Key Issues
Nuclear Technology Milestones 1942–Present
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July 2009
The '40s
Dec. 2, 1942 Dr. Enrico Fermi achieves the first controlled nuclear chain reaction with the first demonstration reactor—the Chicago Pile 1.
July 16, 1945 The Trinity test of the first atomic explosive device is carried out at Alamogordo, N.M.
Aug. 6, 1945 The United States drops an atomic bomb on Hiroshima, Japan, and three days later drops another bomb on Nagasaki. World War II ends days later.
Aug. 1, 1946 President Harry S. Truman signs the Atomic Energy Act of 1946, putting the fledgling nuclear energy industry under civilian control and creating the powerful Joint Congressional Committee on Atomic Energy.
Oct. 6, 1947 The U.S. Atomic Energy Commission first investigates the possibility of peaceful uses of atomic energy, issuing a report the following year.
July 2009
The '40s
Dec. 2, 1942 Dr. Enrico Fermi achieves the first controlled nuclear chain reaction with the first demonstration reactor—the Chicago Pile 1.
July 16, 1945 The Trinity test of the first atomic explosive device is carried out at Alamogordo, N.M.
Aug. 6, 1945 The United States drops an atomic bomb on Hiroshima, Japan, and three days later drops another bomb on Nagasaki. World War II ends days later.
Aug. 1, 1946 President Harry S. Truman signs the Atomic Energy Act of 1946, putting the fledgling nuclear energy industry under civilian control and creating the powerful Joint Congressional Committee on Atomic Energy.
Oct. 6, 1947 The U.S. Atomic Energy Commission first investigates the possibility of peaceful uses of atomic energy, issuing a report the following year.
