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Encyclopedia :: encyclopedia : Nuclear chain reaction (Site not responding. Last check: 2007-11-03) |
 | | A nuclear chain reaction occurs when on average more than one nuclear reaction is caused by another nuclear reaction, thus leading to an exponential increase in the number of nuclear reactions. |
 | | An uncontrolled chain reaction within a sufficiently large amount of fission fuel (critical mass) can lead to an explosive energy release and is the concept behind nuclear weapons. |
 | | The first artificial self-sustaining nuclear chain reaction was initiated by the Metallurgical Laboratory, led by Enrico Fermi, in a racquets court below the bleachers of Stagg Field at the University of Chicago on December 2, 1942 during the Manhattan Project. |
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