1. Plural of calutron; devices used to separate isotopes of uranium by electromagnetic means, developed during the Manhattan Project.
Usage: historical; technical; usually plural

Examples

• The calutrons at Oak Ridge were essential to enriching uranium-235 during World War II.
• Scientists operated hundreds of calutrons to produce fissile material for the atomic bomb.
• The calutron technology relied on a mass spectrometer principle to separate isotopes.
• After the war, calutrons were decommissioned as more efficient enrichment methods were developed.