Ford is seen here in 1952, when he was 25 or 26. It was taken at Princeton's Project Matterhorn, where Ford and his colleagues worked in close collaboration with Los Alamos scientists.

by Len Lear

Kenneth W. Ford, who has lived in Mt. Airy for 32 years, is undoubtedly one of the nation’s most renowned scientists. His resume would take up the space of a few articles the length of this one. He has written 10 books, 35 serious research papers and more than 30 other publications.

His books and articles are not exactly potboilers. Here are some of the titles from this Princeton University Ph.D in physics: “The World of Elementary Particles,” “Classical and Modern Physics,” “The Key Ideas of Quantum Mechanics,” “Probability and Entropy in Thermodynamics” and “The Arrow of Time.”

However, Ford’s latest book, “Building the H-Bomb,” which he will discuss this Saturday, Feb. 20, 3 p.m., at Big Blue Marble Bookstore, 551 Carpenter Lane in West Mt. Airy, is as much like the previous books as lightning is like a lightning bug. In this engaging memoir, the 89-year-old scientist recounts the time when, in his mid-20s, he was a member of the team that designed and built the first hydrogen bomb.

He worked with — and relaxed with — scientific giants of that time such as Edward Teller, Enrico Fermi, Stan Ulam, John von Neumann and John Wheeler. In the book Ford offers illuminating insights into the personalities, strengths and quirks of these historical figures.

“Fermi was a wonderful human being as well as a superb scientist,” Ford said in an interview with this reporter last week. “Teller was a complex and driven human being as well as a good scientist. He and I remained friends throughout his life, although many physicists turned their backs on him because of his role in attacking Robert Oppenheimer.”

In some of his previous books, Ford tried to explain physics to lay readers. In “H-Bomb,” Ford also brings to life the physics of fission and fusion and provides a brief history of nuclear science from the discovery of radioactivity in 1896 to the 10-megaton explosion of “Mike” that obliterated a Pacific Island in 1952.

How is it that Ford was selected to work on the H-bomb project in the first place? A Princeton professor, John Wheeler, who was to become Ford’s doctoral dissertation advisor, had decided to take a leave of absence to work on designing the H-bomb. “He invited me to join the project,” Ford said. “Edward Teller also strongly encouraged me. I had finished two years of graduate work in physics at that time, which was 1950.”

Ford arrived at Los Alamos, New Mexico, site of the A-bomb research, in June, 1950. His work involved calculations of the “thermonuclear burning” characteristics of putative bomb designs. Some of the scientists who worked on the A-bomb project expressed regret after Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Has the Mt. Airy scientist ever had any moral qualms about his work on the H-bomb?

“No. I felt then that the world would be a safer place if the U.S. got the H-bomb before the Soviet Union did. We did get it first, although not by a large margin, and I still think it is a good thing we did. As it happens, later in 1968, I decided to do no more weapons work. That stance was triggered by my opposition to the Vietnam war and did not imply regret for my role in designing the H-bomb.”

The highly esteemed Mt. Airy scientist, who is now 89, has written more than 75 books, research papers and other publications.

Ford worked at both Los Alamos and Princeton's Project Matterhorn, and his book highlights Matterhorn's major but previously unheralded contribution to the H-bomb development. Outside the lab, he drove a battered Chevrolet around New Mexico, a bantam motorcycle across the country and a British roadster around New Jersey.

How is it that Ford was not motivated to write this book until so many years after the event? “My earlier books were pedagogical,” he replied. “They tried to teach either students or curious general readers. Thinking about a possible new book in 2013, it occurred to me that I was one of the very few scientists from the H-bomb period who was still standing and that it might be fun to try to relate that history from a personal perspective while I could. As the book took shape, it turned into what I call a three-stranded braid: part memoir, part history, part nuclear physics.”

Ford, who will be 90 on May 1, also flew power planes for 50 years and gliders for about 25. He stopped flying voluntarily at age 77. “My diamond soaring badge remains a prized possession,” he said.

Ford’s father was a civil engineer (and the first college graduate in his family). His mother was a homemaker, although during the Great Depression, she also did some house-to-house selling of children's clothing.

Ford graduated from Harvard University, Phi Beta Kappa, in 1948. In addition to Princeton, he was a professor and department chairman at Brandeis University, the University of California at Irvine and the University of Massachusetts. He was president of the New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology and a part-time teacher at Germantown Friends School in 2001 and 2002. He also consulted to aerospace firms.

What are the popular misconceptions, if any, about the life of a scientist? “One is that a scientist is long on intellect and short on emotion. There may be a germ of truth in that but only a germ. Another is that academic scientists spend their time elbowing for recognition and/or tenure. Not true, in my experience.”

What is Ford’s most treasured possession? “What I treasure most are people, not things: my wife, children, grandchildren and a few friends. (He has four children from two marriages.) But come to think of it, I have had a few cars that I loved, too.”

More information about the Feb. 20 event at 215-844-1870 or www.bigbluemarblebooks.com.“Building the H-Bomb” can also be obtained through amazon.com or Barnes and Noble.