Thermopile

A nuclear 'pile' was originally just that. A pile of bricks and fuel (enriched uranium 235) on a basement floor, with moderator rods to absorb neutrons and slow down the chain reaction. The story goes that they waited for the pile to heat up a bit and pushed the rods in to see if they could control it .... doesn't bear thinking about too much.

The other thing that we could think about for a moment is the suggestion that an underground nuclear explosion could reach a temperature to set off a chain reaction in the rocks. The story goes that when the first underground explosion was conducted (by the US) they were fairly sure, more than 99% sure, that that would not happen ... but not 100% sure.

Thermal power stations operate today on the same principle. The reaction rate is controlled by inserting neutron absorbers and/or withdrawing fuel rods. At Chernobyl (1986) and in several other less catastrophic instances something has gone wrong and the good people 'on the rods' have lost it.

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