WASHINGTON, Dec. 2, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Following is the daily "Profile America" feature from the U.S. Census Bureau:
SPLITTING THE ATOM
Profile America — Tuesday, December 2nd. One of the most important technological breakthroughs was made on this date in 1942, one that would change the course of world history. At the University of Chicago, a group of scientists led by physicist Enrico Fermi succeeded in producing the first controlled, self-sustaining nuclear chain reaction. This first simple reactor, built in great secrecy under the stands of the university's football stadium, helped provide the knowledge that led to the development of the first atomic bombs less than three years later. Today in the U.S., there are 140 nuclear power generating establishments with 50,000 employees. Nearly 800 billion kilowatt hours, or about one-fifth of the electricity consumed in the U.S. comes from nuclear power. You can find current data on the country's economy by downloading the 'America's Economy' mobile application at www.census.gov/mobile.
Sources: http://www.osti.gov/accomplishments/fermi.html
Nuclear power establishments and employees/NAICS 221113: http://factfinder2.census.gov/faces/tableservices/jsf/pages/productview.xhtml?pid=BP_2012_00A1&prodType=table
Power generation: http://www.nei.org/Knowledge-Center/Nuclear-Statistics/US-Nuclear-Power-Plants/US-Nuclear-Generating-Statistics
Profile America is produced by the Center for New Media and Promotions of the U.S. Census Bureau. These daily features are available as produced segments, ready to air, on the Internet at http://www.census.gov (look for "Multimedia Gallery" by the "Newsroom" button).
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To view the original version on PR Newswire, visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/us-census-bureau-daily-feature-for-december-2-300001843.html
SOURCE U.S. Census Bureau
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