calutron

American  

[kal-yuh-tron] / ˈkæl yəˌtrɒn /

noun

Physics.

1. a device for separating isotopes by atomic mass, operating in a manner similar to a mass spectrograph.

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calutron British  

/ ˈkæljʊˌtrɒn /

noun

1. a device used for the separation of isotopes

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Etymology

Origin of calutron

1940–45, Cal(ifornia) U(niversity) + -tron

Example Sentences

Since it was not known which uranium isotope separation technique — gaseous diffusion, calutron, or centrifuge — would be the most successful, General Leslie Groves insisted that all techniques be pursued simultaneously.

From Salon • Sep. 30, 2018

But since nobody in the West dreamed that Saddam would resurrect calutron technology, the interpreters of satellite pictures, if they saw such evidence, failed to understand what they were looking at.

From Time Magazine Archive

It bought a calutron, which also enriches uranium, from the Chinese, but has not yet installed the device.

From Time Magazine Archive

But this was tantamount to calling Lawrence’s bluff: at its current level of development, Ernest acknowledged, the calutron could produce enriched uranium fast but only in very small quantities.

From "Big Science" by Michael Hiltzik

Over that summer, the Rad Lab continued to improve the calutron design.

From "Big Science" by Michael Hiltzik