https://doi.org/10.1140/epjh/s13129-021-00020-x
Regular Article
An inter-country comparison of nuclear pile development during World War II
Department of Physics (Emeritus), Alma College, 48801, Alma, MI, USA
Received:
22
December
2020
Accepted:
8
June
2021
Published online:
24
June
2021
Between the time of the discovery of nuclear fission in early 1939 and the end of 1946, approximately 90 “nuclear piles” were constructed in six countries. These devices ranged from simple graphite columns containing neutron sources but no uranium to structures as complex as the water-cooled 250-MW plutonium production reactors built at Hanford, Washington. This paper reviews and compares the properties of these piles.
© The Author(s), under exclusive licence to EDP Sciences, Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature 2021
