View source for Physics:Experimental Breeder Reactor I

{{Short description|Historic decommissioned nuclear reactor in southeast Idaho, United States}}
{{Infobox NRHP
| name = Experimental Breeder Reactor No.&nbsp;1
| nrhp_type = nhl
| image = EBR-1, August 2012.jpg
| caption = Experimental Breeder Reactor Number 1 in Idaho, the first power reactor
| location = Butte County, Idaho, US
| nearest_city = Arco, Idaho
| coordinates = {{coord|43.51132|-113.0064|display=inline,title}}
| locmapin = Idaho#USA
| area =
| built = 1950
| architect= Atomic Energy Commission
| architecture =
| designated_nrhp_type = December 21, 1965<ref name="nhlsum" />
| added = October 15, 1966<ref name=npgallery>{{cite web |url=https://npgallery.nps.gov/AssetDetail/NRIS/66000307|title=Experimental Breeder Reactor No. 1 |work=NPGallery |publisher=National Park Service |access-date=October 27, 2018}}</ref>
| refnum = 66000307
}}

'''Experimental Breeder Reactor I''' ('''EBR-I''') is a decommissioned [[Physics:Research reactor|research reactor]] and U.S. National Historic Landmark located in the desert about {{convert|18|mi|km}} southeast of Arco, Idaho. It was the world's first [[Engineering:Breeder reactor|breeder reactor]].<ref>{{Cite encyclopedia |title=Breeder reactor |url=https://www.britannica.com/technology/breeder-reactor |language=en |website=Encyclopedia Britannica |access-date=2017-12-31}}</ref>  At 1:50&nbsp;p.m. on December 20, 1951, it became one of the world's first electricity-generating [[Engineering:Nuclear power plant|nuclear power plant]]s when it produced sufficient electricity to illuminate four 200-watt light bulbs.<ref name=argonne>{{cite web |url=http://www.ne.anl.gov/About/reactors/frt.shtml |title=EBR-I (Experimental Breeder Reactor-I) |publisher=Argonne National Laboratory}}</ref><ref name=ans>{{cite web |url=http://www.ans.org/pubs/magazines/nn/docs/2001-11-2.pdf |title=Fifty years ago in December: Atomic reactor EBR-I produced first electricity |publisher=American Nuclear Society |work=Nuclear News |author=Rick Michal |date=November 2001}}</ref> EBR-I subsequently generated sufficient electricity to power its building, and continued to be used for experimental purposes until it was decommissioned in 1964.  The museum is open for visitors from late May until early September{{Citation needed|reason=Is there a reason it is only open during these months? Also what happens during the months it is closed?|date=March 2023}}.

==History==
As part of the National Reactor Testing Station (since 2005 [[Organization:Idaho National Laboratory|Idaho National Laboratory]]), EBR-I's construction started in late 1949. The reactor was designed and constructed by a team led by [[Biography:Walter Zinn|Walter Zinn]] at the [[Organization:Argonne National Laboratory|Argonne National Laboratory]]<ref name=osti>{{cite journal |url=https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/4115425 |title=Nuclear Reactors Built, Being Built, or Planned in the United States as of June 30, 1970 |publisher=U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Scientific and Technical Information |date=October 31, 1970|doi=10.2172/4115425 |doi-access=free }}</ref> Idaho site, known as Argonne-West. In its early stages, the reactor plant was referred to as Chicago Pile 4 (CP-4) and Zinn's Infernal Pile.<ref>[http://www.ne.anl.gov/About/hn/news960320.shtml Argonne’s Nuclear Science and Technology Legacy: Chicago Pile reactors create enduring research legacy] part of the Argonne National Laboratory Highlights in the period 1942–1949</ref> Installation of the reactor at EBR-I took place in early 1951 (the first reactor in Idaho) and it began power operation on August 24, 1951. On December 20 of that year, atomic energy was successfully harvested at EBR-1 for the first time. The following day, the reactor produced enough power to light the whole building. The power plant produced 200 [[Kilowatt|kW]] of electricity out of 1.4 MW of [[Physics:Heat|heat]] generated by the reactor.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.straipsniai.lt/en/Energetics/page/5238 |title=Nuclear energy for peace: the birth of nuclear energetics |access-date=July 21, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110726164126/http://www.straipsniai.lt/en/Energetics/page/5238 |archive-date=July 26, 2011 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

[[File:EBR-I - Core after 1955 incident.jpg|thumb|left|upright|Part of the core after the 1955 partial meltdown]]
The design purpose of EBR-I was not to produce electricity but instead to validate [[Physics:Nuclear physics|nuclear physics theory]] that suggested that a [[Engineering:Breeder reactor|breeder reactor]] should be possible. In 1953, experiments revealed the reactor was producing additional fuel during [[Physics:Nuclear fission|fission]], thus confirming the hypothesis. On November 29, 1955, the reactor at EBR-I suffered a partial [[Physics:Nuclear meltdown|meltdown]] during a coolant flow test. The flow test was trying to determine the cause of unexpected reactor responses to changes in coolant flow. It was subsequently repaired for further experiments, which determined that thermal expansion of the fuel rods and the thick plates supporting the fuel rods was the cause of the unexpected reactor response.<ref>The Story of the Borax Nuclear Reactor and the EBR-I Meltdown&nbsp;— Ray Haroldsen {{ISBN|978-1-56684-706-3}}</ref>

Although EBR-I produced the first electricity available in-house, a nearby experimental boiling water reactor plant called BORAX-III (also designed, built, and operated by Argonne National Laboratory) was connected to external loads, powering the nearby city of Arco, Idaho in 1955, the first time a city had been powered solely by nuclear power.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ne.anl.gov/About/reactors/borax3/index.shtml |title=AEC Press release for BORAX-III lighting Arco, Idaho |publisher=U.S. Department of Energy, Argonne National Laboratory |year=1999 |access-date=July 26, 2012}}</ref>

Besides generating the world's first electricity from atomic energy, EBR-I was also the world's first breeder reactor and the first to use [[Chemistry:Plutonium|plutonium]] fuel to generate electricity (see also the [[Physics:Clementine (nuclear reactor)|Clementine]] nuclear reactor). Correction: The world's first electricity from atomic energy was generated 3 years earlier in September 1948 at the X-10 Graphite Reactor at the Oak Ridge National Lab in Tennessee. EBR-I's initial purpose was to prove [[Biography:Enrico Fermi|Enrico Fermi's]] fuel breeding principle, a principle that showed a nuclear reactor producing more fuel atoms than consumed. Along with generating electricity, EBR-1 would also prove this principle.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.asme.org/about-asme/who-we-are/engineering-history/landmarks/39-experimental-breeder-reactor-i | title=Experimental Breeder Reactor I | publisher=[[Organization:ASME|ASME]] | access-date=December 18, 2017}}</ref>

===Design===
EBR-I used uranium metal fuel and NaK primary coolant.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.asme.org/wwwasmeorg/media/resourcefiles/aboutasme/who%20we%20are/engineering%20history/landmarks/39-experimental-breeder-reactor-i-1951.pdf | title=Experimental Breeder Reactor I | publisher=[[Organization:ASME|ASME]] | access-date=October 28, 2019}}</ref> It was in this identical to the initial configuration of the later Dounreay Fast Reactor which first went [[Physics:Criticality (status)|critical]] in 1959.

The primary liquid metal coolant flows by gravity from the supply tank through the reactor core, where it absorbs heat. Then, the coolant flows to heat the exchanger, where it gives up this heat to the secondary coolant, another liquid metal. The primary coolant is returned to the supply tank by an electromagnetic pump. The secondary coolant is pumped to the boiler, where it gives up its heat to water, generating steam. This steam passes to the turbine, which is how electricity is produced. This steam the condenses and returned to the boiler by a water pump.<ref>{{Cite web |title=EBR-1 in Photos |url=https://www.ans.org/news/article-2096/ebr-1-in-photos/ |access-date=2024-01-13 |website=www.ans.org |language=en}}</ref>

===Decommission and legacy===
EBR-I was deactivated by Argonne in 1964 and replaced with a new reactor, [[Physics:Experimental Breeder Reactor II|Experimental Breeder Reactor II]].

It was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1965<ref name="nhlsum">{{cite web|url=http://tps.cr.nps.gov/nhl/detail.cfm?ResourceId=198&ResourceType=Building|title=Experimental Breeder Reactor No. 1|access-date=February 6, 2008|work=National Historic Landmark summary listing|publisher=National Park Service|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080110085743/http://tps.cr.nps.gov/nhl/detail.cfm?ResourceId=198&ResourceType=Building|archive-date=January 10, 2008|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="nrhpinv2">{{cite web|url={{NHLS url|id=66000307}}|work=National Register of Historic Places Inventory Nomination Form |title=Experimental Breeder Reactor #1|date=June 12, 1976 |format=PDF |author=Blanche Higgins Schroer |publisher=National Park Service |access-date=June 22, 2009}} and {{NHLS url|id=66000307|title=''Accompanying 4 photos, from 1975.''|photos=y}}&nbsp;{{small|(1.43&nbsp;MB)}}</ref> with its dedication ceremony held on August 25, 1966, led by President Lyndon Johnson and [[Biography:Glenn T. Seaborg|Glenn T. Seaborg]].<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.inl.gov/article/experimental-breeder-reactor-i-opens-memorial-day-weekend-for-summer-tours/ | title=EBR-I now open to the public for tours | publisher=Idaho National Laboratory | date=May 26, 2016 | access-date=December 18, 2017}}</ref> It was also declared an IEEE Milestone in 2004.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ieeeghn.org/wiki/index.php/Milestones:Experimental_Breeder_Reactor_I,_1951 |title=Milestones:Experimental Breeder Reactor I, 1951 |work=IEEE Global History Network |publisher=IEEE |access-date=August 3, 2011}}</ref>

==Gallery==
<gallery mode="packed" heights="200px">
Ebri_plaques.jpg|Plaques at the EBR-I site
Ebr1core.png|Assembly of the EBR-1 core in 1951
</gallery>
<gallery mode="packed" heights="150px">
First four nuclear lit bulbs.jpeg|The first production of usable nuclear electricity occurred on December 20, 1951, when four light bulbs were lit with electricity generated from the EBR-1 reactor.
Ebr-1.zdv.jpg|The reactor is in the building at center; the two structures lower left are reactors from the [[Engineering:Aircraft Nuclear Propulsion|Aircraft Nuclear Propulsion Project]].
EBR-1 2001.jpg|View of EBR-1, from the parking lot
</gallery>

==See also==
*[[Organization:Argonne National Laboratory|Argonne National Laboratory]]
*Obninsk Nuclear Power Plant, 5MWe, the first nuclear reactor to supply electricity to a power grid.
*Calder Hall, England, the first nuclear power station to deliver power in commercial quantities.
*[[Engineering:Aircraft Nuclear Propulsion|Aircraft Nuclear Propulsion Project]]
*[[Organization:Idaho National Laboratory|Idaho National Laboratory]]
*List of National Historic Landmarks in Idaho
*National Register of Historic Places listings in Butte County, Idaho

==References==
;Citations
{{Reflist|30em}}

;Bibliography
{{Refbegin|2}}
*[http://www.ne.anl.gov/About/reactors/frt.shtml Argonne National Laboratory EBR-1] – The EBR-1 reactor was '''designed, built, and operated by [[Organization:Argonne National Laboratory|Argonne National Laboratory]]'''. 
*[http://www.inl.gov/ebr/ Page about EBR-1 at INL web site]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20060519213402/http://www.ieee.org/organizations/history_center/ebr1.html IEEE History Center: EBR-I]
*[http://www.inl.gov/factsheets/ebr-1.pdf INL EBR-1]
*[http://www.ans.org/pubs/magazines/nn/docs/2001-11-2.pdf ANS EBR-I History] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080625035749/http://www.ans.org/pubs/magazines/nn/docs/2001-11-2.pdf |date=June 25, 2008 }}
*[http://local.ans.org/idaho/ans/News/Entries/2008/10/21_EBR-I_Essay_by_Matthew_Croson.html Essay by Matthew Croson]{{Dead link|date=November 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}
*[http://www.atomicheritage.org/ Atomic Heritage Foundation]
{{Refend}}

==External links==
* [https://doi.org/10.2172/1819689 Zinn, Feasibility Report: Fast Neutron Pile for a Test of Conversion, ANL-4356, 1949], A detailed description of the reactor
* {{cite journal |url= {{Google books |id= yNwDAAAAMBAJ |page= 105 |plainurl= yes }} |title= Reactor Makes Electricity |journal= Popular Mechanics |date= March 1952 |volume= 97 |issue= 3 |page= 105 }}
* {{YouTube| KncekYvqyWs | "Nuclear Pioneers: Creation of the Experimental Breeder Reactor 1" }} {{cite web |date= April 13, 2011 |publisher= Idaho National Lab (INL) |title= How the reactor was developed through interviews with the original researchers |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KncekYvqyWs }}
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eLsD9XZEjEk ERB-1 Core Disassembly]

{{U.S. Nuclear Plants}}

[[Category:Fast-neutron reactors]]
[[Category:Nuclear research reactors]]

{{Sourceattribution|Experimental Breeder Reactor I}}