Anniversary - 80 years ago, Leo Szilard envisioned neutron chain reaction
September 17, 2013, 3:05PMANS Nuclear Cafe
On September 12, 1933, slightly more than 80 years ago, Leo Szilard was the first person to imagine a reasonable mechanism for releasing the vast quantities of energy known to be stored in atomic nuclei. As it turned out, his concept worked the first time it was tried on December 2, 1942.