Log in or Sign up
Coin Talk
Home
Forums
>
Coin Forums
>
US Coins Forum
>
Silver and the Manhattan Project
>
Reply to Thread
Message:
<p>[QUOTE="SCNuss, post: 155148, member: 3609"]If I remember the rest of the story correctly, after the war, the silver was returned to the Treasury. This is what I found.</p><p><br /></p><p>Groundbreaking for the Alpha plant took place on February 18, 1943. Soon blueprints could not be produced fast enough to keep up with construction as Stone & Webster labored to meet Groves' deadline. The Beta facility was actually begun before formal authorization. While laborers were aggressively recruited, there was always a shortage of workers skilled enough to perform jobs according to the rigid specifications. (A further complication was that some tasks could be performed only by workers with special clearances). Huge amounts of material had to be obtained (38 million board feet of lumber, for instance), and the magnets needed so much copper for windings that the Army had to borrow almost 15,000 tons of silver bullion from the United States Treasury to fabricate into strips and wind on to coils as a substitute for copper.31 Treasury silver was also used to manufacture the busbars that ran around the top of the racetracks.</p><p><br /></p><p> Replacing copper with silver solved the immediate problem of the magnets and busbars, but persistent shortages of electronic tubes, generators, regulators, and other equipment placed the electromagnetic project and posed the most serious threat to Groves' deadline. Furthermore, last-minute design changes continued to frustrate equipment manufacturers. Nonetheless, when Lawrence toured with Y-12 contractors in May 1943, he was impressed by the scale of operations. Lawrence returned to Berkeley rededicated to the "awful job" of finishing the racetracks on time. 32</p><p><br /></p><p>Source: <a href="http://www.atomicarchive.com/History/mp/p4s4.shtml" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="http://www.atomicarchive.com/History/mp/p4s4.shtml" rel="nofollow">http://www.atomicarchive.com/History/mp/p4s4.shtml</a>[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>
[QUOTE="SCNuss, post: 155148, member: 3609"]If I remember the rest of the story correctly, after the war, the silver was returned to the Treasury. This is what I found. Groundbreaking for the Alpha plant took place on February 18, 1943. Soon blueprints could not be produced fast enough to keep up with construction as Stone & Webster labored to meet Groves' deadline. The Beta facility was actually begun before formal authorization. While laborers were aggressively recruited, there was always a shortage of workers skilled enough to perform jobs according to the rigid specifications. (A further complication was that some tasks could be performed only by workers with special clearances). Huge amounts of material had to be obtained (38 million board feet of lumber, for instance), and the magnets needed so much copper for windings that the Army had to borrow almost 15,000 tons of silver bullion from the United States Treasury to fabricate into strips and wind on to coils as a substitute for copper.31 Treasury silver was also used to manufacture the busbars that ran around the top of the racetracks. Replacing copper with silver solved the immediate problem of the magnets and busbars, but persistent shortages of electronic tubes, generators, regulators, and other equipment placed the electromagnetic project and posed the most serious threat to Groves' deadline. Furthermore, last-minute design changes continued to frustrate equipment manufacturers. Nonetheless, when Lawrence toured with Y-12 contractors in May 1943, he was impressed by the scale of operations. Lawrence returned to Berkeley rededicated to the "awful job" of finishing the racetracks on time. 32 Source: [url]http://www.atomicarchive.com/History/mp/p4s4.shtml[/url][/QUOTE]
Your name or email address:
Do you already have an account?
No, create an account now.
Yes, my password is:
Forgot your password?
Stay logged in
Coin Talk
Home
Forums
>
Coin Forums
>
US Coins Forum
>
Silver and the Manhattan Project
>
Home
Home
Quick Links
Search Forums
Recent Activity
Recent Posts
Forums
Forums
Quick Links
Search Forums
Recent Posts
Competitions
Competitions
Quick Links
Competition Index
Rules, Terms & Conditions
Gallery
Gallery
Quick Links
Search Media
New Media
Showcase
Showcase
Quick Links
Search Items
Most Active Members
New Items
Directory
Directory
Quick Links
Directory Home
New Listings
Members
Members
Quick Links
Notable Members
Current Visitors
Recent Activity
New Profile Posts
Sponsors
Menu
Search
Search titles only
Posted by Member:
Separate names with a comma.
Newer Than:
Search this thread only
Search this forum only
Display results as threads
Useful Searches
Recent Posts
More...