Correct Answer: (d) U.S.A.
Solution:The pursuit of nuclear energy for electricity generation began soon after the discovery in the early 20th century that radioactive elements, such as radium, released an immense amount of energy, according to the principle of mass-energy equivalence. In 1932, James Chadwick discovered the Neutron, which was immediately recognized as a potential tool for nuclear experimentation because of its lack of an electric charge. Experimentation with a bombardment of materials with neutrons led Frederic and Irene Juliut-Curie to discover induced radioactivity in 1934, which allowed the creation of radium-like elements at much less the price of natural radium. Further work by Enrico Fermi in the 1930s focused on using slow neutrons to increase the effectiveness of induced radioactivity. In the United States, where Fermi and Szilárd had both emigrated, this led to the creation of the first man-made reactor, known as Chicago Pile-1, which was successfully operated on December 2, 1942. This work became part of the Manhattan Project, which made enriched uranium and built large reactors to breed plutonium for use in the first nuclear weapons, which were used on the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Electricity was generated for the first time by a nuclear reactor on December 20, 1951, at the EBR-I (Experimental Breeder Reactor-1) experimental station near Arco, Idaho, USA which initially produced about 100 kW.Thus, option (d) is the correct answer.
