Arco/BORAX Mobile Substation [12]

Scan of a photo: "The electric light bulbs in this photo show the first known use of electric power from atomic energy. The bulbs are lighted by electricity from the generator at the right which, in turn, operates on heat from the recently completed Experimental Breeder Reactor. This photograph was taken December 20, 1951 at the Atomic Energy Commission's National Reactor Testing Station in Idaho, where the new reactor is operated by the Argonne National Laboratory. Argonne scientists and engineers also designed and constructed the reactor. On December 21 the reactor power plant supplied all the electricity for teh building in which it is housed. Electric power generation is a by-product of the Experimental Breeder Reactor whose main purpose is to provide data on the possibility of creating new nuclear fuel by breeding. Though this power generation is incidental and uneconomic, emperiments with the Experimental Breeder Reactor power plant are the first step toward ultimate practical application of atomic energy for power purposes."