MERLIN reactor was a 10MWt pool-type research reactor

Research reactor

Research reactors are nuclear reactors that serve primarily as a neutron source. They are also called non-power reactors, in contrast to power reactors that are used for electricity production, heat generation, or maritime propulsion.-Purpose:...

 at Aldermaston Court

Aldermaston Court

Aldermaston Court is a country house built in the Victorian era with incorporations from an earlier house, located in the village of Aldermaston in the English county of Berkshire...

, Aldermaston

Aldermaston

Aldermaston is a rural village, civil parish and electoral ward in Berkshire, South-East England. In the 2001 United Kingdom Census, the parish had a population of 927. The village is on the southern edge of the River Kennet flood plain, near the Hampshire county boundary...

, Berkshire

Berkshire

Berkshire is a historic county in the South of England. It is also often referred to as the Royal County of Berkshire because of the presence of the royal residence of Windsor Castle in the county; this usage, which dates to the 19th century at least, was recognised by the Queen in 1957, and...

, England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

 which operated from 6 November 1959 until 1962.

It was privately owned and operated by Associated Electrical Industries

Associated Electrical Industries

Associated Electrical Industries was a British holding company formed in 1928 through the merger of the British Thomson-Houston Company and Metropolitan-Vickers electrical engineering companies...

. It was opened by H.R.H. Prince Philip on 6 November 1959. The head of the reactor was Dr Alan James Salmon, then aged 36 who had worked for AEI since leaving the RAF and had spent two years at the Atomic Energy Research Establishment

Atomic Energy Research Establishment

The Atomic Energy Research Establishment near Harwell, Oxfordshire, was the main centre for atomic energy research and development in the United Kingdom from the 1940s to the 1990s.-Founding:...

 studying reactor design before joining AEI Aldermaston.

External links

• Table of closed reactors at the european parliament
  European Parliament
  The European Parliament is the directly elected parliamentary institution of the European Union . Together with the Council of the European Union and the Commission, it exercises the legislative function of the EU and it has been described as one of the most powerful legislatures in the world...
  
  website.