Edwin McMillan. Portrait of Edwin Mattison McMillan (1907-91), American physicist and the discoverer of neptunium, the first element heavier than uran

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Edwin McMillan. Portrait of Edwin Mattison McMillan (1907-91), American physicist and the discoverer of neptunium, the first element heavier than uranium. At the University of California at Berkeley, McMillan worked with apparatus (cyclo- trons) designed to propel subatomic particles at high speeds. In 1940 he used a cyclotron to bombard uranium with neutrons and discovered that a new element had been formed. He later worked on the development of radar and improved the cyclotron to create the synchro-cyclotron or synchrotron. This allowed much higher particle speeds to be achieved. McMillan was jointly awarded the 1951 Nobel prize for chemistry.

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Keywords: ., 1951, chemistry, discover, discoverer, edwin, element, inventor, laureate, mcmillan, neptunium, nobel, portraits, prize, recipient, surname, synchrotron, transuranic, winner