0.645
Based on primary energy power · Type I = 1

AccelerationFour-dimensional view84 years agoThe Atomic Age
Chicago Pile-1 achieves the first man-made self-sustaining chain reaction.
Art style · 1940s black-and-white news photography
Each sparkline shows the documented history of a metric on a logarithmic time axis. The dot marks the selected moment.
0.645
Based on primary energy power · Type I = 1
2.33Bpeople
1/4 of today
2.8×10¹²W
1/7 of today
—
No reliable data yet · data begins 1945
0.02 seconds
1 times faster than today
870km/h
1/46 of today
The eight closest milestones. Select a title to jump there.
Turing proposes a mathematical model of computability, laying the foundation of computer science. Source
Hahn and Strassmann discover that uranium nuclei can split. Source

Chicago Pile-1 achieves the first man-made self-sustaining chain reaction. Source
The Trinity test detonates the first atomic bomb in New Mexico. Source

ENIAC, a general-purpose electronic computer, is publicly unveiled at the University of Pennsylvania. Source

Bardeen and Brattain at Bell Labs build the point-contact transistor. Source
Shannon publishes "A Mathematical Theory of Communication": information becomes measurable. Source
Turing publishes "Computing Machinery and Intelligence", proposing the "imitation game". Source
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Each era illustrated in its own style.
Every timeline entry cites its source. Metrics interpolate logarithmically between sourced data points. Forecasts include institutional and community views, and attributed site scenarios; years are not guaranteed realization dates. Illustrations are AI-generated in each era's style.