First nuclear reaction | The Day Tomorrow Began

The University of Chicago
The University of Chicago
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Published 2023-05-25
As World War II raged, a group of Manhattan Project scientists gathered beneath the football stands at the University of Chicago to work on a secret experiment that would radically reshape the 20th century.

Led by Enrico Fermi, they worked feverishly to build a 20-foot-tall structure of graphite and uranium called "Chicago Pile-1," and on Dec. 2, 1942, achieved the first controlled, self-sustaining nuclear chain reaction.

The breakthrough marked the beginning of the Atomic Age—and it would change everything from energy to medicine to the geopolitical landscape. It resulted in a devastating weapon, a new way to make electricity, a new blueprint for scientific research and the creation of the first national scientific laboratories, new tools to understand biology and a new global landscape.

Learn more here: news.uchicago.edu/the-day-tomorrow-began/first-nuc…

First nuclear reaction explained: news.uchicago.edu/explainer/first-nuclear-reactor-…

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