Chicago Pile-3 (CP-3) was the world's first
heavy water reactor. One of the first
research reactors, it was constructed in 1943 at
Site A, a research facility around ten miles from the
University of Chicago
The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, or UChi) is a Private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Its main campus is in the Hyde Park, Chicago, Hyde Park neighborhood on Chicago's South Side, Chic ...
campus in the city of
Chicago
Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...
. Joining
CP-1/CP-2, it first went critical on 15 May 1944, and was at first used in the experimental physics work of the
Metallurgical Laboratory for the
Manhattan Project
The Manhattan Project was a research and development program undertaken during World War II to produce the first nuclear weapons. It was led by the United States in collaboration with the United Kingdom and Canada.
From 1942 to 1946, the ...
. After a rebuilding in 1950, its useful research-life ended when it was deactivated in 1954.
CP-3 was initially fueled with
natural uranium and used
heavy water
Heavy water (deuterium oxide, , ) is a form of water (molecule), water in which hydrogen atoms are all deuterium ( or D, also known as ''heavy hydrogen'') rather than the common hydrogen-1 isotope (, also called ''protium'') that makes up most o ...
as a neutron moderator. In January 1950, the reactor was dismantled due to suspicion of corrosion of the aluminum cladding that surrounded the
control rods. The reactor was rebuilt and redesignated CP-3′ (CP-3 prime). It was restarted in May 1950 and operated until 1954.
The reactor was authorized to operate up to 300 kilowatts.
The two versions of the reactor were used to study physics, separate fission products, recover tritium from irradiated lithium, and study radionuclide metabolism in laboratory animals.
After the reactor was decommissioned, the fuel and heavy water were shipped to the
Oak Ridge National Laboratory
Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) is a federally funded research and development centers, federally funded research and development center in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, United States. Founded in 1943, the laboratory is sponsored by the United Sta ...
. Pipes, valves, and building debris were placed in the reactor's containment shell, which was then filled with concrete. The shell was buried on the
site
Site most often refers to:
* Archaeological site
* Campsite, a place used for overnight stay in an outdoor area
* Construction site
* Location, a point or an area on the Earth's surface or elsewhere
* Website, a set of related web pages, typical ...
in a deep pit. The site sits within the
Palos Forest Preserves, part of the Cook County Forest Preserve system. A historical marker commemorates the site of CP-3 and its sister reactor
CP-1/CP-2.
See also
*
Chicago Pile-1
Chicago Pile-1 (CP-1) was the first artificial nuclear reactor. On 2 December 1942, the first human-made self-sustaining nuclear chain reaction was initiated in CP-1 during an experiment led by Enrico Fermi. The secret development of the react ...
*
Experimental Breeder Reactor I
Experimental Breeder Reactor I (EBR-I) is a decommissioned research reactor and U.S. National Historic Landmark located in the desert about southeast of Arco, Idaho. It was the world's first breeder reactor. At 1:50 p.m. on December 2 ...
(Chicago Pile-4)
*
Chicago Pile-5
References
Nuclear research reactors
Nuclear history of the United States
Argonne National Laboratory
Manhattan Project sites
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