Nautilus submarine nuclear power plant prototype testIn 1953, the land-based Mark I prototype submarine power plant began to produce power in significant amounts. (Note, this was less than 8 years after the atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima, Japan, on 6 Aug 1945.) This was an experimental unit, built in Arco, Idaho, to gain experience for operating the Mark II unit in the world's first nuclear submarine, the Nautilus, launched 21 Jan 1954. Each reactor generated heat from fission of uranium-235, transferred through a heat exchanger to generate steam that drove turbines to provide mechanical propulsion. The Mark I remained useful for experimental purposes. A third power plant was built at Arco to generate electricity for the city, which became the world's first atomic-powered community on 17 Jul 1955. All were built by the Westinghouse Company.« |
