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1. Robert McNees (mcnees@mastodon.social)'s status on Saturday, 04-Nov-2023 17:22:43 UTC Robert McNees

   The X-10 graphite reactor at Oak Ridge went critical # OTD in 1943.

   Built as part of the Manhattan Project, it was the second artificial nuclear reactor (after Fermi's Chicago Pile 1) and the first to operate continuously.

   Photo: Ed Westcott

   • Robert McNees (mcnees@mastodon.social)'s status on Saturday, 04-Nov-2023 17:36:45 UTC Robert McNees

     in reply to

     The High Flux Isotope Reactor (HFIR), completed in 1965, is just down the road from the X-10 site. If you like well-designed control panels from the 1960s, please enjoy this beauty.

     A true 👨🍳🤌💋 of a control panel.

   • Robert McNees (mcnees@mastodon.social)'s status on Saturday, 04-Nov-2023 17:40:05 UTC Robert McNees

     in reply to

     I visited the facilities a few years ago. It is pretty heavily forested back there, so much so that you might not notice the enormous Experimental Gas-Cooled Reactor as you drive by.

   • Robert McNees (mcnees@mastodon.social)'s status on Saturday, 04-Nov-2023 17:42:05 UTC Robert McNees

     in reply to

     But it’s back there!

   • Robert McNees (mcnees@mastodon.social)'s status on Saturday, 04-Nov-2023 18:04:52 UTC Robert McNees

     in reply to

     Anything could be hiding back in those woods!

     That's one of the reasons Oak Ridge was chosen as a site for the Manhattan Project. Remote, hard to find anything, easy access to plentiful hydroelectric power because of the TVA.

     Related: Oak Ridge was remote and mysterious enough to get a mention in Manly Wade Wellman's "John the Balladeer" stories. In "The Little Black Train," John mentions learning about the Doppler Effect from "a man I know, place in Tennessee called Oak Ridge."

   • ARCANON☑ (arcanon@mastodon.social)'s status on Saturday, 04-Nov-2023 19:20:53 UTC ARCANON☑

     in reply to

     @mcnees physical SCADA

   • Brian R. Pauw (doc@mastodon.social)'s status on Saturday, 04-Nov-2023 21:06:02 UTC Brian R. Pauw

     in reply to

     @mcnees gotta nab me one of those 24h clocks 😍

   • Greg Lloyd (roundtrip@federate.social)'s status on Saturday, 04-Nov-2023 21:15:52 UTC Greg Lloyd

     in reply to

     @mcnees

     It reminds me of ‘Tales from the Loop‘, the 2020 Amazon Prime series, and the scifi art book of the same name by Swedish artist Simon Stålenhagn which inspired the series.

     Series https://www.imdb.com/title/tt8741290/

     Book: https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Tales-From-the-Loop/Simon-Stalenhag/9781982150693