Posted on 12/01/2012 10:18:37 AM PST by AdmSmith
On December 2, 1942, 49 scientists, led by Enrico Fermi, made history when Chicago Pile 1 (CP-1) went critical and produced the world's first self-sustaining, controlled nuclear chain reaction.
Short video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0tKf7R2XncM
long http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vv_0STVP044
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicago_Pile-1
They were excited when it worked and even more excited when their theories on how to stop it worked.
having served on board a nuclear sub. I have nothing but awe and respect for what they accomplished.
Deep down in your hearts, you Right Wing Nuts really know that the author of this article is not talking about either one of us when he uses the term Chicago pile!
Remarkable! I never knew the story.
I just finished “Madame Curie”... unbelievable woman, discoveries, contributions.
Thanks for the post.
If the MSM mentioned it at all, it would be to say what a terrible thing it was.
My dad was a grad student there at the time, though he wasn’t directly involved with building the pile. He was working on the problem of how to separate U-235 from U-238.
That would be the Chicago (dog) pile.
And two and a half years later, BIG BOOM and FLASH over Hiroshima & Nagasaki. War over!!
What was the number of the Chicago Pile that turned into Barry Soetoro?
ObamaMSM says no reason to celebrate because you didn't build it.
Outstanding film about the making of the atomic bomb which restages the dramatic "Pile" sequence.
It’s amazing that some of these people are still alive and can share history with us.
I talked to a man who was in the Army on Tinian the day they loaded up the Enola Gay. He remembers watching it but it was covered up so he wasn’t sure what was going on. The plane took off and returned and he remembers serving Colonial Tibbetts in the officer;s club where Tibbetts kept going on “what we have done?” He passed away this year at the age of 90. It’s amazing to talk to someone who was there. BTW, he remembers Bocks Car too.
Suggest you read next: “The Making of the Atomic Bomb” by Richard Rhodes and “American Prometheus” by Kai Bird and Martin J. Sherwin (bigraphy of Oppenheimer). They’ll be great follow-ons!
Truly one of the most outstanding works of non-fiction of the past 25 years. The first paragraph of the first chapter sets the tone of this compelling book:
prophetic they were.. or ?
He was a real card. :)
Some years back I was on a project at the U of Chicago.
I recalled a sculpture that marks the spot and ask Dave (my boss) if we were near the original site.
Dave about choked! Then said, safety had reviewed the area? The tunnels are like a maze and people often get lost. The tunnels are semi public and should have been safe but if safety or OSHA were to visit I would have had some explaining to do.
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