The Importance of Scaling Up a Nuclear Facility

In 1942, Enrico Fermi and his team demonstrate in front of a group of dignitaries a nuclear chain reaction which lasted for 28 minutes. The idea being that you find the ideal operating conditions at the pilot plant stage, then you scale up to full scale. So this is where we get one of the most famous exchanges from the Manhattan Project. Compton called Conant and they had the following exchange: Do you want to be Compton or Conant? I will. Go ahead.