Norman Feather FRS

FRSE Fellowship of the Royal Society of Edinburgh (FRSE) is an award granted to individuals that the Royal Society of Edinburgh, Scotland's national academy of science and letters, judged to be "eminently distinguished in their subject". This soci ...

PRSE The Royal Society of Edinburgh is Scotland's national academy of science and letters. It is a registered charity that operates on a wholly independent and non-partisan basis and provides public benefit throughout Scotland. It was established i ...

(16 November 1904 – 14 August 1978),Wilkinson: ''Feather, Norman (1904–1978)'', rev. Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004; online edn, Oct 2009, accessed 26 Jan 2013
/ref> was an English nuclear physicist. Feather and

Egon Bretscher Egon Bretscher CBE (1901–1973) was a Swiss-born British chemist and nuclear physicist and Head of the Nuclear Physics Division from 1948 to 1966 at the Atomic Energy Research Establishment, also known as Harwell Laboratory, in Harwell, United ...

were working at the

Cavendish Laboratory The Cavendish Laboratory is the Department of Physics at the University of Cambridge, and is part of the School of Physical Sciences. The laboratory was opened in 1874 on the New Museums Site as a laboratory for experimental physics and is named ...

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cambridge bec ...

in 1940, when they proposed that the 239 isotope of element 94 (

plutonium Plutonium is a radioactive chemical element with the symbol Pu and atomic number 94. It is an actinide metal of silvery-gray appearance that tarnishes when exposed to air, and forms a dull coating when oxidized. The element normally exhibi ...

) would be better able to sustain 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 of these reactions. The specific nu ...

. This research, a breakthrough, was part of the

Tube Alloys Tube Alloys was the research and development programme authorised by the United Kingdom, with participation from Canada, to develop nuclear weapons during the Second World War. Starting before the Manhattan Project in the United States, the Bri ...

project, the secret British project during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

to develop

nuclear weapon 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 bom ...

s. Feather was the author of a series of noted introductory texts on the history, fundamental concepts, and meaning of physics.

Early life and education

Feather was born in 1904 to Samson and Lucy (Clayton) Feather in

Pecket Well Wadsworth is a Civil parishes in England, civil parish in the Calderdale, Metropolitan Borough of Calderdale in West Yorkshire, England. It has a population of 1,456, increasing to 1,603 at the 2011 Census, and was, until 1974, part of Hepton Rur ...

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a Historic counties of England, historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other Eng ...

, Northern England. His father was headmaster of Pecket Well. When Feather was still an infant, his father became headmaster of Holme Primary School in Yorkshire, which Feather later attended. Feather was educated at Bridlington Grammar School and

Trinity College, Cambridge Trinity College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by Henry VIII, King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any college at either Cambridge ...

, before taking a year in the

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in post-nominals) is a federal public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The university was established by royal charter in 1836 as a degree ...

and gaining a Bachelor of Science degree (first class) in 1926. He was a Fellow of Trinity College from 1929 to 1933 then Fellow and Lecturer in Natural Sciences there from 1936 to 1945. Feather received his doctorate (PhD) at Cambridge in 1931 under

James Chadwick Sir James Chadwick, (20 October 1891 – 24 July 1974) was an English physicist who was awarded the 1935 Nobel Prize in Physics for his discovery of the neutron in 1932. In 1941, he wrote the final draft of the MAUD Report, which inspi ...

and

Ernest Rutherford Ernest Rutherford, 1st Baron Rutherford of Nelson, (30 August 1871 – 19 October 1937) was a New Zealand physicist who came to be known as the father of nuclear physics. ''Encyclopædia Britannica'' considers him to be the greatest ...

. His research employed a

Wilson cloud chamber A cloud chamber, also known as a Wilson cloud chamber, is a particle detector used for visualizing the passage of ionizing radiation. A cloud chamber consists of a sealed environment containing a supersaturated vapour of water or alcohol. A ...

and focused on the problem of the long-range

alpha particle Alpha particles, also called alpha rays or alpha radiation, consist of two protons and two neutrons bound together into a particle identical to a helium-4 nucleus. They are generally produced in the process of alpha decay, but may also be produce ...

s. In 1932 Feather married Kathleen Grace Burke (d.1975).

Career

Discovery of the Neutron

In 1929, Feather took a year-long visit to

Johns Hopkins University Johns Hopkins University (Johns Hopkins, Hopkins, or JHU) is a private university, private research university in Baltimore, Maryland. Founded in 1876, Johns Hopkins is the oldest research university in the United States and in the western hem ...

Baltimore Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

, USA. During his visit, he learned that Kelly Hospital used

radon Radon is a chemical element with the symbol Rn and atomic number 86. It is a radioactive, colourless, odourless, tasteless noble gas. It occurs naturally in minute quantities as an intermediate step in the normal radioactive decay chains through ...

tubes in the treatment of

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Possible signs and symptoms include a lump, abnormal b ...

s, and that the expired tubes were discarded after use. The expired radon tubes were a source of

polonium Polonium is a chemical element with the symbol Po and atomic number 84. Polonium is a chalcogen. A rare and highly radioactive metal with no stable isotopes, polonium is chemically similar to selenium and tellurium, though its metallic character ...

, a source of energetic

s. Since polonium was difficult to obtain and expensive at the time, Feather acquired a large number of the discarded radon tubes. The expired radon was to be used as a source of alpha particles for experiments in Cambridge. Indeed, the radioactive

source used by

to discover the neutron in 1932 was derived from these radon tubes. Feather assisted Chadwick with his investigations leading to the discovery of the neutron. He then conducted some of the earliest investigations with the neutron. Feather obtained the first evidence that neutrons can produce nuclear disintegrations. The year 1932 would later be referred to as the "

annus mirabilis ''Annus mirabilis'' (pl. ''anni mirabiles'') is a Latin phrase that means "marvelous year", "wonderful year", "miraculous year", or "amazing year". This term has been used to refer to several years during which events of major importance are rem ...

" for nuclear physics in the Cavendish Laboratory.

Plutonium and Tube Alloys

In 1940 Feather and

at the Cavendish Laboratory, made a breakthrough in nuclear research for the

project. They proposed that the 239 isotope of element 94 could be produced from the common isotope of

uranium-238 Uranium-238 (238U or U-238) is the most common isotope of uranium found in nature, with a relative abundance of 99%. Unlike uranium-235, it is non-fissile, which means it cannot sustain a chain reaction in a thermal-neutron reactor. However, it ...

neutron capture Neutron capture is a nuclear reaction in which an atomic nucleus and one or more neutrons collide and merge to form a heavier nucleus. Since neutrons have no electric charge, they can enter a nucleus more easily than positively charged protons, ...

. Like

U-235 Uranium-235 (235U or U-235) is an isotope of uranium making up about 0.72% of natural uranium. Unlike the predominant isotope uranium-238, it is fissile, i.e., it can sustain a nuclear chain reaction. It is the only fissile isotope that exists ...

, this new element should be able to sustain a nuclear chain reaction. A slow neutron reactor fueled with uranium would, in theory, produce substantial amounts of

plutonium-239 Plutonium-239 (239Pu or Pu-239) is an isotope of plutonium. Plutonium-239 is the primary fissile isotope used for the production of nuclear weapons, although uranium-235 is also used for that purpose. Plutonium-239 is also one of the three main ...

as a by-product, since U-238 absorbs

slow neutron 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 ...

s to form the new isotope U-239. This nuclide rapidly emits an electron, decaying into an element with a mass of 239 and an atomic number of 93. This nuclide then emits another electron to become a new element still of mass 239, but with an atomic number 94 and a much greater half-life. Bretscher and Feather showed theoretically feasible grounds that element 94 would be readily 'fissionable' by both slow and fast neutrons, and had the added advantage of being chemically different from uranium and therefore could easily be separated from it. This was confirmed independently in 1940 by

Edwin M. McMillan Edwin Mattison McMillan (September 18, 1907 – September 7, 1991) was an American physicist credited with being the first-ever to produce a transuranium element, neptunium. For this, he shared the 1951 Nobel Prize in Chemistry with Glenn Seabor ...

and

Philip Abelson Philip, also Phillip, is a male given name, derived from the Greek (''Philippos'', lit. "horse-loving" or "fond of horses"), from a compound of (''philos'', "dear", "loved", "loving") and (''hippos'', "horse"). Prominent Philips who popularize ...

at the

Berkeley Radiation Laboratory Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL), commonly referred to as the Berkeley Lab, is a United States national laboratory that is owned by, and conducts scientific research on behalf of, the United States Department of Energy. Located in ...

Nicholas Kemmer Nicholas Kemmer (7 December 1911 – 21 October 1998) was a Russian-born nuclear physicist working in Britain, who played an integral and leading edge role in United Kingdom's nuclear programme, and was known as a mentor of Abdus Salam – a N ...

of the Cambridge team proposed the names

Neptunium Neptunium is a chemical element with the Symbol (chemistry), symbol Np and atomic number 93. A radioactivity, radioactive actinide metal, neptunium is the first transuranic element. Its position in the periodic table just after uranium, named after ...

for the new element 93 and

Plutonium Plutonium is a radioactive chemical element with the symbol Pu and atomic number 94. It is an actinide metal of silvery-gray appearance that tarnishes when exposed to air, and forms a dull coating when oxidized. The element normally exhibi ...

for 94 by analogy with the outer planets Neptune and Pluto beyond Uranus (uranium being element 92). The Americans fortuitously suggested the same names. The production and identification of the first sample of plutonium in 1941 is generally credited to

Glenn Seaborg Glenn Theodore Seaborg (; April 19, 1912February 25, 1999) was an American chemist whose involvement in the synthesis, discovery and investigation of ten transuranium elements earned him a share of the 1951 Nobel Prize in Chemistry. His work in ...

, who used a

cyclotron A cyclotron is a type of particle accelerator invented by Ernest O. Lawrence in 1929–1930 at the University of California, Berkeley, and patented in 1932. Lawrence, Ernest O. ''Method and apparatus for the acceleration of ions'', filed: Janu ...

rather than a reactor.

Professor in Edinburgh

Feather was Professor of Natural Philosophy at the

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh ( sco, University o Edinburgh, gd, Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Granted a royal charter by King James VI in 15 ...

from 1945 to 1975, then Emeritus Professor. He was active in nuclear physics research throughout his career, preferring small-scale, modest experiments, rather than the large experiments that became common after the war. Feather was noted for his active service to the University of Edinburgh and the city of Edinburgh. Feather was appointed a

Fellow of the Royal Society Fellowship of the Royal Society (FRS, ForMemRS and HonFRS) is an award granted by the judges of the Royal Society of London to individuals who have made a "substantial contribution to the improvement of natural science, natural knowledge, incl ...

(FRS) in 1945. From 1946 he was also a Fellow of the

Royal Society of Edinburgh The Royal Society of Edinburgh is Scotland's national academy of science and letters. It is a registered charity that operates on a wholly independent and non-partisan basis and provides public benefit throughout Scotland. It was established i ...

(his proposers including

C. T. R. Wilson Charles Thomson Rees Wilson, (14 February 1869 – 15 November 1959) was a Scottish physicist and meteorologist who won the Nobel Prize in Physics for his invention of the cloud chamber. Education and early life Wilson was born in the parish ...

) and was President of that Society from 1967 to 1970. Feather won the

Makdougall Brisbane Prize The Royal Society of Edinburgh is Scotland's national academy of science and letters. It is a registered charity that operates on a wholly independent and non-partisan basis and provides public benefit throughout Scotland. It was established i ...

of the Royal Society of Edinburgh for 1968-70.

Author

Beginning in 1936, Feather authored several monographs on nuclear physics and basic introductory physics, including a biography of Rutherford in 1940. J.D. Jackson cited Feather's monograph on ''Electricity and Matter'' as a good account of the history of electricity and magnetism "with a perceptive discussion of the original experiments."

Death

Feather died on 14 August 1978 at Christie Hospital in

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

Books

* N. Feather, ''An Introduction to Nuclear Physics'', Cambridge University Press, 1936. ASIN B00085IOJG * N. Feather, ''Lord Rutherford'', Blackie & Son, 1940. ASIN B0006APC66 * N. Feather, ''Nuclear Stability Rules'', Cambridge University Press, 1952. ASIN B0007IW0BM * N. Feather, ''Mass Length and Time'', Edinburgh University Press, 1962. ASIN B000XWAWI0 * N. Feather, ''Vibrations and Waves'', Edinburgh University Press, 1963. ASIN B000FSNW0W * N. Feather, ''Electricity and Matter: An introductory survey'', Edinburgh University Press, 1968. ASIN B00KO6MLPM * N. Feather, ''Matter and Motion'', Penguin Books Ltd., 1970.

References

External links

Oral history interview transcript with Norman Feather on 25 February 1971, American Institute of Physics, Niels Bohr Library & Archives
- Session I
Oral history interview transcript with Norman Feather on 5 November 1971, American Institute of Physics, Niels Bohr Library & Archives
- Session II *''Who Was Who 1971-1980'' (A & C Black, London)
Professor Norman Feather
Feather History

Eminent Cavendish Physicists
The Papers of Professor Norman Feather
held at

Churchill Archives Centre The Churchill Archives Centre (CAC) at Churchill College at the University of Cambridge is one of the largest repositories in the United Kingdom for the preservation and study of modern personal papers. It is best known for housing the papers of ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Feather, Norman 1904 births 1978 deaths Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge Academics of the University of Edinburgh English nuclear physicists English physicists People associated with the nuclear weapons programme of the United Kingdom Presidents of the Royal Society of Edinburgh People from Calderdale (district) Fellows of Trinity College, Cambridge Fellows of the Royal Society Fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh Manhattan Project people People educated at Bridlington School