Enrico Fermi's team ignites Chicago Pile-1, triggering the world's first self-su

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First Nuclear Chain Reaction: Fermi Splits the Atom Under a Football Stadium

Enrico Fermi's team ignites Chicago Pile-1, triggering the world's first self-sustaining nuclear chain reaction and proving atomic energy could be harnessed for power or weapons. This breakthrough instantly shifted global strategy, pushing Allied leaders to accelerate uranium enrichment programs that would soon yield the bombs ending the war.

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December 2, 1942

84 years ago

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First Nuclear Chain Reaction: Fermi Splits the Atom Under a Football Stadium

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