1942 AD
Chicago Pile-1 and controlled fission
Energy · Technology · Infrastructure
Chicago Pile-1 achieved the first human-made controlled, self-sustaining nuclear chain reaction. The experiment demonstrated the technical possibility of controlled fission-energy release; its subsequent civilian and military uses followed distinct institutional and ethical trajectories.
Precision, calendar, and review
- Start
- year · no uncertainty qualifier in this record
- Calendar and convention
- Historical-era years; the source calendar is not identified. No conversion of days is assumed.
- Year zero
- The scale goes from 1 BCE to 1 CE without year zero. Changing era names changes labels only.
- Documentary review
- Date not recorded
Reading the date: point event.
Sources
- www.ne.anl.gov (opens in a new tab)
Source provenance and scope
- Publication date
- Pending verification: the source could not be accessed
- Bibliographic date checked
- 2026-09-23
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This record is an editorial synthesis. Consult the sources to check claims and their limits. Chronological relationships alone do not establish causation.