Experimental Breeder Reactor I
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Science History Images / Alamy Stock PhotoImage ID:
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2840 x 2233 px | 24 x 18.9 cm | 9.5 x 7.4 inches | 300dpiPhotographer:
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First electricity from nuclear power. The Experimental Breeder Reactor I (EBR-I), designed and built by Argonne National Laboratory, achieved many benchmarks during its 14 years of operation. It was the first nuclear reactor to produce electric power when it lit a string of four 150-watt bulbs on December 20, 1951; the next day 100 watts were generated. In 1953, it was the first reactor to demonstrate the breeder principle -- generating, or "breeding, " more nuclear fuel than it consumed. It was the first, in November 1962, to achieve a chain reaction with plutonium; and the first to demonstrate the feasibility of using liquid metals at high temperatures as a reactor coolant. EBR-I gained National Historic Landmark status in 1966.
