The Alchemist's Dream: Argonne National Laboratory's Hot Lab (1965)

This is a 1965 US Atomic Energy Commission film. The setting is Argonne National Laboratory's hot lab.

Description: Transmutation of metals, the dream of the alchemists in the Middle Ages, is shown and explained in its nuclear science context by members of the Argonne Chemistry Division. A minute quantity of berkelium is produced by bombarding curium with deuterons from a cyclotron. The berkelium is separated and purified behind the thick walls of a newly constructed hot laboratory for research with man-made elements. Challenge series.

Digitized (in pieces) by the University of Indiana: https://media.dlib.indiana.edu/media_...

National Archives Entry: https://catalog.archives.gov/id/88089

Contents:

0:00 Intro/Credits
1:32 History of Transmutation
2:14 Radiation shielding and hot cells
2:52 Paul Fields at ANL explains
5:47 Cyclotron
8:38 Curium target setup
10:48 Cyclotron on
11:53 Harry Youngquist explains hot cell transfers
14:50 Chemical separations in hot cell
20:04 Chemical separations in glove box
21:48 Measurement and detection w/ Arnold Friedman
25:13 Conclusions
27:48 Exit credits

Donald Stewart was in there too.