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From a high-security facility to a museum: Towards the history of the Obninsk Nuclear Power Plant
 
Title (other)
PIIS020596060004937-2-1
DOI10.31857/S020596060004937-2
Publication type Article
Status Published
Authors
Kuzmin Yury 
Affiliation: Independent researcher
Address: Russian Federation,
Journal nameVoprosy istorii estestvoznaniia i tekhniki
EditionVolume 40 2
Pages254-291
Abstract

The paper reviews the history of a nuclear power plant that began to operate in Obninsk in 1954 and, inter alia, offers new interpretations of some stories from the history of this outstanding monument of science and technology. Thus, the issue of the Obninsk Nuclear Power Plant’s priority as the first power plant to supply electricity to public electricity grids is reviewed. The history is of a unique turbine built by a German firm MAN (probably in 1912) used at the Obninsk Nuclear Power Plant is elaborated; it is emphasized for the first time that the choice of parameters for the second circuit of this power plant had been largely determined by technical characteristics of this turbine. The paper points out to the importance of experiments carried out at the Obninsk Nuclear Power Plant for the development of submarine fleet and space technologies. In addition to that, possible reasons behind the USSR’s unprecedented openness in regard to the “peaceful atom” are discussed. An example of such openness is the fact that, only two years after the Obninsk Nuclear Power Plant was launched, more than 100 presentations were delivered by Soviet scientists at the conference on nuclear power in Geneva. These presentations included significant technical details concerning the Obninsk Power Plant. This paper is based on the non-classified sources.

Keywords history of nuclear technology, Obninsk Nuclear Power Plant, MAN turbine, Geneva conference, submarine fleet
Keywords list (other)
Received20.06.2019
Publication date20.06.2019
Number of characters74847
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