Oak Ridge, Tennessee. The first reactor to generate plutonium goes into operation. It is similar to the Fermi pile, but modified to make it easier to remove the uranium rods and immerse them in acid baths to begin plutonium extraction. It also has a cooling system (absent in the Fermi piles, both in New York and Chicago). Finally, it has a shield over two meters thick made of a special cement, mixed to retain water once hardened, for greater efficiency in stopping neutrons. Compton and Ridge are present at the start-up. The first sample of plutonium produced is immediately shipped to Los Alamos, where Emilio Segrè eagerly awaits it. These samples are often infinitesimal, on the order of milligrams.
