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115-731: Argonne had its beginnings in the Metallurgical Laboratory of the University of Chicago , formed in part to carry out Enrico Fermi 's work on nuclear reactors for the Manhattan Project during World War II . After the war, it was designated as the first national laboratory in the United States on July 1, 1946. In its first decades, the laboratory was a hub for peaceful use of nuclear physics ; nearly all operating commercial nuclear power plants around

230-597: A Presidential Unit Citation . At her next port of call, the Isle of Portland , England, she received the Unit Citation, the first ever issued in peace time, from American Ambassador JH Whitney, and then crossed the Atlantic reaching New London, Connecticut , on 29 October. For the remainder of the year, Nautilus operated from her home port of New London. Following fleet exercises in early 1959, Nautilus entered

345-556: A confidential letter to the President of the United States , Franklin D. Roosevelt , warning of the possibility of a German nuclear weapon project , and convinced his old friend and collaborator Albert Einstein to co-sign it. This resulted in support for research into nuclear fission by the U.S. government. In April 1941, the National Defense Research Committee (NDRC), asked Arthur Compton ,

460-461: A Nobel-Prize-winning physics professor at the University of Chicago , to report on the uranium program. Niels Bohr and John Wheeler theorized that heavy isotopes with odd atomic numbers , such as plutonium-239 , were fissile . Emilio Segrè and Glenn Seaborg at the University of California produced 28 μg of plutonium in the 60-inch cyclotron there in May 1941, and found that it had 1.7 times

575-457: A day shift under Zinn and a night shift under Anderson. When completed, the wooden frame supported an elliptical-shaped structure, 20-foot (6.1 m) high, 6-foot (1.8 m) wide at the ends and 25 feet (7.6 m) across the middle. It contained 6 short tons (5.4 t) of uranium metal, 50 short tons (45 t) of uranium oxide and 400 short tons (360 t) of graphite, at an estimated cost of $ 2.7 million. On 2 December 1942, it achieved

690-441: A lattice configuration. By late 1941, mathematical analysis had shown that the lattice design had advantages over the homogeneous type, and so it was chosen for CP-1, and for the later production reactors as well. For a neutron moderator, graphite was chosen on the basis of its availability compared with beryllium or heavy water. The decision of what coolant to use attracted more debate. The Metallurgical laboratory's first choice

805-710: A limit of 5 micrograms (μg) in the body, and work practices and workplaces at Chicago and Clinton were modified to ensure that this standard was met. During 1943 and 1944, the Metallurgical Laboratory focused on first getting the X-10 Graphite Reactor at the Clinton Engineer Works up and running, and then the B Reactor at the Hanford Site. By the end of 1944, the focus had switched to training operators. Much of

920-492: A reactor might then be chemically separated from uranium it was bred from. On 20 December, soon after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor that brought the United States into the war, Compton was placed in charge of the plutonium project. Its objectives were to produce reactors to convert uranium to plutonium, to find ways to chemically separate the plutonium from the uranium, and to design and build an atomic bomb. Although

1035-616: A remote location in Idaho , called "Argonne-West," to conduct further nuclear research. The lab's early efforts focused on developing designs and materials for producing electricity from nuclear reactions. The laboratory designed and built Chicago Pile 3 (1944), the world's first heavy-water moderated reactor , and the Experimental Breeder Reactor I (Chicago Pile 4) in Idaho, which lit a string of four light bulbs with

1150-413: A staffing freeze. The only division to grow between November 1944 and March 1945 was the health division; all the rest lost 20 percent or more of their staff. From a peak of 2,008 staff on 1 July 1944, the number of people working at the Metallurgical Laboratory fell to 1,444 on 1 July 1945. The end of the war did not end the flow of departures. Seaborg left on 17 May 1946, taking much of what remained of

1265-533: A strong battery research program. Following a major push by then-director Alan Schriesheim, the laboratory was chosen as the site of the Advanced Photon Source , a major X-ray facility which was completed in 1995 and produced the brightest X-rays in the world at the time of its construction. The laboratory continued to develop as a center for energy research, as well as a site for scientific facilities too large to be hosted at universities. In

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1380-581: A submarine transit of the North Pole as a technological showpiece. On 25 April 1958, Nautilus was underway again for the West Coast, now commanded by Commander William R. Anderson , USN. Stopping at San Diego , San Francisco, and Seattle , she began her history-making polar transit, " Operation Sunshine ", as she departed the latter port on 9 June. On 19 June, she entered the Chukchi Sea , but

1495-415: A successful reactor had not yet been built, the scientists had already produced several different but promising design concepts. It fell to Compton to decide which of these should be pursued. He proposed an ambitious schedule that aimed to achieve a controlled nuclear chain reaction by January 1943, and to have a deliverable atomic bomb by January 1945. Compton felt that having teams at Columbia, Princeton,

1610-710: A tank below. Construction began on 1 January 1944. The reactor went critical in May 1944, and was first operated at full power of 300 kW in July 1944. During the war Zinn allowed it to be run around the clock, and its design made it easy to conduct experiments. This included tests to investigate the properties of isotopes such as tritium and determine the neutron capture cross section of elements and compounds that might be used to construct future reactors, or occur in impurities. They were also used for trials of instrumentation, and in experiments to determine thermal stability of materials, and to train operators. The design of

1725-476: A unit of Submarine Squadron 10 for most of the remainder of her career. On 9 April 1979, Nautilus set out from Groton, Connecticut on her final voyage under the command of Richard A. Riddell. She reached Mare Island Naval Shipyard of Vallejo, California on 26 May 1979, her last day underway. She was decommissioned and stricken from the Naval Vessel Register on 3 March 1980. Toward

1840-804: The Portsmouth Naval Shipyard in Kittery, Maine , for her first complete overhaul (28 May 1959 – 15 August 1960). Overhaul was followed by refresher training and on 24 October she departed New London for her first deployment with the Sixth Fleet in the Mediterranean Sea , returning to her home-port on 16 December. Nautilus spent most of her career assigned to Submarine Squadron 10 (SUBRON 10) at State Pier in New London, Connecticut . Nautilus and other submarines in

1955-675: The S-1 Committee , and also known as the "Pile" or "X-10" Project, headed by Chicago professor Arthur H. Compton , a Nobel Prize laureate. In turn, it became part of the Manhattan Project – the Allied effort to develop the atomic bomb during World War II . The Metallurgical Laboratory was successively led by Richard L. Doan, Samuel K. Allison , Joyce C. Stearns and Farrington Daniels . Scientists who worked there included Enrico Fermi , James Franck , Eugene Wigner and Glenn Seaborg . Compton assigned Robert Oppenheimer to take over

2070-747: The Surveyor 5 in 1967 and later analyzed lunar samples from the Apollo 11 mission. In 1978, the Argonne Tandem Linac Accelerator System (ATLAS) opened as the world's first superconducting accelerator for projectiles heavier than the electron. Nuclear engineering experiments during this time included the Experimental Boiling Water Reactor , the forerunner of many modern nuclear plants, and Experimental Breeder Reactor II (EBR-II), which

2185-723: The University of Rochester as head of the Manhattan Project's Medical Section. Over time, the study of the biological effects of radiation assumed greater importance. It was discovered that plutonium, like radium, was a bone seeker , making it especially hazardous. The Metallurgical Laboratory's Health Division set standards for radiation exposure. Workers were routinely tested at University of Chicago clinics, but this could be too late. Personal quartz fiber dosimeters were procured, as were film badge dosimeters , which recorded cumulative dosage. Stone's Health Division worked closely with William P. Jesse's Instrumentation Group in

2300-443: The periodic table . In 1962, Argonne chemists produced the first compound of the inert noble gas xenon , opening up a new field of chemical bonding research. In 1963, they discovered the hydrated electron . Argonne was chosen as the site of the 12.5 GeV Zero Gradient Synchrotron , a proton accelerator that opened in 1963. A bubble chamber allowed scientists to track the motions of subatomic particles as they zipped through

2415-417: The thermal neutron capture cross section of uranium-235. While minute quantities of plutonium-239 could be created in cyclotrons, it was not feasible to produce a large quantity that way. Compton conferred with Eugene Wigner from Princeton University about how plutonium might be produced in a nuclear reactor , and with Robert Serber from the University of Illinois about how the plutonium produced in

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2530-403: The "Metallurgical Laboratory" was formally re-chartered as Argonne National Laboratory for "cooperative research in nucleonics." At the request of the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission , it began developing nuclear reactors for the nation's peaceful nuclear energy program. In the late 1940s and early 1950s, the laboratory moved west to a larger location in unincorporated DuPage County and established

2645-427: The 50th anniversary of her commissioning on 30 September 2004 with a ceremony that included a speech from Vice Admiral Eugene P. Wilkinson, her first Commanding Officer, and a designation of the ship as an American Nuclear Society National Nuclear Landmark. Visitors may tour the forward two compartments, with guidance from an automated system. Despite similar alterations to exhibit the engineering spaces, tours aft of

2760-598: The Eastern Atlantic to participate in NATO exercises and conduct a tour of various British and French ports where she was inspected by defense personnel of those countries. She arrived back at New London on 28 October, underwent upkeep, and then conducted coastal operations until the spring. In response to the Soviet Union's successful launch of Sputnik , President Eisenhower ordered the U.S. Navy to attempt

2875-791: The Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory. In 2005, the two Idaho-based laboratories merged to become the Idaho National Laboratory . Argonne is a part of the expanding Illinois Technology and Research Corridor . Fermilab , which is another USDoE National Laboratory , is located approximately 20 miles away. Argonne has five areas of focus, as stated by the laboratory in 2022, including scientific discovery in physical and life sciences; energy and climate research; global security advances to protect society; operating research facilities that support thousands of scientists and engineers from around

2990-561: The Jones Laboratory in 1984. About 600 cubic feet (17 m ) of solid and three 55-gallon drums of liquid waste were collected and shipped to various sites for disposal. The Atomic Energy Commission terminated its lease on the Armory site in 1951, and it was restored to the state of Illinois. Testing in 1977, 1978 and 1987 indicated residual levels of radioactivity that exceeded Department of Energy guidelines, so decontamination

3105-954: The Laboratory facilities were provided by the University of Chicago. The physicists took over space under the North and West Stands of Stagg Field and in the Service Building, where there was a cyclotron. The chemists took over the George Herbert Jones Laboratory and the Kent Chemical Laboratory. The health group took space in the Anatomy Building, Drexel House, Billings Hospital and the Killis Laboratory and

3220-623: The Manhattan Project ended, and responsibility for the national laboratories passed to the Atomic Energy Commission , which replaced the Manhattan Project on 1 January 1947. The work of the Metallurgical Laboratory also led to the founding of the Enrico Fermi Institute , as well as the James Franck Institute , at the University of Chicago. Payments made to the University of Chicago under

3335-634: The Metallurgical Project. The Metallurgical Laboratory was administered by the University of Chicago under contract to the Office of Scientific Research and Development (OSRD). Over 5,000 people in 70 research groups participated in Compton's Metallurgical Project, also known as the "Pile" or "X-10" Project, of whom some 2,000 worked in the Metallurgical Laboratory in Chicago. Despite

3450-709: The OSRD S-1 Section . The Manhattan District assumed full responsibility for the Metallurgical Laboratory contract on 1 May 1943. Captain J. F. Grafton was appointed the Chicago Area Engineer in August 1942. He was succeeded by Captain Arthur V. Peterson in December 1942. Peterson remained until October 1944. Captain J. F. McKinley became Chicago Area Engineer on 1 July 1945. At first, most of

3565-533: The Pacific Coast to participate in coastal exercises and the fleet exercise, operation "Home Run," which acquainted units of the Pacific Fleet with the capabilities of nuclear submarines. Nautilus returned to New London, Connecticut , on 21 July and departed again on 19 August for her first voyage of 1,200 nmi (2,200 km; 1,400 mi) under the polar pack ice. Thereafter, she headed for

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3680-583: The Physics Division to develop detectors, including portable Geiger counters . Herbert M. Parker created a metric for radiation exposure he called the roentgen equivalent man or rem. After the war, this replaced the roentgen as the standard measure of radiation exposure. Work to assess the toxicity of plutonium got under way when the plutonium semiworks at the Clinton Engineer Works began producing it in 1943. The project set

3795-447: The U.S. Congress terminated funding for the bulk of Argonne's nuclear programs. Argonne moved to specialize in other areas, while capitalizing on its experience in physics, chemical sciences and metallurgy . In 1987, the laboratory was the first to successfully demonstrate a pioneering technique called plasma wakefield acceleration , which accelerates particles in much shorter distances than conventional accelerators. It also cultivated

3910-427: The University of Chicago and the University of California created too much duplication and not enough collaboration, and he resolved to concentrate the work in one location. Nobody wanted to move, and everybody argued in favor of their own location. In January 1942, soon after the United States entered World War II, Compton decided to concentrate the work at his own location, the University of Chicago, where he knew he had

4025-459: The address announcing the journey, the president mentioned that one day nuclear cargo submarines might use that route for trade. As Nautilus proceeded south from Greenland, a helicopter airlifted Commander Anderson to connect with transport to Washington, D.C. At a White House ceremony on 8 August, President Eisenhower presented him with the Legion of Merit and announced that the crew had earned

4140-557: The administrative offices went into Eckhart Hall . Szilard later wrote that "the morale of the scientists could almost be plotted in a graph by counting the number of lights burning after dinner in the offices at Eckhart Hall." When the project outgrew its space in Eckhart Hall, it moved into the nearby Ryerson Hall. The Metallurgical Laboratory eventually occupied 205,000 square feet (19,000 m ) of campus space. About $ 131,000 worth of alterations were made to buildings occupied by

4255-564: The aluminum jacket to the uranium slug. Under pressure to identify a source of processed uranium, in April 1942 Compton, Spedding and Hilberry met with Edward Mallinckrodt at his chemical company's headquarters in St. Louis, Missouri. The company devised and implemented a novel uranium processing technique using ether, submitted successful test materials by mid-May, supplied the material for the first self-sustaining reaction in December, and had satisfied

4370-431: The aluminum tubing. The Metallurgical Laboratory tested various additives to the water to determine their effect. It was found that corrosion was minimized when the water was slightly acidic, so dilute sulfuric acid was added to the water to give it a pH of 6.5. Other additives such as sodium silicate , sodium dichromate and oxalic acid were also introduced to the water to prevent a build up of film that could inhibit

4485-588: The basic reactor plant design used in Nautilus after being given the assignment on 31 December 1947 to design a nuclear power plant for a submarine. Nuclear power had a crucial advantage in submarine propulsion because it is a zero-emission process that consumes no air. This design is the basis for nearly all of the US nuclear-powered submarine and surface combat ships, and was adapted by other countries for naval nuclear propulsion. The first actual prototype (for Nautilus )

4600-544: The biological effects of radiation assumed greater importance. It was discovered that plutonium, like radium, was a bone seeker , making it especially hazardous. The Metallurgical Laboratory became the first of the national laboratories , the Argonne National Laboratory , on 1 July 1946. The work of the Met Lab also led to the creation of the Enrico Fermi Institute and the James Franck Institute at

4715-695: The bomb design effort in June 1942. In November 1942, this became a separate project, known as Project Y , which was located in Los Alamos, New Mexico . After the United States Army Corps of Engineers took over the Manhattan Project in August 1942, the Manhattan District coordinated the work. From 17 February 1943, Compton reported to the director of the Manhattan Project, Brigadier General Leslie R. Groves, Jr. , instead of

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4830-485: The chamber; they later observed the neutrino in a hydrogen bubble chamber for the first time. In 1964, the "Janus" reactor opened to study the effects of neutron radiation on biological life, providing research for guidelines on safe exposure levels for workers at power plants, laboratories and hospitals. Scientists at Argonne pioneered a technique to analyze the Moon 's surface using alpha radiation , which launched aboard

4945-644: The chemistry division moved to Oak Ridge in October 1943, and many personnel were transferred to other Manhattan Project sites in 1944, particularly Hanford and Los Alamos. Fermi became a division head at Los Alamos in September 1944, and Zinn became the director of the Argonne Laboratory. Allison followed in November 1944, taking with him many of the Metallurgical Laboratory's staff, including most of

5060-556: The chemistry division with him. On 11 February 1946, the Army reached an agreement with University President Robert Hutchins for the staff and equipment of the Metallurgical Project to be taken over by a regional laboratory based at Argonne, which the university still manages. On 1 July 1946, the Metallurgical Laboratory became Argonne National Laboratory , the first designated national laboratory , with Zinn as its first director. The new laboratory had 1,278 staff on 31 December 1946, when

5175-431: The circulation of the cooling water. The fuel slugs were given a jacket of aluminum to protect the uranium metal from corrosion that would occur if it came into contact with the water, and to prevent the venting of gaseous radioactive fission products that might be formed when they were irradiated. Aluminum was chosen because the cladding had to transmit heat but not absorb too many neutrons. The aluminum canning process

5290-712: The country. To commemorate the first submerged voyage under the North Pole , all Nautilus crewmembers who made the voyage may wear a Presidential Unit Citation ribbon with a special clasp in the form of a gold block letter N (image above). Nautilus was designated a National Historic Landmark by the United States Secretary of the Interior on 20 May 1982. She was named as the official state ship of Connecticut in 1983. Following an extensive conversion at Mare Island Naval Shipyard , Nautilus

5405-598: The course of its history, 13 individuals have served as Argonne Director: Significant portions of the 1996 chase film Chain Reaction were shot in the Zero Gradient Synchrotron ring room and the former Continuous Wave Deuterium Demonstrator laboratory. 41°42′33″N 87°58′55″W  /  41.709166°N 87.981992°W  / 41.709166; -87.981992 Metallurgical Laboratory The Metallurgical Laboratory (or Met Lab )

5520-402: The cyclotron at Washington University in St. Louis . The chemistry division worked with DuPont to develop the bismuth phosphate process used to separate plutonium from uranium. The dangers of radiation poisoning had become well known due to the experience of the radium dial painters . When it became certain that nuclear reactors would involve radioactive materials on a gigantic scale, there

5635-652: The early 2000s, the Argonne Leadership Computing Facility was founded and hosted multiple supercomputers , several of which ranked among the top 10 most powerful in the world at the time of their construction. The laboratory also built the Center for Nanoscale Materials for conducting materials research at the atomic level; and greatly expanded its battery research and quantum technology programs. Chicago Tribune reported in March 2019 that

5750-476: The efficiency of the reactor, but Wigner was confident that his group's calculations were correct and that with the purer graphite and uranium that was now available, water would work, while the technical difficulties involved in using helium as a coolant would delay the project. The design used a thin layer of aluminum to protect the uranium from corrosion by the cooling water. Cylindrical uranium slugs with aluminum jackets would be pushed through channels through

5865-401: The end of her service, the hull and sail of Nautilus vibrated sufficiently that sonar became ineffective at more than 4 kn (7.4 km/h; 4.6 mph) speed. As noise generation is extremely undesirable in submarines, this made the vessel vulnerable to sonar detection. Lessons learned from this problem were applied to later nuclear submarines. For outstanding achievement in completing

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5980-430: The first controlled self-sustaining nuclear reaction. On 12 December 1942, CP-1's power output was increased to 200 W, enough to power a light bulb. Lacking shielding of any kind, it was a radiation hazard for everyone in the vicinity. Thereafter, testing was continued at the lower power of 0.5 W. The operation of Chicago Pile-1 was terminated on 28 February 1943. It was dismantled and moved to Argonne, where

6095-650: The first nuclear submarine began in March 1950 as project SCB 64 . In July 1951, the United States Congress authorized the construction of a nuclear-powered submarine for the U.S. Navy , which was planned and personally supervised by Captain (later Admiral) Hyman G. Rickover , USN, known as the "Father of the Nuclear Navy." On 12 December 1951, the US Department of the Navy announced that

6210-521: The first successful submerged voyage around the North Pole. The technical details of this mission were planned by scientists from the Naval Electronics Laboratory including Dr. Waldo Lyon who accompanied Nautilus as chief scientist and ice pilot. Navigation beneath the arctic ice sheet was difficult. Above 85°N both magnetic compasses and normal gyrocompasses become inaccurate. A special gyrocompass built by Sperry Rand

6325-729: The first voyage in history across the top of the world, by cruising under the Arctic ice cap from the Bering Strait to the Greenland Sea. During the period 22 July 1958 to 5 August 1958, USS Nautilus , the world's first nuclear powered ship, added to her list of historic achievements by crossing the Arctic Ocean from the Bering Sea to the Greenland Sea, passing submerged beneath the geographic North Pole. This voyage opens

6440-433: The good salaries being offered, recruiting was difficult. There was competition for scientists and engineers from other defense-related projects, and Chicago was expensive compared with university towns. Norman Hilberry was associate director of the Metallurgical Project, and Richard L. Doan was appointed the Director of the Metallurgical Laboratory. While Doan was an able administrator, he had difficulty being accepted as

6555-405: The graphite's crystalline structure. Over time, this causes the graphite to heat and swell. Investigation of the problem would take most of 1946 before a fix was found. Metallurgical work concentrated on uranium and plutonium. Although it had been discovered over a century before, little was known about uranium, as evidenced by the fact that many references gave a figure for its melting point that

6670-447: The head of the laboratory, since he was not an academic. On 5 May 1943, Compton replaced him with Samuel K. Allison , and appointed Henry D. Smyth as associate director. Initially there were three physics groups, headed by Allison, Fermi and Martin D. Whitaker . Frank Spedding was in charge of the Chemistry Division. He was later succeeded by Herbert McCoy , and then by James Franck . Compton placed Robert Oppenheimer in charge of

6785-491: The initial attempt to go through the Bering Strait, there was insufficient room between the ice and the sea bottom. During the second, successful attempt to pass through the Bering passage, the submarine passed through a known channel close to Alaska (this was not the first choice, as the submarine wanted to avoid detection). The trip beneath the ice cap was an important boost for America as the Soviets had recently launched Sputnik, but had no nuclear submarine of their own. During

6900-426: The instrument section. He was replaced by Joyce C. Stearns . Farrington Daniels , who became associate director on 1 September 1944, succeeded Stearns as director on 1 July 1945. Where possible, the University of Chicago attempted to re-employ workers who had been transferred from the Metallurgical Laboratory to other projects once their work had ended. Replacing staff was nearly impossible, as Groves had ordered

7015-410: The lab's chemical section was the first to chemically separate a weighable sample of plutonium, and on 2 December 1942, the Met Lab produced the first controlled nuclear chain reaction , in the reactor Chicago Pile-1 , which was constructed under the stands of the university's old football stadium, Stagg Field . The Metallurgical Laboratory was established as part of the Metallurgical Project, under

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7130-418: The laboratory but the University of Chicago also had to make alterations for users displaced by it. The University of Chicago made a 0.73-acre (0.30 ha) site occupied by tennis courts available to the Manhattan District on a one dollar lease, for the construction of a new chemistry building with 20,000 square feet (1,900 m ) of space. Stone and Webster commenced work on this in September 1942 and it

7245-452: The laboratory was also helping to design the reactor for the world's first nuclear-powered submarine , the U.S.S. Nautilus , which steamed for more than 513,550 nautical miles (951,090 km) and provided a basis for the United States' nuclear navy . Not all nuclear technology went into developing reactors, however. While designing a scanner for reactor fuel elements in 1957, Argonne physicist William Nelson Beck put his own arm inside

7360-568: The laboratory was constructing the world's most powerful supercomputer. Costing $ 500 million, it will have the processing power of 1 quintillion FLOPS . Applications will include the analysis of stars and improvements in the power grid. Argonne builds and maintains scientific facilities that would be too expensive for a single company or university to construct and operate. These facilities are used by scientists from Argonne, private industry, academia, other national laboratories and international scientific organizations. Argonne welcomes all members of

7475-472: The limits of submarines. In operation, she revealed a number of limitations in her design and construction. This information was used to improve subsequent submarines. Nautilus was decommissioned in 1980 and designated a National Historic Landmark in 1982. The submarine has been preserved as a museum ship at the Submarine Force Library and Museum in Groton, Connecticut , where the vessel receives around 250,000 visitors per year. The conceptual design of

7590-491: The morning of 17 January 1955, at 11 am EST, Nautilus ' first Commanding Officer, Commander Eugene P. Wilkinson, ordered all lines cast off and signaled the memorable and historic message, "Underway on nuclear power." On 10 May, she headed south for shakedown . Submerged throughout, she traveled 1,100  nmi (2,000  km ; 1,300  mi ) from New London to San Juan, Puerto Rico and covered 1,200 nmi (2,200 km; 1,400 mi) in less than ninety hours. At

7705-463: The naval blockade of Cuba until she headed east again for a two-month Mediterranean tour in August 1963. On her return she joined in fleet exercises until entering the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard for her second overhaul on 17 January 1964. On 2 May 1966, Nautilus returned to her homeport to resume operations with the Atlantic Fleet, and at some point during that month, logged her 300,000th nautical mile (560,000 km; 350,000 mi) underway. For

7820-426: The next year and a quarter she conducted special operations for ComSubLant and then in August 1967, returned to Portsmouth, for another year's stay. During an exercise in 1966 she collided with the aircraft carrier USS  Essex on 10 November, while at shallow depth. Following repairs in Portsmouth she conducted exercises off the southeastern seaboard. She returned to New London in December 1968 and operated as

7935-423: The original 1 May 1943 non-profit contract totaled $ 27,933,134.83, which included $ 647,671.80 in construction and remodeling costs. The contract expired on 30 June 1946, and was replaced by a new contract, which ended on 31 December 1946. A further $ 2,756,730.54 was paid under this contract, of which $ 161,636.10 was spent on construction and remodeling. An additional $ 49,509.83 was paid to the University of Chicago for

8050-439: The original materials were used to build Chicago Pile-2 (CP-2). Instead of being spherical, the new reactor was built in a cube-like shape, about 25 feet (7.6 m) tall with a base approximately 30 feet (9.1 m) square. It was surrounded by concrete walls 5 feet (1.5 m) thick that acted as a radiation shield , and with overhead protection from 6 inches (15 cm) of lead and 50 inches (130 cm) of wood. More uranium

8165-433: The possibility of a new commercial seaway, a Northwest Passage, between the major oceans of the world. Nuclear-powered cargo submarines may, in the future, use this route to the advantage of world trade. The skill, professional competency and courage of the officers and crew of Nautilus were in keeping with the highest traditions of the Armed Forces of the United States and the pioneering spirit which has always characterized

8280-402: The project's entire order of the first sixty tons before the contract was signed. The metallurgy of plutonium was completely unknown, for it had only recently been discovered. In August 1942, Seaborg's team chemically isolated the first weighable amount of plutonium from uranium irradiated in the Jones Laboratory. Until reactors became available, minuscule amounts of plutonium were produced in

8395-517: The public age 16 or older to take guided tours of the scientific and engineering facilities and grounds. For children under 16, Argonne offers hands-on learning activities suitable for K–12 field trips. The laboratory also hosts educational science and engineering outreach for schools in the surrounding area. Argonne scientists and engineers take part in the training of nearly 1,000 college graduate students and post-doctoral researchers every year as part of their research and development activities. Over

8510-489: The reactor and drop out the other side into a cooling pond. Once the radioactivity subsided, the slugs would be taken away and the plutonium extracted. After reviewing the two designs, the DuPont engineers chose the water-cooled one. In 1959 a patent for the reactor design would be issued in the name of Creutz, Ohlinger, Weinberg, Wigner, and Young. The use of water as a coolant raised the problem of corrosion and oxidation of

8625-432: The reactors for plutonium production involved several problems, not just in nuclear physics but in engineering and construction. Issues such as the long-term effect of radiation on materials received considerable attention from the Metallurgical Laboratory. Two types of reactors were considered: homogeneous, in which the moderator and fuel were mixed together, and heterogeneous, in which the moderator and fuel were arranged in

8740-406: The recruitment of non-union labor. When it became clear that the materials for Fermi's new pile would be on hand before the new structure was completed, Compton approved a proposal from Fermi to build the pile under the stands at Stagg Field. Construction of the reactor, known as Chicago Pile-1 (CP-1), began on the morning of 16 November 1942. The work was carried out in twelve-hour shifts, with

8855-510: The research into bomb design in June 1942, and that became the separate Project Y in November. At its peak on 1 July 1944, the Met Lab had 2,008 staff. Chicago Pile-1 was soon moved by the lab to Site A , a more remote location in the Argonne Forest preserves , where the original materials were used to build an improved Chicago Pile-2 to be employed in new research into the products of nuclear fission. Another reactor, Chicago Pile-3 ,

8970-630: The restoration of its facilities. In 1974, the United States government began cleaning up the old Manhattan Project sites under the Formerly Utilized Sites Remedial Action Program (FUSRAP). This included those used by the Metallurgical Laboratory. Stagg Field had been demolished in 1957, but 23 locations in Kent Laboratory were decontaminated in 1977, and another 99 at the Eckhart, Ryerson, and

9085-463: The scanner and obtained one of the first ultrasound images of the human body. Remote manipulators designed to handle radioactive materials laid the groundwork for more complex machines used to clean up contaminated areas, sealed laboratories or caves. In addition to nuclear work, the laboratory performed basic research in physics and chemistry . In 1955, Argonne chemists co-discovered the elements einsteinium and fermium , elements 99 and 100 in

9200-430: The squadron made their home tied up alongside the tender, where they received preventive maintenance, and if necessary, repairs, from the well-equipped submarine tender USS Fulton (AS-11) and her crew of machinists, millwrights, and other craftsmen. Nautilus operated in the Atlantic, conducting evaluation tests for ASW improvements and participating in NATO exercises. During October 1962, Nautilus participated in

9315-702: The stage for many of the protocols of today's Nuclear Navy of the US, and who had a storied career during military service and afterwards. Sharing a name with Captain Nemo 's fictional submarine in Jules Verne 's classic 1870 science fiction novel Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Seas and the USS ; Nautilus  (SS-168) that served with distinction in World War II , the new nuclear-powered Nautilus

9430-651: The submarine would be called Nautilus , the fourth U.S. Navy vessel officially so named . The boat carried the hull number SSN-571. She benefited from the Greater Underwater Propulsion Power (GUPPY) improvements to the American Gato -, Balao -, and Tench -class submarines. Nautilus ' s keel was laid at General Dynamics ' Electric Boat Division in Groton, Connecticut , by Harry S. Truman on 14 June 1952. She

9545-492: The time as "piles") under the Stagg Field stands. Fermi designed a new uranium and graphite pile that could be brought to criticality in a controlled, self-sustaining nuclear reaction . Construction at Argonne fell behind schedule due to Stone & Webster's difficulty recruiting enough skilled workers and obtaining the required building materials. This led to an industrial dispute, with union workers taking action over

9660-473: The time, this was the longest submerged cruise by a submarine and at the highest sustained speed (for at least one hour) ever recorded. From 1955 to 1957, Nautilus continued to be used to investigate the effects of increased submerged speeds and endurance. These improvements rendered the progress made in anti-submarine warfare during World War II virtually obsolete. Radar and anti-submarine aircraft , which had proved crucial in defeating submarines during

9775-458: The university in Chicago was made available in April 1943. Known as Site B, it was remodeled to provide 62,670 square feet (5,822 m ) of laboratories and workshops for the health and metallurgy groups. The 124th Field Artillery Armory was leased from the state of Illinois to provide more space in March 1944 and about 360,000 square feet (33,000 m ) of space was leased or built, at a cost of $ 2 million. For reasons of safety and security, it

9890-481: The university. The discovery of nuclear fission in uranium by German chemists Otto Hahn and Fritz Strassmann in December 1938, and its theoretical explanation (and naming) by Lise Meitner and Otto Frisch soon after, opened up the possibility that neutrons produced by fission could create a controlled nuclear chain reaction . At Columbia University , Enrico Fermi and Leo Szilard began exploring how this might be achieved. In August 1939, Szilard drafted

10005-472: The unstinting support of university administration, whereas Columbia was engaged in uranium enrichment efforts and was hesitant to add another secret project. Other factors contributing to the decision were Chicago's central location and the availability of scientists, technicians and facilities in the Midwest that had not yet been taken away by war work. Housing was more readily available, and an inland city

10120-412: The war plus one year for a dollar. Construction of facilities including laboratories and service buildings and an access road was commenced in September 1942 and completed in early 1943. Compton appointed Fermi as the first director of the Argonne Laboratory. Between 15 September and 15 November 1942, groups under Herbert L. Anderson and Walter Zinn constructed sixteen experimental reactors (known at

10235-474: The war, proved ineffective against a vessel able to move quickly out of an area, change depth quickly and stay submerged for very long periods. On 4 February 1957, Nautilus logged her 60,000th nautical mile (110,000 km; 69,000 mi), matching the endurance of her namesake, the fictional Nautilus described in Jules Verne's novel Twenty Thousand Leagues Under The Sea . In May, she departed for

10350-408: The work on reactor development, the Metallurgical Laboratory studied the chemistry and metallurgy of plutonium, and worked with DuPont to develop the bismuth phosphate process used to separate plutonium from uranium. When it became certain that nuclear reactors would involve radioactive materials on a gigantic scale, there was considerable concern about the health and safety aspects, and the study of

10465-491: The world have roots in Argonne research. More than 1,000 scientists conduct research at the laboratory, in the fields of energy storage and renewable energy ; fundamental research in physics , chemistry , and materials science ; environmental sustainability ; supercomputing ; and national security . Argonne formerly ran a smaller facility called Argonne National Laboratory-West (or simply Argonne-West) in Idaho next to

10580-506: The world's first nuclear-generated electricity in 1951. The BWR power station reactor, now the second most popular design worldwide, came from the BORAX experiments . The knowledge gained from the Argonne experiments was the foundation for the designs of most of the commercial reactors used throughout the world for electric power generation, and inform the current evolving designs of liquid-metal reactors for future power stations. Meanwhile,

10695-530: The world; and developing the scientific and technological workforce. Argonne began in 1942 as the Metallurgical Laboratory , part of the Manhattan Project at the University of Chicago . The Met Lab built Chicago Pile-1 , the world's first nuclear reactor , under the stands of the University of Chicago sports stadium. In 1943, CP-1 was reconstructed as CP-2, in the Argonne Forest , a forest preserve location outside Chicago. The laboratory facilities built here became known as Site A . On July 1, 1946, Site A of

10810-728: Was christened on 21 January 1954 and launched into the Thames River , sponsored by Mamie Eisenhower . Nautilus was commissioned on 30 September 1954, under the command of Commander Eugene P. Wilkinson , USN. Nautilus was powered by the Submarine Thermal Reactor (STR), later redesignated the S2W reactor , a pressurized water reactor produced for the US Navy by Westinghouse Electric Corporation . Bettis Atomic Power Laboratory , operated by Westinghouse, developed

10925-465: Was helium , because it could be both a coolant and a neutron moderator. The difficulties of its use were not overlooked. Large quantities would be required, and it would have to be very pure, with no neutron-absorbing impurities . Special blowers would be required to circulate the gas through the reactor, and the problem of leakage of radioactive gases would have to be solved. None of these problems were regarded as insurmountable. The decision to use helium

11040-545: Was a scientific laboratory from 1942 to 1946 at the University of Chicago . It was established in February 1942 and became the Argonne National Laboratory in July 1946. The laboratory was established in February 1942 to study and use the newly discovered chemical element plutonium . It researched plutonium's chemistry and metallurgy, designed the world's first nuclear reactors to produce it, and developed chemical processes to separate it from other elements. In August 1942

11155-663: Was authorized in 1951. Construction began in 1952, and the boat was launched in January 1954, sponsored by Mamie Eisenhower , First Lady of the United States , wife of 34th President Dwight D. Eisenhower ; it was commissioned the following September into the United States Navy . Nautilus was delivered to the Navy in 1955. Because her nuclear propulsion allowed her to remain submerged far longer than diesel-electric submarines, she broke many records in her first years of operation and traveled to locations previously beyond

11270-564: Was built at the Argonne site in early 1944. This was the world's first reactor to use heavy water as a neutron moderator . It went critical in May 1944, and was first operated at full power in July 1944. The Metallurgical Laboratory also designed the X-10 Graphite Reactor at the Clinton Engineer Works in Oak Ridge, Tennessee , and the B Reactor at the Hanford Engineer Works in the state of Washington . As well as

11385-400: Was built, but was now becoming available in quantity thanks to the Manhattan Project's P-9 Project . The reactor was a large aluminum tank, 6 feet (1.8 m) in diameter, which was filled with heavy water, which weighed about 6.5 short tons (5.9 t). The cover was pierced by regularly spaced holes through which 121 uranium rods sheathed in aluminum projected into the heavy water. The tank

11500-432: Was carried out in 1988 and 1989, after which the site was declared suitable for unrestricted use. USS Nautilus (SSN-571) USS Nautilus (SSN-571) was the world's first operational nuclear-powered submarine and on 3 August 1958 became the first submarine to complete a submerged transit of the North Pole . Her initial commanding officer was Eugene "Dennis" Wilkinson , a widely respected naval officer who set

11615-400: Was completed in December. It was soon found to be too small and an adjacent 0.85-acre (0.34 ha) plot was added to the lease, on which a 30,000-square-foot (2,800 m ) annex was built and completed in November 1943. Extensive work was then carried out on the ventilation system to allow the laboratory to work with plutonium more safely. A site containing an ice house and stables owned by

11730-475: Was considerable concern about the health and safety aspects. Robert S. Stone, who had worked with Ernest Lawrence at the University of California, was recruited to head the Metallurgical Project's health and safety program. Simeon Cutler, a radiologist, assumed responsibility for radiation safety in Chicago, before moving on to head the program at the Hanford Site . Groves appointed Stafford L. Warren from

11845-644: Was constructed and tested by the Argonne National Laboratory in 1953 at S1W at the Naval Reactors Facility , part of the National Reactor Testing Station in Idaho. Nautilus ship's patch was designed by The Walt Disney Company , and her wardroom currently displays a set of tableware made of zirconium , as the nuclear fuel cladding was partly made of zirconium. Following her commissioning, Nautilus remained dockside for further construction and testing. On

11960-485: Was conveyed to DuPont , the company responsible for building the production reactors, and was initially accepted. In early 1943, Wigner and his Theoretical Group that included Alvin Weinberg , Katharine Way , Leo Ohlinger, Gale Young and Edward Creutz produced a design for a production reactor with water cooling. The choice of water as a coolant was controversial, as it was known to absorb neutrons, thereby reducing

12075-673: Was enabled by the technology of the North American Aviation N6A-1 Inertial Navigation System , a naval modification of the N6A used in the Navaho cruise missile; it had been installed on Nautilus and Skate after initial sea trials on USS  Compass Island in 1957. From the North Pole, she continued and after 96 hours and 1,590 nmi (2,940 km; 1,830 mi) under the ice, surfaced northeast of Greenland , having completed

12190-457: Was given close attention, as ruptured slugs could jam or damage the channels in the reactor, and the smallest holes could vent radioactive gases. The Metallurgical Laboratory investigated production and testing regimes for the canning process. An important area of research concerned the Wigner effect . Under bombardment by neutrons, the carbon atoms in the graphite moderator can be knocked out of

12305-498: Was installed shortly before the journey. There was a risk that the submarine would become disoriented beneath the ice and that the crew would have to play "longitude roulette". Commander Anderson had considered using torpedoes to blow a hole in the ice if the submarine needed to surface. The most difficult part of the journey was in the Bering Strait . The ice extended as much as 60 ft (18 m) below sea level. During

12420-474: Was less vulnerable to enemy attack. The new research establishment was formed in February 1942, and named the "Metallurgical Laboratory" or "Met Lab". Some real metallurgy was carried out, but the name was intended as a cover for its activities. The University of Chicago had been considering establishing a research institute into metals, and indeed would do so after the war, so its creation attracted little attention. Compton's plutonium project then became known as

12535-484: Was not desirable to locate the facilities for experiments with nuclear reactors in densely populated Chicago. Compton selected a site in the Argonne Forest , part of the Forest Preserve District of Cook County , about 20 miles (32 km) southwest of central Chicago, referred to as ' Site A '. The War Department leased 1,088 acres (440 ha) of land there from Cook County for the duration of

12650-402: Was off by nearly 500 °F (280 °C). Edward Creutz investigated it and discovered that at the right temperature range, uranium could be hammered and rolled, and drawn into the rods required by the production reactor design. It was found that when uranium was cut, the shavings would burst into flame. Working with Alcoa and General Electric , the Metallurgical Laboratory devised a method of soldering

12765-539: Was sodium-cooled, and included a fuel recycling facility. EBR-II was later modified to test other reactor designs, including a fast-neutron reactor and, in 1982, the Integral Fast Reactor concept—a revolutionary design that reprocessed its own fuel, reduced its atomic waste and withstood safety tests of the same failures that triggered the Chernobyl and Three Mile Island disasters. In 1994, however,

12880-419: Was surrounded by a graphite neutron reflector , which in turn was surrounded by a lead shield, and by concrete. Shielding on the top of the reactor consisted of layers of 1-foot (30 cm) square removable bricks composed of layers of iron and masonite . The heavy water was cooled with a water-cooled heat exchanger . As well as the control rods, there was an emergency mechanism for dumping the heavy water into

12995-781: Was towed back to Groton, under the command of Captain John Almon, arriving on 6 July 1985. On 11 April 1986, Nautilus opened to the public as part of the Submarine Force Library and Museum . Nautilus now serves as a museum of submarine history operated by the Naval History and Heritage Command . The ship underwent a five-month preservation in 2002 at Electric Boat, at a cost of approximately $ 4.7 million (~$ 7.61 million in 2023). Nautilus attracts some 250,000 visitors annually to her present berth near Naval Submarine Base New London . Nautilus celebrated

13110-490: Was turned back by deep drift ice in those shallow waters. On 28 June, she arrived at Pearl Harbor to await better ice conditions. By 23 July, her wait was over, and she set a course northward. She submerged in the Barrow Sea Valley on 1 August and on 3 August, at 2315 hrs. EDT she became the first watercraft to reach the geographic North Pole . The ability to navigate at extreme latitudes without surfacing

13225-432: Was used, so it contained 52 short tons (47 t) of uranium and 472 short tons (428 t) of graphite. No cooling system was provided as it only ran at a few kilowatts. CP-2 became operational in March 1943. A second reactor, known as Chicago Pile-3 , or CP-3, was built at the Argonne site in early 1944. This was the world's first reactor to use heavy water as a neutron moderator . It had been unavailable when CP-1

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