Compton Outside Washington University
Between his particle experiment and his return to Washington University, Compton worked on the Manhattam Project, overseeing the Metallurgical Laboratory at the University of Chicago. The Metallurgical Laboratory's primary interest was the properties and creation of plutonium3, which eventually was used by the United States to create nuclear weapons. Compton's lab designed the reactors eventually used at the Hanford Site to convert uranium into plutonium. Thought ethically divisive in result, Arthur Compton's time away from Washington University remained filled with cutting edge discovery in the field of physics, with unparalleled real-world consequences4.
3“Metallurgical Laboratory at the University of Chicago.” Energy.Gov, www.energy.gov/lm/metallurgical-laboratory-university-chicago. Accessed 18 Feb. 2024.
4“The Nobel Prixe in Physics, 1927.” NobelPrize.Org, www.nobelprize.org/prizes/physics/1927/compton/biographical/. Accessed 18 Feb. 2024.