This was part of the Manhattan Project in WW2 to develop the atomic bomb. You must remember that at that time science was being pushed hard to come up with answers in order to understand basic nuclear facts, with the aim of making a bomb. Nobody even knew if it was possible, but the US was afraid that Nazi Germany might get there first, so every avenue was looked at for answers. It was known that enriched uranium, in fact nearly pure U235 would be needed, and this was done by using the gaseous diffusion process with uranium hexafluoride. The other route, only known theoretically, would be to produce plutonium 239 by irradiating uranium 238 in a neutron flux. The way to get enough neutron flux was to produce a continuous controlled neutron chain reaction, and Fermi was the scientist who had the best ideas how to do this. The first 'pile' as it was called was the result, built in Chicago as an experiment to prove the theory. This used a graphite moderator and metallic natural uranium fuel. It worked as predicted, but to get enough plutonium something much bigger and more powerful was needed. The same type of reactors but more powerful were therefore built at Hanford in Washington state and these produced the plutonium used in the second atomic bomb (Nagasaki) The following para is taken from Wikipedia article on Manhattan Project:
The first major scientific hurdle of the project was solved on December 2, 1942, beneath the bleachers of Stagg Field at the University of Chicago, where a team led by Enrico Fermi, for whom Fermilab is named, initiated the first artificial self sustaining nuclear chain reaction in an experimental nuclear reactor named Chicago Pile-1. A coded phone call from Compton saying, "The Italian navigator [referring to Fermi] has landed in the new world, the natives are friendly" to Conant in Washington, D.C., brought news of the experiment's success.
Enrico Fermi
The first inventor of a nuclear reactor was Enrico Fermi. Refer to link below.
The nuclear reactor was invented in 1933 by Leo Szilard, in London, but he did not try to build one. The first functioning nuclear reactor, CP-1, was designed and built in 1942 by Enrico Fermi, in Chicago, IL.
Nuclear Science
He was in charge of a team which first demonstrated that a nuclear chain reaction could be produced. This was in December 1942 and was done under the Manhattan Project during WW2, under very secret security at the time, in Chicago. The techniques were applied to the much larger reactors built at Hanford Wa which produced the required plutonium for weapons. None of these reactors produced electricity.
Enrico Fermi
Enrico Fermi
enrico fermi made an atom model out of clay.
tiddly winks
J. Ernest Wilkins, Jr. did not invent the nuclear reactor. The ideas for the nuclear reactor were developed while he was an undergrad at the University of Chicago (though he was brilliant and entered college at age 13).Leó Szilárd and Enrico Fermi are credited with the first nuclear reactor design.
The first reactor in 1942 was supervised by Enrico Fermi
The first inventor of a nuclear reactor was Enrico Fermi. Refer to link below.
Enrico Fermi did not invent nuclear power, but he was a key figure in early research on nuclear reactions. He conducted his groundbreaking research on nuclear fission at the University of Rome in Italy and later at Columbia University in the United States.
False, but he worked on the project that did.Enrico Fermi created the first nuclear reactor, is true.
The first reactor in 1942 was supervised by Enrico Fermi
This was part of the Manhattan Project in WW2, the first reactor was designed by Enrico Fermi
For making the nuclear reactor and other items like the nuclear bombs and other stuff