<P> Later in 1954, Lewis Strauss, then chairman of the United States Atomic Energy Commission (U.S. AEC, forerunner of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission and the United States Department of Energy) spoke of electricity in the future being "too cheap to meter". Strauss was very likely referring to hydrogen fusion--which was secretly being developed as part of Project Sherwood at the time--but Strauss's statement was interpreted as a promise of very cheap energy from nuclear fission . The U.S. AEC itself had issued far more realistic testimony regarding nuclear fission to the U.S. Congress only months before, projecting that "costs can be brought down...(to)... about the same as the cost of electricity from conventional sources ..." </P> <P> In 1955 the United Nations' "First Geneva Conference", then the world's largest gathering of scientists and engineers, met to explore the technology . In 1957 EURATOM was launched alongside the European Economic Community (the latter is now the European Union). The same year also saw the launch of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). </P> <P> The world's first commercial nuclear power station, Calder Hall at Windscale, England, was opened in 1956 with an initial capacity of 50 MW (later 200 MW). The first commercial nuclear generator to become operational in the United States was the Shippingport Reactor (Pennsylvania, December 1957). </P> <P> One of the first organizations to develop nuclear power was the U.S. Navy, for the purpose of propelling submarines and aircraft carriers . The first nuclear - powered submarine, USS Nautilus, was put to sea in December 1954 . As of 2016, the U.S. Navy submarine fleet is made up entirely of nuclear - powered vessels, with 75 submarines in service . Two U.S. nuclear submarines, USS Scorpion and USS Thresher, have been lost at sea . The Russian Navy is currently (2016) estimated to have 61 nuclear submarines in service; eight Soviet and Russian nuclear submarines have been lost at sea . This includes the Soviet submarine K - 19 reactor accident in 1961 which resulted in 8 deaths and more than 30 other people were over-exposed to radiation . The Soviet submarine K - 27 reactor accident in 1968 resulted in 9 fatalities and 83 other injuries . Moreover, Soviet submarine K - 429 sank twice, but was raised after each incident . Several serious nuclear and radiation accidents have involved nuclear submarine mishaps . </P>

Who used a nuclear accelerator to strike neutrons into the nucleus to start a nuclear chain reaction