In the little (pop. 600) town of Shippingport, Pa. this week, a man in a white protective suit will step alone into the spotless puzzle box of the world's most powerful atomic reactor. After he shuts twelve one-ton doors and gives the final signal, giant control rods will lift slowly out of the uranium reactor core to start a sustained chain reaction. At the moment the reactor "goes critical," a flow of 508° F. water will pass through the core chamber, starting a nuclear process that eventually will produce steam to generate...
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