At the time, the atomic bomb had been existing for almost ten years. No one can say how many tests of atomic and even hydrogen weapon had been carried out by the year 1954, how much energy had been dispersed in vain in the atmosphere and in the space. However, everyone understood that people had to learn to use that energy for peaceful purposes. The Soviet Union was the first country to do it. On the 27th of June, in Obninsk (at the time, it was not even a town) the first atomic power station with an AM-1 reactor (the name is an abbreviation of atom mirny, Russian for “peaceful atom”) with a capacity of 5.000 kW. And the new technology spread all around the world. Today, there are 436 active nuclear power station in 30 countries of the world. Together, they produce 16% of all electric energy. However, the Obninsk NPP no longer works: it has exhausted its lifespan.
