On this day, December 2nd, 1942, a human-made self-sustaining nuclear chain reaction was achieved for the first time in history at the University of Chicago. The first nuclear reactor was named “Chicago Pile-1” and it marked the onset of the Atomic Age. The experiment was led by Enrico Fermi, who is today known as the “architect of the nuclear age” and who was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics for his work on induced radioactivity in 1938. Along with his colleagues, Fermi invented several patents related to the use of nuclear power. The first self-sustaining controlled nuclear reaction created by a group of 49 scientists lasted for 28 minutes and marked the ascent of both nuclear energy and nuclear weapons.
Credit: University of Chicago News