Illinois

Statewide: Illinois' role in making the bomb

NPR Illinois | 91.9 UIS | By Sean Crawford

Published July 27, 2023 at 9:41 AM CDT

Chicago Pile - 1 was the name for the Manhattan Project's first nuclear reactor. It was named by the man who oversaw its creation, Italian immigrant Enrico Fermi, who loved American slang. He named it pile because it was a big mound of materials.

In late 1942, few were aware that a world-changing moment had occurred. The first self-sustaining nuclear reaction happened in a makeshift lab below the University of Chicago football field. It would lead to future breakthroughs, such as in energy, but also resulted in the creation of weapons of mass destruction.

The work on what was known as the Manhattan Project is being seen through a new lens in the film "Oppenheimer." On this week's Statewide, we look back at Illinois' role.

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