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According to Alvin Weinberg's memoirs, John McCone offered him a seat on the Atomic Energy Commission. He doesn't specify a year, but this would be 1958 to 1961, given when McCone was on the AEC. Weinberg turned it down, preferring to remain in the field as head of Oak Ridge. What if he hadn't?

Weinberg on the AEC presumably means a stronger molten salt program, but it doesn't necessarily mean the triumph of the MSR over its rivals. The AEC had been working on the liquid metal fast breeder since the late 40s and had sunk a lot of money into it; by this point they had one working prototype, two high-power prototypes under construction, an advanced liquid-fuel LMFBR prototype being built at Los Alamos, and at least three sodium-cooled thermal reactors. The MSR had had one prototype for a completely different purpose that operated for a brief period in the mid-50s, and a true prototype, the MSRE, under construction. It's got an enormous amount of ground to make up, even with friends in high places, and Milton Shaw may still end up in charge of the Division of Reactor Development in 1964.

Still, it's a fascinating possibility. Given the half-life of commissioners, Weinberg would probably be off the AEC by the 70s, but he might leave an MSR program strong enough to survive until the LMFBR project collapses.

Thoughts?
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