Argonne has always been at the forefront of nuclear power research. Argonne’s EBR-I, also known as Chicago Pile-4, was the fourth in the series of Chicago Pile reactors, which started with Enrico Fermi at the University of Chicago. EBR-1 was the first nuclear reactor to generate electricity, powering these four 200-watt light bulbs on Dec. 20, 1951.

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