The Idaho National Laboratory has been involved in nuclear research for close to seventy years now.
Much of what we know today of nuclear reactors and how they behave and misbehave was discovered here.
A mock setup of the four bulbs that lit up on the historic day.
Electricity required to power them came from a generator connected to Experimental Breeder Reactor-I (EBR-I).
This was the first time that a usable amount of electrical power had ever been generated from nuclear fission.
Only days later, the reactor produced enough electricity to power the entire EBR complex.
A breeder reactor is a nuclear reactor that generates more fissile material than it consumes.
This fuel breeding principle was first suggested by Enrico Fermi.
EBR-1s purpose was to validate this theory.
Not only did EBR-1 prove this principle, it also became the first reactor to produce electricity.
The very next year, EBR-1 was declared a National Historic Landmark.
At the Experimental Breeder Reactor No.
The museum remains open from Memorial Day weekend through Labor Day weekend.
Part of the core after the 1955 partial meltdown.
Photo credit:Kelly Michals/Flickr
Photo credit:Kelly Michals/Flickr
