X-10 graphite reactor

E34923

The X-10 graphite reactor was an early nuclear reactor at Oak Ridge, Tennessee, built during the Manhattan Project as a pilot plant for plutonium production and a key step toward the development of nuclear weapons and nuclear energy.


Statements (49)
Predicate Object
instanceOf Manhattan Project facility
air-cooled reactor
graphite-moderated reactor
nuclear reactor
plutonium production reactor
research reactor
alsoKnownAs Clinton Pile
Oak Ridge pile
associatedWithWeapon early U.S. nuclear weapons program
constructionStartDate 1943-02
controlMechanism control rods
coolant air
country United States
currentUse historic exhibit
decommissioned 1963
designedBy Eugene Wigner
designer DuPont
firstCriticalityDate 1943-11-04
firstFullPowerOperationDate 1943-11
fuel natural uranium
fuelForm uranium metal slugs
heritageDesignationBy U.S. National Park Service
heritageDesignationDate 1965
heritageStatus National Historic Landmark
historicalSignificance first continuously operated nuclear reactor in the world
first large-scale plutonium production reactor
prototype for Hanford B Reactor
initialThermalPower 1000 kW
laterThermalPower 4000 kW
locatedIn Oak Ridge, Tennessee
locatedInFacility Clinton Engineer Works
locatedInSite Oak Ridge National Laboratory
moderator graphite
operator Clinton Laboratories
Oak Ridge National Laboratory
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
partOf Manhattan Project
producedIsotope plutonium-239
radioisotopes for medical use
purpose pilot plant for Hanford production reactors
plutonium production
research and development
relatedFacility Chicago Pile-1
Hanford B Reactor
shutdownDate 1963-11-04
tourAvailability public tours by reservation
usedFor development of chemical separation processes for plutonium
neutron physics research
radioisotope production

Referenced by (6)
Subject (surface form when different) Predicate
Clinton Laboratories ("X-10 Graphite Reactor")
Manhattan Project sites ("X-10 Graphite Reactor")
X-10 Project ("X-10 Graphite Reactor")
hasPart
X-10 graphite reactor ("Oak Ridge pile")
alsoKnownAs
Clinton Engineer Works
contains
Secret City ("X-10 Graphite Reactor")
hostedFacility

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