Westinghouse "Atom Smasher" Gets Historical Marker

Westinghouse Atom Smasher

A historical marker for the Westinghouse Atom Smasher has been placed at the corner of West St & North Ave in Forest Hills.  The "Atom Smasher" was the nation’s first industrial Van de Graaff generator, built by Westinghouse Electric & Manufacturing Company in 1937, in an effort to conduct research into nuclear physics. It was designed to create nuclear reactions by bombarding target atoms with a beam of high-energy
particles. The unusual 65-foot high, pear-shaped structure was intended to seek out the secrets of nuclear energy as a source of practical power. It became fully operational in 1937 and the “Atom Smasher” remained in use until 1958 when it was replaced by a more modern Van de Graaff Generator.

Research with the Atom Smasher in 1940 led to the discovery of the photo-fission of uranium, part of the process involved in the generation of nuclear power. In 1987, the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) designated the “Atom Smasher” as an Electrical Engineering Milestone. Today, the pear-shaped structure remains and, not far from it, the historic marker telling of its historic importance from Westinghouse’s ongoing involvement in the nuclear power industry.

Westinghouse
Forest Hills Borough
Metro Pittsburgh Real Estate