Scientists needed to find fuel, for the reactors, which meant
using uranium (U-235) or plutonium (Pu-238), the only suitable
substances know by 1942. Project leaders did not know how quickly
or how much of each they could produce, so they decided to produce
both at the same time.
|
Primitive living arrangements
found in rural East Tennessee at the time. |
Three methods existed for extracting U-235: an electromagnetic
process, gaseous diffusion and thermal diffusion. Oak Ridge crews
built a plant for each method. The electromagnetic process at
the facility, called Y-12, was the most promising.
The process of extracting U-235 from natural uranium started at
the Clinton Engineer Works, 20 miles west of Knoxville, TN. Work
began on the plant in 1942. In 1943, the facility name was changed
to Oak Ridge. This Appalachian site spanned 59,000 acres of wilderness
and farmland.
The Clinch River provided hydroelectric power through the Tennessee
Valley Authority (TVA). To build on of the largest U.S. industrial
complexes, more than 1,000 rural families were relocated from
their farms.
