Plutonium Demon Core : The Nuclear Science Tragedy

I came across an intriguing piece of nuclear history that I simply couldn't ignore: the Demon Core. Its ominous name alone piqued my curiosity, leading me down a rabbit hole of discovery into one of the darker chapters of nuclear science history. This story begins against the backdrop of the United States' conflict with Japan during World War II.

August 1945, in Los Alamos, sat a fourteen pound sphere of Plutonium in the top secret laboratory of the United State. This nuclear material was intended to be used in the war against Japan as the third nuclear bomb. The first and second had been launched and it had caused lot of havoc even to the soviet soldiers and Japan had to surrender so the third nuclear material to be used could not be used again since the second world war had come to an end.

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The plutonium was needed for atomic bomb which means it was supposed to perform its function after it had been inserted into the bomb but even without not being inserted, it still claimed the lives for people. This chemical element was first discovered by a team of researchers in the University of Berkeley on the 14th of December 1940 during a deuteron bombardment of a uranium target and it became element 94. With the discovery that an isotope of the element Plutonium-239 could undergo fission, which could be used for atomic bombs, research papers on the element were withdrawn and placed under the Manhattan project.

A quick one, the war ended in 1945 after the destruction of Hiroshima and Nagasaki went down with the bomb and thousand of people died in this bomb and this was when Japan surrendered so the third bomb wasn't needed. Actually, the third nuclear heart was named Rufus and it was immediately used for research in the lab and this was because scientists didn't know much about nuclear science, and needed to understand it. Two days after the cancellation of the war, Rufus changed its name to the Demon Core, as it began to cause damages thanks to scientist negligence and lack of knowledge.

The first event happened in August 21, 1945 when physicist Harry Daghlian in Los Alamos was checking for the threshold where plutonium would become supercritical (a point where each fission material produces a neutron which would cause another fission atom to produce another neutron which will then create continue in a chain reaction).

This was done because it was needed for detonation but since nothing was going to be detonated, another effect happened which was the production of radiation and creation of extreme heat. Actually scientist knew that this experiment could be extremely dangerous if anything had gone wrong. Harry covered the core with bricks made of Tungsten Carbide and the neutron was doing its job until a brick dropped into the core inducing supercriticality immediately causing a flash of blue light followed by extreme heat covered the laboratory. While he was able to take the brick away, the deed had been done as radiation caused him to burn, his hands swelled and covered with blisters and he died weeks after the radiation was emitted.

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Like this wasn't enough, physicist Louis Slotin performed the same experiment but this time with a group of researchers. Slotin received several warnings about the deadly experiments he was conducting but he wouldn't listen. In one of his experiment, he used a beryllium dome to perform the experiment were he fitted the dome over the core but didn't cover it completely with the help of a screwdriver but the screwdriver slipped and covered the entire core causing the nuclear core to become supercritical. There was a blue flash in the lab followed by extreme heat. Everyone in the room got a dose of the radiation but Louis Slotin received a fatal dose which made him sick. Doctors said he had suffered a three dimensional burn inside. He began to lose weight, and experience signs of mental deterioration after which he died. Later the nuclear core was melted down and reintegrated into the US nuclear Stockpile.

The legacy of the Demon Core serves as a stark reminder of the dangers inherent in nuclear experimentation. This post is a cautionary tale of scientific ambition tempered by human error. It stands as a somber tribute to those who lost their lives in pursuit of knowledge,but also underscores the need for diligence, respect for the forces at play, and an unwavering commitment to safety in the pursuit of scientific discovery.

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To Read More

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https://www.newyorker.com/tech/annals-of-technology/demon-core-the-strange-death-of-louis-slotin
https://www.atomicheritage.org/history/plutonium
https://www.iflscience.com/demon-core-the-35-inch-nuclear-orb-that-killed-2-physicists-73743
https://ahf.nuclearmuseum.org/ahf/history/atomic-accidents/
https://www.sciencealert.com/the-chilling-story-of-the-demon-core-and-the-scientists-who-became-its-victims-plutonium-bomb-radiation-wwii