Anxious history: The High Flux Beam Reactor and Brookhaven National Laboratory

Abstract

THE HIGH FLUX Beam Reactor ( HFBR) was one of the key instruments in the history of Brookhaven National Laboratory and of neutron physics. Its story intersects with many others— not only with changing scientific directions, the history of the lab, and the history of its funding agency, the Department of Energy ( DOE), but also with local and national politics, local and national anti-nuclear groups, public perceptions of science, and more. These different intersecting stories make it hard for participants and historians to say where one story ends and the others begin. The result might be called “ anxious history.” 1. A CAREFREE DECADE