Westinghouse Atom Smasher (Circa 1937)
N 40° 24.628 W 079° 50.544
17T E 598219 N 4473959
Quick Description: Odd shaped structure that houses the world’s first industrial atom smasher, built by Westinghouse in 1937, at Forest Hills, Pennsylvania. Although now abandoned and closed to the public, the structure can be viewed at the corner of West Street and North Avenue in Forest Hills.
Location: Pennsylvania, United States
Date Posted: 8/6/2006 6:34:40 AM
Waymark Code: WMK85
Views: 152
Long Description:
This odd shaped structure housed a 5 million volt Van de Graaff
generator which powered a particle accelerating 40 foot vacuum tube
commonly known as an atom smasher. It was the first industrial atom
smasher ever built. Westinghouse Electric Corporation built the
facility in their Research Laboratory at Forest Hills Pennsylvania
in 1937. Below is a description of the facility issued by
Westinghouse prior to the completion of the facility.
From “Westinghouse Starts It Second Half Century”
“Disintegrating the Atom”
“WESTINGHOUSE has now developed new equipment to pick apart the
atom-the foundation-stone of matter-thereby hoping to solve some of
the mystery now surrounding the structure of matter. This "atom
smasher" is a huge, pear-shaped steel tank about as tall as a
six-story building. It will house an electrostatic direct current
generator and other required parts, including a 40 foot vacuum
tube. Voltages generated in the "atom-smasher" will range to
5,000,000 and higher. The high voltage will accelerate particles of
matter, shot through the vacuum tube, at speeds ranging from 30
million to 100 million miles an hour. In the process of
bombardment, the particles will be measured, counted, and
identified by special instruments. Leaping from the end of the tube
through thin windows of metal, the particles will strike the hard
centers of targets with velocity great enough to penetrate the hard
centers, or nuclei of the atoms, thus producing new substances.
This new venture in scientific exploration by Westinghouse is
recognized by the engineering world as one from which the world may
gain fundamental knowledge of major importance.”
The above is from the Digital Bookshelf, Pennsylvania State
University Library: (visit link)
Note that although the structure is described as a steel tank,
it was not a vessel for the storage of liquids. It housed the
vertical components of the Van de Graaff generator and the particle
accelerator. See the photos in these two sites:
Emilio Segre Visual Archives: (visit link)
(visit link)
The atom smasher continued to operate until 1958, although other
activities at the lab continued until the industrial portions of
Westinghouse finally disintegrated in the late 1990’s through
corporate mismanagement and the purchase of CBS by a potato chip
salesman. (Do you detect a certain level of sour grapes from a
former Westinghouse employee? To find out why, visit the following
link.)
Pittsburgh Post Gazette, “Who Killed Westinghouse?” (visit link)
The Westinghouse Atom Smasher was dedicated as a Electrical
Engineering Milestone by the Institute of Electrical and
Electronics Engineers in 1985 and was listed as a historic landmark
by the Pittsburgh History and Landmarks Foundation. Alas, the
entertainment giant, Viacom, doesn’t seem to know what to do with a
70 year old industrial atom smasher (sorry, more sour grapes). Due
to the size of the facility, preservation efforts are expensive,
and the atom smasher may be dismantled. See USA Today link
below.
Links:
Time Magazine Archives: “Science At Westinghouse” February 12,
1940: (visit link)
IEEE History Center: Westinghouse "Atom Smasher", 1937:
(visit link)
USA Today, “First large-scale industrial atom smasher may meet
wrecking ball”: (visit link)