NUCLEAR ENERGY: Accidental Discovery from Bomb Development
The third aspect of science to benefit from wartime research was nuclear energy. During World War II, several countries from both the Axis and Allied powers were attempting to create a nuclear bomb. Despite the fact that this research eventually produced a nuclear bomb with immensely destructive capabilities, a new process for creating and harnessing power was discovered as a by-product, nuclear fission of uranium.
Scientists and government officials alike raced to create the first nuclear bomb. One of the problems the developers encountered was the ability of the reaction to occur at a fast enough rate to create combustion of monumental proportions. Along the path of creation of a nuclear bomb lay a discovery that the scientists merely stumbled upon. This discovery was of a much slower reaction that continued unaided at a record power level. This event occurred on December 2, 1942, as Enrico Fermi instructed George Weil to "take control rod 21 out another twelve inches" (Dahl 180). This small adjustment to CP-1 (short for Chicago Pile 1, a 250-ton pile of graphite with a lattice structure of cans of uranium oxide and metallic uranium spread throughout) enabled the pile to reach critical status for 28 minutes. (Dahl 180)
Despite this breakthrough, sustained power production did not arise until 21 months later, at a new sight called CP-3. CP-3 was constructed by suspending 136 natural uranium rods sheathed with aluminum through the top of a six-foot diameter, 6.5- ton cylindrical aluminum tank, filled with heavy water (D20), and surrounded by a graphite deflector two feet thick. On the night of September 26, 1944, CP-3 went critical near midnight and ran for an hour at a new record power level. The reactivity of the pile then began dropping steadily until it was coaxed back to life, ran for 12 more hours, then faded until all reactivity died. The heavy water pile was once again restarted, and ran for twelve hours at a full power of 300 kW.
Nuclear reactors have now risen from their humble beginnings to being a primary power source of industrialized nations. The United States alone, as of 1999, operates over 100 fission reactors producing just under 100,000 MWe (Mega Watt energy). Uranium fission power production in the United States amounts to 24% of the world's nuclear reactors producing 28% of the total global nuclear power. For more statistics regarding global nuclear power production check out the web site: http://www.uilondon.org/coreissues/1999/no1/stats/reastats.htm
Despite the drastic circumstances from the development of the nuclear bomb, the research had effects that are beneficial to society even today.