K-25 was the Manhattan Project codename for the program that produced enriched uranium for atomic bombs using the gaseous diffusion method at the Clinton Engineer Works in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, in the United States. When the production facility was built in 1944, the four-story gaseous diffusion plant (pictured) was the world's largest building, with over 152,000 square metres (1,640,000 sq ft) of floor space. At the height of construction, over 25,000 workers were employed on the site. Slightly enriched uranium from the S-50 thermal diffusion plant in the form of the highly corrosive uranium hexafluoride was fed into the K-25 gaseous diffusion plant; its product in turn was fed into the Y-12 electromagnetic plant. The enriched uranium was used in the Little Boy atomic bomb used in the atomic bombing of Hiroshima. Production of enriched uranium ended in 1964, gaseous diffusion ceased in 1985, and demolition of the facility was completed in 2017. (This article is part of a featured topic: History of the Manhattan Project.) .
Read more: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Featured_topics/History_of_the_Manhattan_Project
_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:
1769:
Spanish friar Junípero Serra founded Mission San Diego de Alcalá, the first Franciscan mission in the Alta California region of New Spain. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mission_San_Diego_de_Alcal%C3%A1
1931:
Ethiopian emperor Haile Selassie signed the nation's first constitution, intended to officially replace the Fetha Nagast, which had been the supreme law since the Middle Ages. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1931_Constitution_of_Ethiopia
1950:
Korean War: A Korean People's Army unit massacred thirty-one U.S. Army prisoners of war. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chaplain%E2%80%93Medic_massacre
2007:
An earthquake of magnitude 6.6 MW struck Niigata Prefecture, Japan, causing a leak of radioactive gases from the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa Nuclear Power Plant. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2007_Ch%C5%ABetsu_offshore_earthquake
_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:
wristlet: 1. An elastic band worn to keep a glove from slipping off the wrist. 2. A decorative band or bracelet that encircles the wearer's wrist; especially, a closely knitted one to keep it warm; a muffetee. 3. A small handbag with a short strap for attaching it to the wearer's wrist. 4. A handcuff. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/wristlet
___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:
I'll be all right. I'm just going through a phase right now. Everybody goes through phases and all, don't they? --The Catcher in the Rye https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/The_Catcher_in_the_Rye