Origins and evolution of the nuclear program in Brazil: the alliance between scientists and militaries for the institutionalization of Science & Technology towards the nuclear technology development

Resumo

Since the world’s first nuclear reactor Chicago Pile-1 went critical many countries have developed their civil nuclear power. And yet some countries such as Iran, Syria and North Korea have faced strong opposition to build their civil nuclear reactor. The Western countries expressed their concern that the enrichment process could lead to a nuclear weapon. As for Brazil, due to its huge hydro electrical potential, nuclear energy program in Brazil was not implemented because of electrical source needs in the beginning. Neither was for military purposes. It started exploring the nuclear area in the search for nuclear scientific and technological knowledge facing opposition too. This paper is a case study about the origins of the development of nuclear energy in Brazil.The facts about that history based on secondary sources will be presented following a chronological order. The historical facts are analysed in multiple dimensions under the hindsight light of the medium run duration (1946-2006). We will start from the struggles of the admiral Álvaro Alberto to create the National Research Council (CNPq) and go through the 1975 agreement with Germany until the achievement of the enrichment of uranium technology and the other stages of the fuel cycle.