This timeline of nuclear power is an incomplete chronological summary of significant events in the study and use of nuclear power. This is primarily limited to sustained fission and decay processes, and does not include detailed timelines of nuclear weapons development or fusion experiments.
On February 2, Patrick Blackett publishes experimental results of the first nuclear transmutation, by the bombardment of a nitrogen nucleus with an alpha particle, producing an oxygen-17 nucleus and a proton, at Cavendish Laboratory, Cambridge.[1]
On January 1, Harold Urey, Ferdinand Brickwedde, and George M Murphy publish the discovery of deuterium. It is spectroscopically identified following separation from a sample of cryogenic liquid hydrogen at Columbia University, New York.[2][3] Like all nuclei, preceding the discovery of the neutron, it is assumed to be composed entirely of protons and hypothetical "nuclear electrons".
On February 27, James Chadwick publishes the discovery of the neutron, identified as the "beryllium radiation" emitted under alpha-particle bombardment, previously observed by Irène Joliot-Curie and Frédéric Joliot-Curie.[4]
On April 30, John Cockcroft and Ernest Walton publish the first disintegration of an atomic nucleus, popularly described as splitting the atom. They report the production of two alpha particles from the bombardment of lithium-7 nuclei by protons, using a Cockcroft–Walton generator at the University of Cambridge's Cavendish Laboratory.[5] While this in lithium this reaction is exothermic, nucleus disintegration is distinct from the undiscovered process fission, which induces a
On March 16, Herbert L. Anderson, Enrico Fermi, and H B Hanstein submit for publication the first pile neutron production in the United States, from pile Columbia number 1 at Columbia University, New York. The pile submerges a 13-cm glass bulb filled with uranium oxide in water acting as a moderator and reflector.[11]
In January, Walther Bothe and Peter Jensen conduct an neutronics experiment with a 55-cm radius graphite sphere. They erroneously conclude, possibly due to unaccounted boron and cadmium impurities of a few ppm, a neutron capture cross-section value for carbon over twice its accepted value. This hinders development of the Nazi German nuclear program.[14]
On June 23, uranium powder in the L-IV atomic pile ignites on contact with air, causing a steam explosion and wider fire. This is the first nuclear-related accident, and leads the German program to use only solid uranium in future designs.[16]
On March 20, Chicago Pile-2, the world's second reactor, achieves criticality at Site A, Illinois. It is a rebuilt and slightly enlarged version of CP-1.[16]
In March, the US approves a Soviet request for over 0.3 tons of uranium compounds under the Lend-Lease program. General Leslie Groves hopes to hide the extent of the Manhattan Project, and reveal the location of Laboratory No. 2.[20][21]
On September 26, the B Reactor is started at Hanford Site, Washington. At 250 MWth, it is the first reactor to exceed 10 and 100 MWth and is considered the first large-scale reactor.[16]
On September 27, the first instance of xenon poisoning occurs in the Hanford B reactor. Water contamination of graphite, boron impurities in the Columbia River water coolant, and nitrogen in the air were all suggested as neutron poisons. John Archibald Wheeler and Enrico Fermi calculated the cause and the problem is solved by loading additional fuel slugs into extra tubes.[28]
In August, the X-10 Graphite Reactor becomes the first reactor to generate electricity. The experiment uses a steam generator and engine to power a single flashlight bulb. This could be considered the first boiling water reactor.[35]
On August 24, EBR-I, the first breeder reactor, producing more fuel than it consumes, begins power operation.[37]
1952
On October 27, the Saclay reactor, the first gas-cooled reactor, achieves criticality at the Saclay Nuclear Research Centre, France. While many early reactors were air-cooled, it is an experimental 2 MW design testing the first closed circuit nitrogen and carbon dioxide cooling.[38][39]
On December 2, NRX, Canada's second reactor, constructed at Chalk River Laboratories, experiences the first core meltdown in a nuclear facility. Future president Jimmy Carter is among the US Navy crew sent to assist clean-up.[40]
The AI reactor (Industrial Association Mayak) begins production of tritium at the Mayak plant in Ozyorsk, USSR.[41]
On September 27, a Soviet-supplied experimental 10 MW reactor, the first reactor in China, begins operation in Beijing. Nuclear power is developed only for weapons production until the Qinshan I reactor begins development in 1985.[65]
The 1965 launch of the Snapshot satellite carrying the SNAP-10A reactor, the first operated in space and to power a nuclear electric propulsion system.
In December, the N reactor, the ninth at the Hanford Site, Washington, begins operation. At 4000 MWth it is one of the largest plutonium production reactors ever.[73] Additionally, until the DR reactor's shutdown in December 1964, the Hanford Site operates at 25,870 MWth, the largest nuclear plant ever by thermal power.[74]
On June 8, the Phoebus-2A nuclear thermal rocket engine undergoes its second test and first at full power.[85] It achieves a maximum power output of 4082 MWth.[86]
On October 28, US president Gerald Ford indefinitely suspends nuclear spent fuel reprocessing, and encourages other nations to do the same. The decision is based on the plutonium proliferation risk, especially the 1974 first Indian nuclear weapons test, Smiling Buddha.[93]
1978
On November 5, voters in Austria reject a referendum to allow the startup of its first nuclear power plant, Zwentendorf, by 50.47% to 49.53%. A subsequent law makes Austria the first country to ban nuclear power.[94][95]
On June 7, the Israeli Air Force carries out Operation Opera, bombing an unfinished secret Iraqi nuclear reactor. Ten Iraqi soldiers and one French civilian engineer were killed. France sold Iraq the Osiris-class research reactor which claimed it was for peaceful use.[99]The damaged Reactor 4 following the 1986 Chernobyl disaster, the worst nuclear accident in history.
1983
On December 31, Unit 1 at Ignalina Nuclear Power Plant comes online in the Lithuanian SSR. The first RBMK-1500 unit, at 4800 MWth, it is the largest nuclear reactor unit by thermal power ever. Alongside Unit 2 they are the only RBMK-1500 units completed. During testing the "positive scram" power excursion flaw in the RBMK design during graphite moderator-tipped control rod insertion is discovered. Other RBMK plants are alerted but changes are not made to prevent it triggering the 1986 Chernobyl disaster.[100]
1985
In September, Superphénix, the largest fast reactor and breeder reactor ever, at 1,242 MWe, achieves criticality at Creys-Malville in France.[101]
1986
On January 7, the N reactor, the last US plutonium production reactor, is shut down at the Hanford Site, Washington, as the nearing end of the Cold War scales back the nuclear arms race.[102]
On October 21, the United States and North Korea sign the Agreed Framework. The DPRK agrees to freeze its operational 5 MWe and under construction 50 MWe and 200 MWe Magnox-style reactors at Nyongbyon and Taechon, seen as a plutonium production risk. The US assures the construction of two 1000 MWe light water reactors, likely OPR-1000s,[105] by the formation of the Korean Peninsula Energy Development Organization (KEDO).[106] KEDO's director later comments the agreement is "a political orphan within two weeks of its signature" as the Republican Revolution ends Congressional funding for the organization.[107]
On September 6, the Israeli Air Force carries out Operation Outside the Box, bombing an unfinished secret Syrian nuclear reactor in Deir ez-Zor Governorate. Allegedly 10 North Korean scientists are killed, and Syria initially considers a chemical weapons response. Iran reportedly provided $1 billion in funding to North Korea for its construction, which is the same gas-cooled graphite-moderated design as the Nyongbyon reactor and intended it as a backup to their enrichment facilities. The IAEA confirms the reactor in 2011 and Israel confirms the attack in 2018.[113]
On March 11, during electrical outage from the Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami, Fukushima Daiichi reactor units 1, 2, and 3 experience partial core meltdowns, and release radioactive material into the environment.[114] It is the second Level 7 nuclear accident on the International Nuclear Event Scale, making it the worst accident since Chernobyl,[115] and influences divestment from nuclear power in Germany, Italy, Belgium, Spain, and Switzerland.[114]
On September 3, Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant in Iran, the first commercial nuclear reactor in the Middle East, begins supplying grid electricity.[116]
On October 11, the Dongfang Electric generator stator of the Taishan 1EPR is installed in Guangdong, China. At 1750 MWe it is said to be the largest single-piece electrical generator in the world.[119]
In November, Russia completes the first test of the 9M730 Burevestnik, the first nuclear-powered cruise missile and the first nuclear-powered aircraft of any kind. [121][122]
2018
In December, the Taishan 1EPR begins operation in Guangdong, China. At 1660 MWe it is the largest nuclear reactorunit by electrical power ever.[123][124]
On March 4, Russian Armed ForcescaptureZaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant and thermal plant, the first military attack and capture of operational commercial nuclear reactors.[133][134] The largest nuclear plant in Europe, it previously provided 23% of Ukraine's electricity.[135]Rosatom claims control while the plant continues to be operated by Ukrainian Energoatom staff under Russian orders. The six reactors are placed in various levels of shutdown.[136][137]
^O., Hahn; Strassmann, F. (6 January 1939). "Über den Nachweis und das Verhalten der bei der Bestrahlung des Urans mittels Neutronen entstehenden Erdalkalimetalle" [Concerning the Existence of Alkaline Earth Metals Resulting from Neutron Irradiation of Uranium]. Naturwissenschaften (in German). 27 (1): 11–15. Bibcode:1939NW.....27...11H. doi:10.1007/BF01488241. ISSN0028-1042. S2CID5920336.
^VON HALBAN, H.; JOLIOT, F.; KOWARSKI, L. (1939). "Liberation of Neutrons in the Nuclear Explosion of Uranium". Nature. 143 (3620). Springer Science and Business Media LLC: 470–471. Bibcode:1939Natur.143..470V. doi:10.1038/143470a0. ISSN0028-0836.
^Glenn T. Seaborg (September 1981). "The plutonium story". Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory, University of California. LBL-13492, DE82 004551. Archived from the original on May 16, 2013. Retrieved March 16, 2022.
^ abcOleynikov, Pavel V. (2000). "German scientists in the Soviet atomic project". The Nonproliferation Review. 7 (2). Informa UK Limited: 1–30. doi:10.1080/10736700008436807. ISSN1073-6700.
^Riehl, Nikolaus; Seitz, Frederick (1996). Stalin's Captive: Nikolaus Riehl and the Soviet Race for the Bomb. American Chemical Society and the Chemical Heritage Foundations. p. 77-79. ISBN0-8412-3310-1.
^Hill, C (2013). An Atomic Empire: A Technical History of the Rise and Fall of the British Atomic Energy Programme. Imperial College Press. ISBN978-1-908977-41-0.
^Drogan, Mara (2019-04-01). "The Atoms for Peace program and the Third World". Cahiers du monde russe. 60 (2–3). OpenEdition: 441–460. doi:10.4000/monderusse.11249. ISSN1252-6576.
^DiMoia, John (2010). "Atoms for Sale?: Cold War Institution-Building and the South Korean Atomic Energy Project, 1945–1965". Technology and Culture. 51 (3): 589–618. doi:10.1353/tech.2010.0021. ISSN1097-3729.
^Palangao, Marinell; Asuncion-Astronomo, Alvie; Tare, Jeffrey; Gatchalian, Ronald Daryll; Olivares, Ryan (2021-12-21). "Determination of Reactor Parameters for Different Subcritical Configurations of the Philippine Research Reactor-1 TRIGA Nuclear Fuel". Philippine Journal of Science. 150 (2). doi:10.56899/150.02.10.
^Hymans, Jacques E. C. (2011-03-21). "Proliferation Implications of Civil Nuclear Cooperation: Theory and a Case Study of Tito's Yugoslavia". Security Studies. 20 (1): 73–104. doi:10.1080/09636412.2011.549013. ISSN0963-6412.
^United States. Department of Energy; Oak Ridge National Laboratory (1957). TID. U.S. Atomic Energy Commission, Technical Information Service. p. 114. Retrieved 2024-11-09.
^Cottrell, W. B.; Hungerford, H. E.; Leslie, J. K.; Meem, J. L. (1955-09-06). Operation of the Aircraft Reactor Experiment (Report). Oak Ridge National Laboratory. p. 1. OSTI4237975. ORNL-1845.
^United States. Department of Energy; Oak Ridge National Laboratory (1957). TID. U.S. Atomic Energy Commission, Technical Information Service. p. 114. Retrieved 2024-11-29.
^"Soviet Life". Soviet Life. 2 (149): 57. February 1969.
^Min, Jae Seong; Lee, Ki Won; Kim, Hee Reyoung; Lee, Choong Wie (2017). "Radiological assessment of the decontaminated and decommissioned Korea Research Reactor-1 building". Nuclear Engineering and Design. 322: 492–496. Bibcode:2017NuEnD.322..492M. doi:10.1016/j.nucengdes.2017.07.026.
^Tokuhiro, Akira; Potirniche, Gabriel; Cogliati, Joshua; Ougouag, Abderrafi (2014-07-08). Experimental Study and Computational Simulations of Key Pebble Bed Thermo-mechanics Issues for Design and Safety (Report). Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI). doi:10.2172/1157564.
^Ivanov, M.A.; Kohanov, A.; Lardier, Christian; Abe, Masanao; Longobardo, Andrea; Smith, Caroline L.; Grady, Monica M.; Broggini, C.; Trezzi, D. (2021-01-01). "The Luna program". Elsevier. p. 37–78. doi:10.1016/B978-0-12-818330-4.00003-3. Retrieved 2024-12-10.
^Suid, Lawrence H. The Army's Nuclear Power Program: Evolution of a Support Agency (1990); (Greenwood Publishing: New York) page 101; accessed 13 March 2012.
^Carr, Alan (2020-12-08). Beyond the Moon [Slides] (Report). Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI). doi:10.2172/1735863.
^Weintraub, L (1969-01-01). OBSERVATIONS OF UHTREX FUEL ELEMENTS DURING REACTOR STARTUP OPERATIONS (Report). Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI). doi:10.2172/4138747.
^ abKhlopkov, Anton (2010). "Iran Breakthrough for the Russian Nuclear Industry". Moscow Defense Brief. 1 (19). Centre for Analysis of Strategies and Technologies.
^Spiegelberg-Planer, Rejane (September 2009). "A Matter of Degree"(PDF). IAEA Bulletin. 51 (1). Vienna, Austria: Division of Public Information, International Atomic Energy Agency: 46. Retrieved October 16, 2021. A revised International Nuclear and Radiological Event Scale (INES) extends its reach.
^"The International Nuclear and Radiological Event Scale"(PDF). INES. International Atomic Energy Agency. August 1, 2008. Retrieved October 16, 2021. Level 5: Accident with Wider Consequences; Three Mile Island, USA, 1979 – Severe damage to the reactor core.
^Polakow-Suransky, Sasha. The Unspoken Alliance: Israel's Secret Relationship with Apartheid South Africa. Pantheon (1 ed.), 2010. p. 145.
