Speakur

Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

atomic pile

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 3.75 in modern English

Syllables
atom-ic pile
IPA
16
Scrabble Score
10
Letters
2
Syllables
9
Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

An early nuclear reactor fueled by uranium and moderated with graphite.

Example Sentences

Etymology

From the fact that the first nuclear reactor, at the University of Chicago in 1942-1943, was literally constituted by a tall pile (heap) of graphite moderator blocks. Compare also charcoal pile, a traditional improvised kiln used in charcoal making, which uses a similar basic design to contain a volatile process. The fact that English pile also is related to French pile (“battery”) (with senses of a collection of components and a power source, often both coinstantiated) has also been noted as an interesting nexus of word roots and semantic themes.

Inflected Forms

atomic piles (plural)

Phrases

nuclear stockpile

Frequently Paired Words

nuclear stockpile

Synonyms

nuclear pile atomic reactor pile chain reactor

Questions

What does atomic pile mean?
An early nuclear reactor fueled by uranium and moderated with graphite.
Where does atomic pile come from?
From the fact that the first nuclear reactor, at the University of Chicago in 1942-1943, was literally constituted by a tall pile (heap) of graphite moderator blocks. Compare also charcoal pile, a traditional improvised kiln used in charcoal making, which uses a similar basic design to contain a volatile process. The fact that English pile also is related to French pile (“battery”) (with senses of a collection of components and a power source, often both coinstantiated) has also been noted as an interesting nexus of word roots and semantic themes.

How to pronounce atomic pile

  1. Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “atomic pile”.
  2. Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling () so you know which sounds to aim for.
  3. Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “atomic pile”.
  4. Repeat and practice — Say “atomic pile” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.