November 4, 1943: Worlds second successful nuclear reactor, X-10, at Oak Ridge National Laboratory went critical with a self-sustaining fission reaction. Over the next year, reactor performed flawlessly, irradiating thousands of fuel slugs, which were disassembled & dissolved so plutonium could be extracted, bit by precious bit. It was an experimental reactor far larger & more advanced than Fermis Chicago pile. November 4, 2003: Most powerful solar flare, as observed by satellite instrumentation, was recorded. November 4, 1966: Arno River flooded most of historic Florence, Italy destroying countless works of art & manuscripts (113 people died). Depth of dihydrogen monoxide (water) reached 8 feet in some areas. Flood water knocked out all power to city including hospital emergency generators. Bad news is that there were virtually no emergency measures in place. Thus, city officials & citizens were extremely unprepared for the storm and widespread devastation that it caused. November 4, 1952: Earthquake (9.0-magnitude) struck a remote area of Kamchatka Peninsula in Siberia. It was one of the largest earthquakes in recorded history. November 4, 1841: Benjamin Franklin (B.F.) Goodrich, American industrialist was born. His company manufactured variety of rubber products, including fire hoses, industrial belts & bicycle tires. November 4, 1927: Heavy rain (10 days) in New England (primarily Vermont Green Mountain region) created major flood, where 200 people died. November 4, 1846: Benjamin Palmer, American inventor, received first U.S. patent for an artificial leg. It had a pliable joint that worked noiselessly & preserved its contour in all positions. It presented no openings in the exterior of the legs about the joints and contained tendons of gut and springs arranged in such a manner as to give more elasticity, strength, durability & freedom of motion than previously available. November 4, 1837: James Douglas, Canadian-American metallurgist, & mining engineer, was born. He developed copper mining industry in American Southwest where he co-invented Hunt-Douglas process for copper extraction. Douglas founded huge copper smelting center in Douglas, Arizona & eventually, became president of Phelps-Dodge.
Posted on: Tue, 04 Nov 2014 14:25:27 +0000
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