atomic pile

American  

noun

Physics.

1. reactor.

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atomic pile British  

noun

1. the original name for a nuclear reactor

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atomic pile Scientific  

1. An early type of nuclear reactor whose core consisted of layers of graphite block interspersed with uranium, designed to create a sustained fission reaction.

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Etymology

Origin of atomic pile

First recorded in 1940–45

Example Sentences

They brought the hair from a known arsenic victim to "Zo�," the atomic pile at Ch�tillon.

From Time Magazine Archive

Since the 1936 edition, the physicists too have been busy producing words and expressions for everyday use, e.g., atomic pile, chain reaction, Einstein equation and fissionable.

From Time Magazine Archive

When Oak Ridge released the radioactive byproducts of its atomic pile for private use in 1946, few U.S. businessmen paid much attention.

From Time Magazine Archive

Ordinary steel rings are put in the AEC's atomic pile at Oak Ridge and "cooked" for a month in neutrons.

From Time Magazine Archive

In this cave, Heisenberg had been trying to build an atomic pile, similar to the one made by Enrico Fermi on the squash court in Chicago.

From "Bomb" by Steve Sheinkin