United States · Los Alamos, NM · 35.893, -106.300 (approximate location)

PCA Plasma Core Assembly

PCA Plasma Core Assembly, a research reactor (critical assembly) in Los Alamos, NM, United States, with 100 W of thermal power, operated by University of California. Decommissioned, first critical in 1974.

It was one of the 340 research reactors the United States has had; 48 remain in operation today. It went critical 32 years after the first research reactor in the United States, CP-1, Chicago Pile 1 (1942). 44 critical assemblies remain in operation today across 12 countries. Its declared uses include nuclear data measurements and materials testing.

Country

United States

City

Los Alamos, NM

Type

Critical assembly

Thermal power

100 W

Operator

University of California

Status

Decommissioned

First criticality

1974

Purpose

Nuclear data, materials testing

See also: every research reactor in United States · How research reactors work