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Discover of uranium
Uranium was discovered in 1789 by Martin Klaproth, a German chemist, and named after the planet Uranus. Uranium is a major fuel source for nuclear power. (I couldn't find the exact date) -
Discovery of the potential of nuclear fission
Enrico Fermi bombarded uranium atoms with neutrons and discovered the potential of nuclear fission which creates nuclear power. (I couldn't find the exact date) -
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Manhattan Project
The U.S. Army’s top-secret atomic energy program, known as the Manhattan Project, employed scientists in Los Alamos, New Mexico, under the direction of physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer, to develop the first transportable Atomic Bomb. Other Manhattan Project teams at Hanford, Washington, and Oak Ridge, Tennessee, produced the plutonium and uranium-235 necessary for nuclear fission. -
First controlled, and self sustaining nuclear reaction
On December 2nd, 1942 Enrico Fermi and his colleagues at the University of Chicago achieve the first controlled, self-sustaining nuclear chain reaction, using uranium rods, which makes the neutrons that was released during the splitting of the atom to continue splitting atoms and releasing more neutrons. Then Fermi’s team built a low powered reactor, insulated with 40,000 blocks of graphite that enclosed 19,000 pieces of uranium, beneath the university’s stadium. -
The Atomic Energy Act of 1946
The Atomic Energy Act was signed into law by President Truman on August 1st, 1946, formally creating the Atomic Energy Commission.The commission is charged with overseeing the use of nuclear technology in the postwar era. -
BORAX-III provides an entire town with electricity
On July 17th, 1955, BORAX-III becomes the first nuclear power plant in the world to provide the entire town of Arco, Idaho (population 1,200)with all of its electricity and the community depended solely on nuclear power for more than an hour. (The BORAX-III produced 3.5 megawatts) -
International Atomic Energy Agency
On July 29th, 1957 The International Atomic Energy Agency is formed with 18 member countries to promote peaceful uses of nuclear energy. Today it has 130 members. -
The first large-scale nuclear power plant in the United States begins operation
On December 2nd, 1957 the first large-scale nuclear power plant in the United States began operation in Shippingport, Pennsylvania. Built by the federal government and operated by the Duquesne Light Company in conjunction with the Westinghouse Bettis Atomic Power Laboratory. (It was built at a cost of $72,500,000) -
First Major Nuclear accident of an Nuclear plant int he US
On March 28th, 1979 a Nuclear plant at Three Mile Island near Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, experienced a major failure when a water pump in the secondary cooling system of a pressurized water reactor malfunctioned which jammed the relief valve then caused a buildup of heat, resulting in a partial meltdown of the core and releasing radioactive material. -
World’s first advanced boiling water reactor
On November 7th, 1996 Tokyo Electric Power Co Inc (TEPCO), which is Japan’s biggest power utility, started commercial operation of the world’s first advanced boiling water reactor (ABWR). The reactor, at the utility’s nuclear power complex, has a capacity of 1,350 Mega Watts. -
Fukushima Nuclear Plant
A 9.0 magnitude earthquake and tsunami on March 11th, 2011 hits the Fukushima nuclear plant, triggering nuclear meltdowns that contaminated food and water and forced mass evacuations in that area. About 16,000 people were killed in the earthquake and the tsunami.
