MOATA
Encyclopedia
Moata was a 100 kW thermal
Thermal reactor
A thermal reactor is a nuclear reactor that uses slow or thermal neutrons. Most power reactors are of this type. These type of reactors use a neutron moderator to slow neutrons until they approach the average kinetic energy of the surrounding particles, that is, to reduce the speed of the neutrons...

 Argonaut class reactor
Argonaut class reactor
The Argonaut class reactor is a design of small nuclear research reactor. Many have been built throughout the world, over a wide range of power levels...

 located at Lucas Heights near Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...

, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

. Moata went critical
Critical mass
A critical mass is the smallest amount of fissile material needed for a sustained nuclear chain reaction. The critical mass of a fissionable material depends upon its nuclear properties A critical mass is the smallest amount of fissile material needed for a sustained nuclear chain reaction. The...

at 5:50am on 10 April 1961 and ended operations on 31 May 1995. The reactor has since been permanently shutdown, and is in the final stages of dismantling ..

Moata is an Aboriginal name meaning "gentle firestick".
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