GoKawiilUniversity of Chicago marks 83rd anniversary of Chicago Pile-1 nuclear reactor
On December 2, 1942, scientists at the University of Chicago's Metallurgical Laboratory achieved the first self-sustaining nuclear chain reaction using the Chicago Pile, a 20-foot stack of graphite blocks and uranium built under Stagg Field. The reactor ran for about 30 minutes before being shut down, with cadmium control rods as its only safety mechanism, and the experiment was conducted without informing university or city officials.