atomic pile

AI In plain words

Writing a short explanation…

Written by a house AI from the entry below, in your language. The entry itself is the source.

atomic pile

Where it comes from

From the fact that the first nuclear reactor, at the University of Chicago in 1942-1943, was literally constituted by a tall pile (heap) of graphite moderator blocks. Compare also charcoal pile, a traditional improvised kiln used in charcoal making, which uses a similar basic design to contain a volatile process. The fact that English pile also is related to French pile (“battery”) (with senses of a collection of components and a power source, often both coinstantiated) has also been noted as an interesting nexus of word roots and semantic themes.

noun atomic piles

An early nuclear reactor fueled by uranium and moderated with graphite. 1948 The second atomic pile at the Government's research establishment at Harwell […] is expected to be brought into use this summer – The Times (London), May 11 1948, pg 2 col A
Similar: nuclear pile

Talk about this word

Cite this

MLA

"atomic pile." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/atomic%20pile. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

atomic pile. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/atomic%20pile

Chicago

"atomic pile." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/atomic%20pile.

BibTeX

@misc{atomic_pile_2026,
  title = {atomic pile},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/atomic%20pile},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}