1945-The 'Demon Core' And Its Scientist Victims
Jan 18, 2023 17:46:01 GMT
amyghost and paulslaugh like this
Post by dividavi on Jan 18, 2023 17:46:01 GMT
This is an article from ScienceAlert website describing the incredibly sloppy safety measures employed by researchers working on atomic bomb manufacturing/testing in 1945. Here are some excerpts from the article. To read in its entirety go to www.sciencealert.com/the-chilling-tale-of-the-demon-core-and-the-scientists-who-became-its-victims
For additional information, here's the wikipedia page for Louis Slotin: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louis_Slotin
The Chilling Tale of The 'Demon Core' And The Scientists Who Became Its Victims
Recreation of the famous accident, using a replica of the demon core apparatus. (Los Alamos National Laboratory)
It was August 13, 1945, and the 'demon core' was poised, waiting to be unleashed onto a stunned Japan still reeling in fresh chaos from the deadliest attacks anyone had ever seen.
A week earlier, 'Little Boy' had detonated over Hiroshima, followed swiftly by 'Fat Man' in Nagasaki.
These were the first and only nuclear bombs ever used in warfare, claiming as many as 200,000 lives – and if things had turned out a little differently, a third deadly strike would have followed in their hellish wake.
But history had other plans.
After Nagasaki proved Hiroshima was no fluke, Japan promptly surrendered on August 15, with Japanese radio broadcasting a recorded speech of Emperor Hirohito conceding to the Allies' demands.
Recreation of 1945 accident. (Los Alamos National Laboratory)
As it turns out, this was the first time the Japanese public at large had ever heard one of their emperors' voices, but for scientists at the Los Alamos Laboratory in New Mexico – aka Project Y – the event had a more pressing significance.
It meant the functional heart of the third atom bomb they'd been working on – a 6.2-kilogram (13.7 pound) sphere of refined plutonium and gallium – wouldn't be needed for the war effort after all.
If the conflict had still been raging, as it had for almost five straight years, this plutonium core would have been fitted into a second Fat Man assembly and detonated above another unsuspecting Japanese city just four days later.
Recreation of the famous accident, using a replica of the demon core apparatus. (Los Alamos National Laboratory)
It was August 13, 1945, and the 'demon core' was poised, waiting to be unleashed onto a stunned Japan still reeling in fresh chaos from the deadliest attacks anyone had ever seen.
A week earlier, 'Little Boy' had detonated over Hiroshima, followed swiftly by 'Fat Man' in Nagasaki.
These were the first and only nuclear bombs ever used in warfare, claiming as many as 200,000 lives – and if things had turned out a little differently, a third deadly strike would have followed in their hellish wake.
But history had other plans.
After Nagasaki proved Hiroshima was no fluke, Japan promptly surrendered on August 15, with Japanese radio broadcasting a recorded speech of Emperor Hirohito conceding to the Allies' demands.
Recreation of 1945 accident. (Los Alamos National Laboratory)
As it turns out, this was the first time the Japanese public at large had ever heard one of their emperors' voices, but for scientists at the Los Alamos Laboratory in New Mexico – aka Project Y – the event had a more pressing significance.
It meant the functional heart of the third atom bomb they'd been working on – a 6.2-kilogram (13.7 pound) sphere of refined plutonium and gallium – wouldn't be needed for the war effort after all.
If the conflict had still been raging, as it had for almost five straight years, this plutonium core would have been fitted into a second Fat Man assembly and detonated above another unsuspecting Japanese city just four days later.
