The British Atomic Scientists Association (ASA or BASA), was founded by
Joseph Rotblat
Sir Joseph Rotblat (4 November 1908 – 31 August 2005) was a Polish and British physicist. During World War II he worked on Tube Alloys and the Manhattan Project, but left the Los Alamos Laboratory on grounds of conscience after it became cl ...
in 1946.
It was a politically neutral group, composed of eminent physicists and other scientists and was concerned with matters of British public policy regarding applications and dangers of nuclear physics (including
nuclear weapons
A nuclear weapon is an explosive device that derives its destructive force from nuclear reactions, either fission (fission bomb) or a combination of fission and fusion reactions (thermonuclear bomb), producing a nuclear explosion. Both bomb ...
and
nuclear power
Nuclear power is the use of nuclear reactions to produce electricity. Nuclear power can be obtained from nuclear fission, nuclear decay and nuclear fusion reactions. Presently, the vast majority of electricity from nuclear power is produced b ...
).
In so doing it also sought to inform fellow scientists and the public of the essential facts, usually via published papers and other documents.
Members
The vice-president (VP) was the executive head while the president (P) was the
honorary position.
*
Kathleen Lonsdale
Dame Kathleen Lonsdale ( Yardley; 28 January 1903 – 1 April 1971) was an Irish-born British pacifist, prison reformer and crystallographer. She proved, in 1929, that the benzene ring is flat by using X-ray diffraction methods to elucidate t ...
(VP, P 1967)
*
Harrie Massey
Sir Harrie Stewart Wilson Massey (16 May 1908 – 27 November 1983) was an Australian mathematical physicist who worked primarily in the fields of atomic and atmospheric physics.
A graduate of the University of Melbourne and Cambridge Univer ...
*
Nevill Mott
Sir Nevill Francis Mott (30 September 1905 – 8 August 1996) was a British physicist who won the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1977 for his work on the electronic structure of magnetic and disordered systems, especially amorphous semiconductors. ...
* Joseph Rotblat (VP 1946)
*
Basil Schonland
Sir Basil Ferdinand Jamieson Schonland OMG CBE FRS (2 February 1896 – 24 November 1972) was noted for his research on lightning, his involvement in the development of radar during World War II and for being the first president of the South ...
See also
*
Atomic Energy Research Establishment
The Atomic Energy Research Establishment (AERE) was the main Headquarters, centre for nuclear power, atomic energy research and development in the United Kingdom from 1946 to the 1990s. It was created, owned and funded by the British Governm ...
*
Nuclear physics
Nuclear physics is the field of physics that studies atomic nuclei and their constituents and interactions, in addition to the study of other forms of nuclear matter.
Nuclear physics should not be confused with atomic physics, which studies the ...
*
Pugwash group
*
Science policy
Science policy is concerned with the allocation of resources for the conduct of science towards the goal of best serving the public interest. Topics include the funding of science, the careers of scientists, and the translation of scientific disc ...
*
Franco-British Nuclear Forum
The first meeting of the Franco–British Nuclear Forum was held in Paris in November 2007, chaired by the Minister for Energy and the French Industry Minister. The working groups are focusing on specific areas for collaboration. A follow-up meeti ...
External links
Founding, activities and fall of BASA
1946 establishments in the United Kingdom
1959 establishments in the United Kingdom
Defunct organisations based in the United Kingdom
Scientific organisations based in the United Kingdom
Nuclear technology in the United Kingdom
Nuclear organizations
Organizations disestablished in 1959
Scientific organizations established in 1946
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