In this letter the Soviet minister proposed to the Soviet government to concentrate the nuclear research in Ukrainian Institute of Physic and Technology (UIPhT) and to locate in Kharkov the nuclear scientists from Leningrad Institute of Physic and Technology because Kharkov institute had very good base for the nuclear studies. If this proposal was realized Kharkov could become more important Soviet nuclear center than Moscow or Sarov. In any case this letter of people’s commissar recognized the prominent role of the Ukrainian Institute of Physic and Technology (UIPhT) in the Soviet nuclear science.
February 28, 1940
Letter from Director of the Institute of Physical Problems Petr Kapitsa to State Plan of Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic, 'About Cyclotron of Ukrainian Institute of Physics and Technology'
This document was made possible with support from Carnegie Corporation of New York (CCNY)
Письмо директора ИФП АН СССР П.Л. Капицы
в Госплан УССР
«О циклотроне УФТИ»
28 февраля 1940 г.
Уважаемый товарищ Скульский!
Я получил Ваш запрос [1] насчет целесообразности постройки циклотрона вУкраинском физико-техническом институте с затратой 1,5 миллиардов рублей[2].
Циклотрон - прибор новый, освоенный уже в Америке, применяется дляпроизводства изысканий в области атомного ядра. Первая попытка воспроизведенияамериканского циклотрона была предпринята в Ленинградском радиевом институте.Циклотрон этот ныне работает, но он очень несовершенен и много уступает американскимциклотронам. С учетом опыта Радиевого института Ленинградский физико-техническийинститут (профессора Алиханов и Курчатов) разработал новый тип циклотрона, которыйрассматривался комиссией под моим председательством. Проект вносит значительныеулучшения в конструкцию, но ввиду почти полного отсутствия в Союзе опыта работы сциклотронами, трудно судить, пока он не будет осуществлен, насколько удалосьулучшить прежний тип циклотрона и приблизиться к американским образцам. Естьпроект постройки большого циклотрона в Москве. Но мне кажется, что до полученияопыта работы с ленинградским циклотроном и освоения его проектирование новыхциклотронов будет потерей средств.
К тому же в Украинском физико-техническом институте есть другие возможностиполучения быстрых частиц, необходимых для изысканий, как высоковольтная установка,которая далеко не полностью еще использована. Казалось бы, научные силы этогоинститута надо было бы по возможности направить на использование этой установки итех колоссальных возможностей, которые уже даны Украинскому физико-техническомуинституту. В данном случае это гораздо важнее, чем расширять направление работысооружением неоригинальных конструкций.
Хочу вообще указать, что Украинский физико-технический институт за последниегоды строил ряд установок, не доканчивал их и, не использовав, хватался за новые иновые. Такое направление развития работ Украинского физико-технического институтани в коем случае исльзя признать здоровым.
Уважающий Вас академик П.Л. Капица
[1]См. документ № 36.
[2] ' В документе ошибка: следует: миллионов ру6лей (см. документ № 36). В июне 1940 r. было
онубликовано сообщение о том, что «Президиум АН УССР ассигновал 75 000 руб. на проектирование циклотрона Физико-технического институтав г. Харыкове. Проектирование ведется под руководством академика А.И. Лейпупскоrо» (Bicтi АН УРСР. 1940, № 6. с. 83).
Letter from the Director of the Institute of Semiconductor Physics Petr Kapitsa to the State Planning Committee of Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic “On the Cyclotron of the Ukrainian Institute of Physics and Technology”, February 28, 1940
Esteemed comrade Skulsky!
I have received your request[i] regarding the viability of cyclotron construction in the Ukrainian Institute of Physics and Technology, with a cost of 1.5 billion[ii] rubles.
The cyclotron is a new instrument, which has been already deployed in America, used for researching the nuclear atom. The first attempt to reverse engineer the cyclotron was made at the Leningrad Radium Institute. The cyclotron is working now, but it is very flawed and it is much worse than the American cyclotrons. Taking into account the experience of the Radium Institute, the Leningrad Institute of Physics and Technology (professors Alikhanov and Kurchatov) developed the new type of cyclotron, which was considered by the commission under my leadership. This project considerably improved the construction. However, taking into account thealmost complete absence of working experience with cyclotrons in the USSR, it is difficult to judge, until it is completed, to what extent this project was improved and whether this cyclotron comes nearer to the American prototypes. There is a project to construct a large cyclotron in Moscow. But it is appears to me that constructing new cyclotrons before receiving the work experience from the Leningrad cyclotron would be a waste of resources.
In addition, the Ukrainian Institute of Physics and Technology has other possibilities for obtaining the high-energy particles necessary for research, such as a high voltage installation that is not yet fully utilized. It seems that the scientific efforts of the Institute should be directed to use this installation and those great opportunities which have been already given to the Ukrainian Institute of Physics and Technology. In this case it is much more important than expanding the direction of work through the construction of unoriginal designs.
In general I want to say that during the last years the Ukrainian Institute of Physics and Technology built a number of new plants but did not complete them and did not take advantage of them, instead grasping for new things. Such a development of the work of the Ukrainian Institute of Physics and Technology must not be recognized as sound.
Respectfully yours Petr Kapitsa
[i] See document No. 36 of the history docket “Atomic Project of USSR” [note by editors of “Atomic Project of USSR”]
[ii] This is a mistake: it should be “1.5 million.” In June 1940 a report was published which noted that “The Presidium of the Academy of Sciences of Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic allocated 75000 rubles for engineering of the cyclotron at the Institute of Physics and Technology in Kharkov. The head of the engineering project is academician A.I. Leipunsky" (Magazine “News Academy of Sciences of Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic. 1940 No. 6, p.83). [note by editors of “Atomic Project of USSR”]
This document is an answer to the letter from State Plan of Ukrainian Soviet Socialistic Republic to Academy of Sciences of USSR “About Rationality to Construct Cyclotron in UIPhT” (22 Feb 1940). The answer of academician Petr Kapitsa to this letter was very critical. Kapitsa wrote that UIPhT “during the last several years built a number of research installation but did not finish them. However it started to build new installations. Such activities of UIPhT can’t be considered as normal”. So Petr Kapitsa discouraged building a cyclotron in UIPhT, and this was one of the reasons why this institute did not become the leading nuclear center in USSR.
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Atomic Project of USSR: Documents and Materials, Vol. 1, Part 1, Document No. 39, p. 107. Obtained and translated for NPIHP by Oleksandr Cheban.
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2015-02-09
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