December Magic!

Lets celebrate many milestones in December! What many people don't know, was that there were a number of other important milestones that occurred in the month of December. The full list of early milestones that occurred in December are:

I know, its Christmas right?

• December 2, 1942: First controlled nuclear fission 
                                    (at CP-1 in Chicago) 

      • December 19, 1942: First demonstration of reprocessing 
                                                                  (bismuth phosphate process at Oak Ridge)  
           
     • December 26, 1944: First industrial scale reprocessing 

                                                                (bismuth phosphate process at Hanford)

Bismuth Phosphate Process

   • December 25, 1946: First reactor outside North America                                                                                                 (F-1 in the Soviet Union)

       • December 1950: First "swimming pool" type reactor 
                                                      (Bulk Shielding Reactor at Oak Ridge)                
                       

       • December 20-21, 1951: First generation of useful quantities of 
                                                                           electricity (at EBR-1 in Idaho)

   • December 3, 1956: First use of thorium in a reactor  
                                                               (BORAX-IV in Idaho)                                 

   • December 23, 1956: First purpose-built reactor to provide electricity for 

                                                                  a site (EBWR at Argonne)

The extremely stable Experimental Boiling Water Reactor(EBWR)

    • December 18, 1957: First peaceful commercial reactor      
                                                                    (Shipping port in Pennsylvania)                        

    • December 20, 1957:First peaceful multinational project

                                                                    (Eurochemic for reprocessing, in Belgium)                 

 Shippingport, Pennsylvania

      • December 17, 1967: First electricity from a pebble bed reactor    
                                                                 (AVR in West Germany)                

These are certainly not all of equal importance, and of course, there are important events that happened in other months of the year. Still, it is striking that so many key events took place in the waning days of the year.  

Perhaps some conscious, or even unconscious, effort to reach certain goals before the year was out. Is Nuclear power is in our wishlist for next year? 

Well, just look around guys, many countries put that in their new year goals! Anyway, its December, and its the last month and equally we are about to go into the new year. May I ask, are you ready for nuclear?

Crossroad~

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Regards,

Nuclear Boy~