Atomic Power Development

Archive Report

Resurgence of Interest in Nuclear Power

Use of atomic power to generate electricity is beginning to come into its own in the United States after a slow start. Initial criticality—the capacity to sustain a chain fission reaction—was achieved last year in the reactors of five American nuclear power plants. The net installed electric generating capacity of all nuclear power stations in the country reached a total of more than a million kilowatts in 19831—enough to meet the domestic needs of about 1½ million people. Another million kilowatts of capacity is currently at advanced stages of construction, and 2½ million kilowatts is on the drawing boards.2

Need to Develop Additional Sources of Power

The total capacity of existing and projected nuclear power stations will be large enough to ...

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