A record of the start-up of the first atomic reactor

A record of the start-up of the first atomic reactor in Stagg Field, University of Chicago, in 1942. The traces represent the motion of the needle of a Lindeman electrometer for a fixed time interval.  The slope of the line measures the current resulting from the ionization of the gas in a ion chamber by gamma rays emanating from graphite reactor at the time of start-up. The recording unit was located on the balcony a short distance from the strip chart which recorded the neutron activitiy and around which several people were gathered at the time of that famous event., Credit Line: Oak Ridge National Laboratory, courtesy of AIP Emilio Segrè Visual Archives
Abstract/Description: A record of the start-up of the first atomic reactor in Stagg Field, University of Chicago, in 1942. The traces represent the motion of the needle of a Lindeman electrometer for a fixed time interval. The slope of the line measures the current resulting from the ionization of the gas in a ion chamber by gamma rays emanating from graphite reactor at the time of start-up. The recording unit was located on the balcony a short distance from the strip chart which recorded the neutron activitiy and around which several people were gathered at the time of that famous event.
Subject(s): Graphic arts
Wollan, Ernest Omar
Credit Line: Oak Ridge National Laboratory, courtesy of AIP Emilio Segrè Visual Archives
Catalog ID: Wollan Ernest H2