A nuclear reactor is a device built to sustain a controlled nuclear fission chain reaction, used to generate electricity, power ships, produce material for weapons, and support scientific research. Inside the reactor, fissile nuclei such as uranium-235 or plutonium-239 absorb neutrons and split into lighter elements, releasing energy and further neutrons that can trigger more fission events; operators keep the chain reaction at a safe, steady rate using neutron-absorbing and moderating materials in the core. The first artificial reactor, Chicago Pile-1, achieved criticality on December 2, 1942, at the University of Chicago, built under the wartime Manhattan Project from graphite blocks and natural uranium oxide stacked in a pile supported by a wooden frame.
Facts
Material or Power Source Nuclear Reactor
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Concrete, Materials Reinforced concrete forms reactor containment structures
Source D.G.H. Latzko (Wikipedia)
Inconel, Materials Inconel primary-use names nuclear reactor internals
Field end of a technology member entity grouped under this field
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Source Nuclear reactor (Wikipedia)
Invented By
Source Enrico Fermi (National Inventors Hall of Fame inductee page)
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1. Nuclear reactor (Wikipedia)
Lead section
A nuclear reactor is a device used to sustain a controlled fission nuclear chain reaction.
Introduction
They are used for commercial electricity, marine propulsion, weapons production, and research.
Introduction, material or power source
A nuclear reactor is a device used to sustain a controlled fission nuclear chain reaction.
Lead paragraph
In 1942, the first artificial critical nuclear reactor, Chicago Pile-1, was built by the Metallurgical Laboratory.
In Field: Nuclear Engineering, Categories
Nuclear power reactor types
View the SourceEnrico Fermi (National Inventors Hall of Fame inductee page)
Invented By: Enrico Fermi, Inductee pageQuote, Invented By: Enrico Fermi, Inductee page
With researcher Leo Szilard, he began work, first at Columbia then at the University of Chicago, on construction of an atomic pile which would make possible the controlled release of nuclear energy. This was accomplished in 1942.
D.G.H. Latzko (Wikipedia)
Associated With: D.G.H. Latzko, Lead paragraphQuote, Associated With: D.G.H. Latzko, Lead paragraph
Latzko focused on the construction of nuclear reactors.
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