colloquium Committee. Each letter is executed on official letterhead, accepting or declining the invitation, and is signed boldly. All letters exhibit file holes at left margin and are in very good condition.

For a period, he served as Chairman of the Colloquium Committee at Atomics International and was in charge of organizing speeches by acclaimed scientists at the company's various colloquia, and corresponded with many of his contemporaries about giving talks.

Signatories include: Richard P. Feynman (who declines with regret); Murray Gell-Mann; Glenn T. Seaborg; Edward Teller (committing for 1960); Harold C. Urey (adding in holograph: "Will you propose dates?"); Emilio Segre (sending a five-line synopsis of his proposed speech on "Antinucleons"); Linus Pauling; James B. Conant; Rudolf Mossbauer (adding the title of his speech, "Nuclear Resonant Absorption of Recoil-Free Gamma Rays"); W. F. Giauque; Felix Boehm (accepting to speak on "Parity Conversion in Strong Interactions"): William A. Fowler; W. Shockley; C. Kittel; Melvin Calvin; and G. B Kistiakowsky.

William S. Ginell (1923-2022) worked at the Pupin physics lab at Columbia University and Oak Ridge during the Manhattan Project's K-25 facility, studying and implementing the gaseous diffusion process. He later worked for Douglas Aircraft on a space-based nuclear power system. There, Ginell helped pioneer the use of a new metal called nitinol, an alloy of titanium and nickel with special memory properties. He would incorporate nitinol in a prototype for an engine, for which he received a patent.

Atomics International was principally engaged in the early development and implementation of nuclear technology: including the design, construction and operation of the first nuclear reactor in California (1952); producing the first nuclear reactor to produce power in the United States (1957); and overseeing the United States' launch of the first nuclear reactor into outer space (1965).

This item comes with a Certificate from John Reznikoff, a premier authenticator for both major 3rd party authentication services, PSA and JSA (James Spence Authentications), as well as numerous auction houses.

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  • Dimensions: 8" x 10"
  • Medium: Archive

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