Frank Spedding

Infobox Scientist
name = Frank Spedding
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caption = Frank Spedding
birth_date = 22 October, 1902
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death_date = 15 December, 1984
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nationality = United States
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work_institutions = Ames Laboratory
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known_for = Thermite process
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Frank H. Spedding (1902 – 1984) was an American chemist who led a group of chemists at Ames Laboratory which developed an efficient process for obtaining high purity uranium from uranium halides. The general technique is known as the Thermite process, or more specifically, the Ames process. This process was developed in 1942 and was driven by the need for large quantities of uranium in support of the Manhattan Project.

External links

* [http://stills.nap.edu/html/biomems/fspedding.html Frank Spedding]
* [http://www.3rd1000.com/nuclear/cruc18.htm Story of the Atom Bomb]
* [http://www.external.ameslab.gov/final/About/History.htm History of Ames Laboratory]
* [http://www.google.com/patents?id=RlpaAAAAEBAJ US Patent no. 2830894] — Spedding patent on uranium production