atomic pile

Bedeutung (Englisch)

An early nuclear reactor fueled by uranium and moderated with graphite.

Konzepte

Kernreaktor

Atommeiler

Atomreaktor

Meiler

Synonyme

atomic reactor

chain reactor

nuclear reactor

pile

reactor

fission reactor

nuclear pile

Übersetzungen

مُفَاعِل نَوَوِيّ

reactor atòmic

πυρηνικός αντιδραστήρας

pile

réacteur

pile atomique

réacteur nucléaire

reattore nucleare

reatore

reatore nucleare

pila atómica

Etymologie (Englisch)

From the fact that the first nuclear reactor, at the University of Chicago in 1942-1943, was literally constituted by a tall pile (heap) of graphite moderator blocks. Compare also charcoal pile, a traditional improvised kiln used in charcoal making, which uses a similar basic design to contain a volatile process. The fact that English pile also is related to French pile (“battery”) (with senses of a collection of components and a power source, often both coinstantiated) has also been noted as an interesting nexus of word roots and semantic themes.