Chapter I

genpatsu.quest

An Interactive Encyclopedia of Nuclear Energy

Table of Isotopes

U 235
U 238
Pu 239
Pu 240
Cs 137
I 131
Sr 90
H 3
U 233
Th 232
H 2
Co 60
Kr 85
Xe 135
Tc 99
Am 241
Cm 244
Np 237
Rn 222
C 14

Chain Reaction

U

Each fission event releases neutrons that trigger further reactions, creating an exponential chain.

Timeline of Nuclear History

1942

Chicago Pile-1

First controlled, self-sustaining nuclear chain reaction achieved under Stagg Field at the University of Chicago, directed by Enrico Fermi.

1954

Obninsk Power Plant

The world's first nuclear power plant connected to an electrical grid begins operation in Obninsk, Soviet Union, producing 5 MW of electricity.

1979

Three Mile Island

Partial meltdown of reactor Unit 2 near Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. The most significant accident in U.S. commercial nuclear power history.

1986

Chernobyl Disaster

Reactor No. 4 at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant explodes during a safety test, releasing massive radioactive contamination across Europe.

2011

Fukushima Daiichi

Earthquake and tsunami cause three nuclear meltdowns at Fukushima Daiichi. The most severe nuclear accident since Chernobyl, rated INES Level 7.

This digital volume was composed in Libre Baskerville, a typeface designed by Pablo Impallari after John Baskerville's original 1757 designs. Numerical data is set in IBM Plex Mono, designed by Mike Abbink for IBM Corporation. The binding is rendered in warm leather tan upon a parchment ground.

First Digital Edition, 2026. Published at genpatsu.quest.

Atomos indivisibilis
Natura non facit saltus
E = mc2
Fiat lux