thomas neff: the hero who turned nuclear warheads into electricity
2024-09-03
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reference news reported on september 3 the new york times recently published an article titled "thomas neff, who turned warheads into electricity, has died at the age of 80", written by william broad. the full text is translated as follows:
around the time the soviet union collapsed, physicist dr. thomas lee neff had an incredible idea. what if nuclear warheads could illuminate cities instead of destroying them?
despite enormous obstacles and skepticism, dr. neff succeeded, pioneering a deal that provided moscow with hard currency, reduced the nuclear threat, and produced one of the largest peace dividends in history. his brilliant idea converted some 20,000 nuclear weapons into electricity, lighting countless light bulbs.
dr. neff died on july 11 at age 80 after collapsing after having breakfast with his wife at their home in concord, mass., and never regained consciousness. the cause was a subdural hematoma, or bleeding in the brain, said his daughter, katherine c. harris.
his work on nuclear weapons modification is now just a little-known chapter in atomic energy history. but in the early 1990s, federal officials were astounded by what dr. neff had accomplished and raved about it. “instead of setting off mushroom clouds, these things light up homes,” philip sewell, a u.s. department of energy official who had negotiated the uranium transfer, said of the recovered weapons in 1992. “it’s incredible.”
frank von hippel, a physicist who served as a white house adviser during the clinton administration and is now a professor at princeton university, said dr. neff was an underrated hero who single-handedly engineered the largest arms reduction in the nuclear age. he also said that in the chaos and indecision at the end of the cold war, dr. neff became a shining example of "what one person can accomplish."
born on september 25, 1943 in lake oswego, oregon, he studied english, mathematics, and physics at lewis and clark college in portland. he graduated with honors in 1965 and received a doctorate in physics from stanford university in 1973. in 1977, he became the director of the international energy research program at mit, where he remained for decades.
his technical background, sense of timing and outgoing personality were perfect for this. "he could talk to anyone," dr. von hippel recalled.
dr. neff’s marathon of dealmaking began on october 19, 1991, when nuclear experts filed into the diplomats’ room at the state plaza hotel in washington. the agenda for the nongovernmental conference was disarmament. during a break, outside the conference room, dr. neff approached viktor mikhailov, a director of the soviet nuclear bomb complex, and asked him if he would consider selling uranium from soviet nuclear weapons.
"interesting," dr. mikhailov asked. "how much?"
500 tons, dr. neff replied. due to arms control treaties, this fuel will soon be in excess.
five days later, dr. neff published an opinion piece in the new york times titled “a grand uranium deal,” publicly announcing his view that highly enriched uranium from discarded nuclear weapons could be diluted into reactor fuel, thereby converting a deadly tool of war into a peaceful application.
dr. neff pushed the idea aggressively, later saying he made nearly 20 trips to russia and other former soviet countries to negotiate the deal and iron out its many problems.
the first sale of about 250 lots of russian uranium was in 1995, and the last was delivered in 2013. to mark the end of the megatons to megawatts program, the russians held a reception at their embassy in washington, d.c. dr. nev was the guest of honor.
dr. neff has always been proud of the success of his incredible idea. dr. neff has always been cautious about his achievements. in interviews, he avoided mentioning geopolitical interests or the biblical admonition to "beat swords into plowshares." he once said that his story just shows that "ordinary citizens can also make a difference." (compiled by wang diqing)
thomas neff (the new york times website)
