Ralph A. James
Ralph Arthur James was an American chemist at the University of Chicago who co-discovered the elements curium and americium. Later he worked at UCLA and for the Lawrence Livermore laboratory in California.
He also worked on niobium and nuclear spectroscopy.
Scientific career
James was part of the Laboratory of Metallurgy, University of Chicago, the team directed by Glenn T. Seaborg. The laboratory had large amounts of plutonium that was being produced at the Hanford Site to make nuclear weapons. This allowed them to discover two new elements, although the difficulties for study and isolation were great.In 1944, Seaborg decided to extend the search to heavier elements, and instructed James and Leon O. Morgan to send samples of irradiated plutonium to Albert Ghiorso for analysis. By identifying characteristics of emitted alpha particles they found the new elements.
Discovery of curium
Curium was discovered in 1944 by Glenn T. Seaborg, James and Albert Ghiorso during World War II in the Chicago Metallurgical Laboratory, as part of the Manhattan Project, by bombarding plutonium with helium ions. It was named in honor of Pierre Curie and Marie Sklodowska Curie.Discovery of americium
Similarly, americium was discovered in 1944-45 by Glenn T. Seaborg, James, Leon O. Morgan and Albert Ghiorso, working as part of the Manhattan Project. By bombarding plutonium neutrons in the 60-inch cyclotron at the University of [California, Berkeley]. The element is named after America, especially the United States of America, and because it is a homologous element of europium, it is positioned right above it on periodic charts.Honors
- Ralph James became a member of the John [Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation|Guggenheim Foundation] List of [Guggenheim Fellowships awarded in 1955|in 1955], for chemistry.
Publications
- The New Element Curium . Glenn T. Seaborg, Ralph A. James, & Albert Ghiorso. January 1948.
- The New Element Americium .] Glenn T. Seaborg, Ralph A. James, & Leon O.Morgan. NNES PPR, Vol. 14 B The Transuranium Elements: Research Papers, Paper No. 22.1, McGraw-Hill Book Co., Inc., New York, 1949.
- L-Electron Capture and Alpha-Decay in Np235. Ralph A. James, Albert Ghiorso, Donald Orth. Radiation Laboratory, University of California, Berkeley. Phys. Rev. 85, 369.
- Excitation Functions of Proton-Induced Reactions of Nb93. Ralph A. James. Physical Review – January 1954. Vol 93, Number 2, p. 288-290.
- Proton Induced Reactions of Thorium—Fission Yield Curves. Howard A. Tewes and Ralph A. James. Department of Chemistry, University of California, Los Angeles. Phys. Rev. 88, 860.
- Cross Sections for Nuclear Reactions Involving Nuclear Isomers. Bruno Linder* and Ralph A. James. Department of Chemistry, UCLA, California. Phys. Rev. 114, 322–325.
- Isomeric States of Nd141 and Sm143. Ralph A. James and Carleton D. Bingham. Department of Chemistry, University of California, Los Angeles. Phys. Rev. 117, 810.
- Estimate of radiation dose to thyroid of the Rongelap children following the Bravo event. Lawrence Radiation Laboratory, 1964.
- Calculation of radioactive iodine concentrations in milk and human thyroid as a result of nuclear explosions. Ralph A. James. UCRL 7716. Nuclear Explosions - Peaceful Applications, UC-35. University of California, Lawrence Radiation Laboratory, 1964.