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Nuclear Age
Nuclear Age
University of Chicago scientists, led by Nobel Prize-winner Enrico Fermi, achieve the first self-sustaining nuclear reaction. Their reactor – described as “a crude pile of black bricks and wood timbers” – has no radiation shielding or cooling system. A mistake could have led to disaster in the heart of Chicago. The successful test of “Chicago Pile 1” ushered in the nuclear age and allowed the Manhattan Project to move toward an atomic bomb.
One of at least 29 experimental piles that were constructed in 1942. Each tested elements incorporated into the final design.
Content from: Illinois Bicentennial website
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