Harvey L. Slatin

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Harvey L. Slatin
Born(1915-06-17)June 17, 1915
DiedFebruary 23, 2013(2013-02-23) (aged 97)
CitizenshipUnited States
Alma mater Cornell University
Spouse(s) Yeffe Kimball (1948–1978); Anne Pratt Slatin (1979-Death)
ChildrenThomas Wilson Pratt Slatin
Scientific career
Doctoral advisor Robert J. Oppenheimer

Harvey L. Slatin (June 17, 1915 - February 23, 2013) was an American physicist and inventor. [1] He was the 23rd scientist recruited to work on the Manhattan Project at Los Alamos, New Mexico in 1942. He worked on the isolation of plutonium. He was the last surviving member of his Special Engineering Detachment (SED) relating to the Manhattan Project. [2]

Contents

Career

In his work as an inventor, he held various patents relating to electroplating processes, such as the process for the electrolytic production of metals, for the preparation of pure metals from their compounds. [3] One of his patents includes a patent for a method of producing lithium. [4] He is the inventor on a patent relating to electrolysis of rare-earth elements and Yttrium. [5]

Slatin received a full scholarship to Cornell University. He graduated in 1937 with a degree in chemical engineering. He earned his PhD at the University of California at Berkeley in nuclear physics. His faculty adviser was Robert J. Oppenheimer. A top security clearance was required to read his doctoral dissertation.

Personal life

Slatin was married to Yeffe Kimball in his first marriage. He and Yeffe Kimble worked on a photography project in the 1950s to honor Native Americans in the Southwest region of the United States. Some of the photographs can be found in the Indian Museum in Santa Fe, New Mexico. [6] She predeceased him in 1978. He then married Anne Katherine Pratt. They had one daughter, Thomas Wilson Pratt Slatin, a photographer and writer, who specializes in urban exploration photography. [7] Slatin was a supporter of Friends of Music, located in Stamford, New York. He was a longtime vice-president of the organization and served on the board of directors.

Related Research Articles

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The alkali metals consist of the chemical elements lithium (Li), sodium (Na), potassium (K), rubidium (Rb), caesium (Cs), and francium (Fr). Together with hydrogen they constitute group 1, which lies in the s-block of the periodic table. All alkali metals have their outermost electron in an s-orbital: this shared electron configuration results in their having very similar characteristic properties. Indeed, the alkali metals provide the best example of group trends in properties in the periodic table, with elements exhibiting well-characterised homologous behaviour. This family of elements is also known as the lithium family after its leading element.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dysprosium</span> Chemical element, symbol Dy and atomic number 66

Dysprosium is the chemical element with the symbol Dy and atomic number 66. It is a rare-earth element in the lanthanide series with a metallic silver luster. Dysprosium is never found in nature as a free element, though, like other lanthanides, it is found in various minerals, such as xenotime. Naturally occurring dysprosium is composed of seven isotopes, the most abundant of which is 164Dy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Erbium</span> Chemical element, symbol Er and atomic number 68

Erbium is a chemical element with the symbol Er and atomic number 68. A silvery-white solid metal when artificially isolated, natural erbium is always found in chemical combination with other elements. It is a lanthanide, a rare-earth element, originally found in the gadolinite mine in Ytterby, Sweden, which is the source of the element's name.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Holmium</span> Chemical element, symbol Ho and atomic number 67

Holmium is a chemical element with the symbol Ho and atomic number 67. It is a rare-earth element and the eleventh member of the lanthanide series. It is a relatively soft, silvery, fairly corrosion-resistant and malleable metal. Like a lot of other lanthanides, holmium is too reactive to be found in native form, as pure holmium slowly forms a yellowish oxide coating when exposed to air. When isolated, holmium is relatively stable in dry air at room temperature. However, it reacts with water and corrodes readily, and also burns in air when heated.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lithium</span> Chemical element, symbol Li and atomic number 3

Lithium is a chemical element with the symbol Li and atomic number 3. It is a soft, silvery-white alkali metal. Under standard conditions, it is the least dense metal and the least dense solid element. Like all alkali metals, lithium is highly reactive and flammable, and must be stored in vacuum, inert atmosphere, or inert liquid such as purified kerosene or mineral oil. It exhibits a metallic luster. It corrodes quickly in air to a dull silvery gray, then black tarnish. It does not occur freely in nature, but occurs mainly as pegmatitic minerals, which were once the main source of lithium. Due to its solubility as an ion, it is present in ocean water and is commonly obtained from brines. Lithium metal is isolated electrolytically from a mixture of lithium chloride and potassium chloride.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lanthanum</span> Chemical element, symbol La and atomic number 57

Lanthanum is a chemical element with the symbol La and atomic number 57. It is a soft, ductile, silvery-white metal that tarnishes slowly when exposed to air. It is the eponym of the lanthanide series, a group of 15 similar elements between lanthanum and lutetium in the periodic table, of which lanthanum is the first and the prototype. Lanthanum is traditionally counted among the rare earth elements. Like most other rare earth elements, the usual oxidation state is +3, although some compounds are known with oxidation state +2. Lanthanum has no biological role in humans but is essential to some bacteria. It is not particularly toxic to humans but does show some antimicrobial activity.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lutetium</span> Chemical element, symbol Lu and atomic number 71

Lutetium is a chemical element with the symbol Lu and atomic number 71. It is a silvery white metal, which resists corrosion in dry air, but not in moist air. Lutetium is the last element in the lanthanide series, and it is traditionally counted among the rare earth elements; it can also be classified as the first element of the 6th-period transition metals.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Neodymium</span> Chemical element, symbol Nd and atomic number 60

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Scandium</span> Chemical element, symbol Sc and atomic number 21

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Terbium</span> Chemical element, symbol Tb and atomic number 65

Terbium is a chemical element with the symbol Tb and atomic number 65. It is a silvery-white, rare earth metal that is malleable, and ductile. The ninth member of the lanthanide series, terbium is a fairly electropositive metal that reacts with water, evolving hydrogen gas. Terbium is never found in nature as a free element, but it is contained in many minerals, including cerite, gadolinite, monazite, xenotime and euxenite.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thulium</span> Chemical element, symbol Tm and atomic number 69

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rare-earth element</span> Any of the fifteen lanthanides plus scandium and yttrium

The rare-earth elements (REE), also called the rare-earth metals or rare-earths or, in context, rare-earth oxides, and sometimes the lanthanides, are a set of 17 nearly indistinguishable lustrous silvery-white soft heavy metals. Compounds containing rare-earths have diverse applications in electrical and electronic components, lasers, glass, magnetic materials, and industrial processes.

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References

  1. "Harvey L. Slatin". Atomic Heritage Foundation. Retrieved 4 July 2018.
  2. "Harvey L. Slatin". Atomic Heritage Foundation. Retrieved 4 July 2018.
  3. "Preparation of pure metals from their compounds". 24 October 1951. Retrieved 4 July 2018.
  4. "Method of producing lithium". 26 September 1967. Retrieved 4 July 2018.
  5. "Electrolysis of rare-earth elements and yttrium". 18 September 1957. Retrieved 4 July 2018.
  6. "09 12 2010 Harvey Slatin 3". 12 September 2010.
  7. https://tomslatin.com