December 2 – important day for self sustaining fission

ByRod Adams

On December 2, 1942, Enrico Fermi and a small team started, controlled and stopped the first fission chain reaction in a graphite/uranium pile in a squash court under the stands at a defunct football stadium at the University of Chicago. On December 2, 1957, the Shippingport Atomic Power Plant began full power operation. It was the first commercial nuclear power plant built in the US. Shippingport was a public-private partnership with the design and general contracting handled by the same organization that built the Nautilus nuclear powered submarine, Naval Reactors.

Wired has also commemorated this important nuclear technology anniversary.

Happy December 2!

Rod Adams
Rod Adams

Rod Adams is Managing Partner of Nucleation Capital, a venture fund that invests in advanced nuclear, which provides affordable access to this clean energy sector to pronuclear and impact investors. Rod, a former submarine Engineer Officer and founder of Adams Atomic Engines, Inc., which was one of the earliest advanced nuclear ventures, is an atomic energy expert with small nuclear plant operating and design experience. He has engaged in technical, strategic, political, historic and financial analysis of the nuclear industry, its technology, regulation, and policies for several decades through Atomic Insights, both as its primary blogger and as host of The Atomic Show Podcast. Please click here to subscribe to the Atomic Show RSS feed. To join Rod's pronuclear network and receive his occasional newsletter, click here.

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