X-10 Project

E34924

The X-10 Project was an early Manhattan Project initiative that built and operated one of the first large-scale nuclear reactors at Oak Ridge, Tennessee, to produce plutonium for atomic research and weapon development.


Statements (47)
Predicate Object
instanceOf Manhattan Project initiative
nuclear reactor project
research reactor facility
affiliation U.S. Army Manhattan Engineer District
associatedWith Manhattan Project
constructionMaterial concrete shielding
graphite blocks
contributedTo design of Hanford production reactors
development of plutonium production technology
convertedTo research reactor operations after wartime plutonium mission
coolant air
country United States
designedBy DuPont
endDate post-World War II (research use continued)
field nuclear engineering
nuclear physics
followedBy Hanford Engineer Works plutonium production reactors
fundedBy U.S. federal government
hasPart X-10 Graphite Reactor
historicalSignificance first continuously operated plutonium production reactor
one of the first large-scale nuclear reactors
inception 1943
legacy foundation for Oak Ridge National Laboratory
locatedInFacility Clinton Engineer Works
locatedNear Knoxville, Tennessee
location Oak Ridge, Tennessee
managedBy DuPont
moderator graphite
operator United States Army Corps of Engineers
partOf Clinton Engineer Works
precededBy Chicago Pile-1
purpose neutron irradiation of materials
plutonium production for research
support for atomic weapons development
reactorType air-cooled reactor
graphite-moderated reactor
relatedTo atomic bomb development
plutonium metallurgy research
safetyFeature graphite moderator with air cooling stacks
significantEvent first sustained chain reaction at X-10 Graphite Reactor in 1943
startDate 1943
status superseded by larger plutonium production facilities at Hanford
timePeriod World War II
usedFor neutron physics experiments
production of plutonium-239
radioisotope production
usesFuel natural uranium

Referenced by (1)
Subject (surface form when different) Predicate
Clinton Engineer Works
associatedWith

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