This failure was partly due to heavy water’s limited effectiveness in comparison to graphite, but more generally resulted from the lack of coordination and support for the German atomic bomb program amongst scientists, the government, and military.įollowing Germany’s invasion of Norway in April 1940, the Germans took control of Norsk Hydro’s Vemork plant just outside of Rjukan. The Germans hoped to use heavy water for this purpose however, they were never able to achieve a successful chain reaction. This additional neutron causes the deuterium to have a higher molecular weight and thus form “heavy water” when combined with oxygen.
Deuterium is an isotope of hydrogen whose nucleus includes a neutron in addition to a proton and electron. ĭeuterium oxide (D 2O) or “heavy water” is a water molecule made with two deuterium ions rather than two hydrogen ions. In this way, the moderator helps to sustain a chain reaction. In a nuclear reactor, a moderator is used to slow down the bombardment of neutrons and control the fission process. Unlike their American counterparts, the Germans decided to use heavy water as a moderator instead of graphite. In April 1939, Germany began a secret program called the Uranverein or “Uranium Club.” Led by physicist Kurt Diebner, the German program recruited some of the top scientific minds in Germany, including recent Nobel Prize winner Werner Heisenberg.
Nuclear Pile at the Kaiser Wilhelm Institute in Haigerloch, Germany - Uranium Cubes VisibleĪs early nuclear research began in the United States, Germany was moving forward with its own nuclear energy research and atomic bomb program.
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