Haigerloch atomic pile

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The Haigerloch atomic pile was a German nuclear research facility. It was built in a rock cellar in Hohenzollerischen Lande, Haigerloch early in 1945 as part of the German nuclear program during World War II. In this last large-scale experiment of the uranium project with the name B8 or B-VIII, as in previous piles, a finite nuclear chain reaction was induced via bombardment of the fuel by a neutron source and measured. Natural uranium was used as fuel and heavy water, graphite, and light water were used as moderators. The criticality of the chain reaction was not achieved; the plant was also not designed for operation in a critical state, and the term reactor often used for it today is therefore only applicable to a limited extent. Later calculations showed that the reactor would have had to be about one and a half times the size to become critical. The American Special Alsos unit found the facility on April 23, 1945, and dismantled it the following day. The scientists involved were captured...

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