Development of Atomic Bomb
In April 1944 a Combined Policy Committee meeting at Washington agreed that Canada would build a heavy water reactor. Scientists who were not British subjects would leave, and John Cockcroft would become the new Director of the Montreal Laboratory. This was also because following the Liberation of Paris in August 1944, Halban returned on a visit to London and Paris, where he saw Joliot-Curie for the first time since leaving France. While he maintained that he did not divulge any nuclear secrets to his previous boss (although he had discussed patent rights), Halban was not allowed to work or to leave North America for a year, by General Groves, head of the Manhattan Project.
When Cockroft took over, the Americans fully supported the reactor project with information and visits. They also supplied material e.g. uranium and heavy water. The project developed the ZEEP reactor and then the NRX reactor. Lew Kowarski of the Paris group who had not wanted to work for Halban joined the Laboratory.
The Chalk River Laboratories opened in 1944, and in 1946 the Montreal Laboratory was closed.
Read more about this topic: Montreal Laboratory
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