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The demon core (like the core used in the bombing of Nagasaki) was, when assembled, a solid 6.2-kilogram (14 lb) sphere measuring 8.9 centimeters (3.5 in) in diameter.. It consisted of three parts made of plutonium-gallium: two hemispheres and an anti-jet ring, designed to keep neutron flux from "jetting" out of the joined surface between the hemispheres during implosi
Louis Alexander Slotin (/ ˈ s l oʊ t ɪ n / SLOHT-in; [1] 1 December 1910 – 30 May 1946) was a Canadian physicist and chemist who took part in the Manhattan Project.Born and raised in the North End of Winnipeg, Manitoba, Slotin earned both his Bachelor of Science and Master of Science degrees from the University of Manitoba, before obtaining his doctorate in physical chemistry at King's ...
Louis Slotin: 30 May 1946: The 35-year-old Canadian physicist and Manhattan Project scientist died as the result of an accident while performing an experiment called "tickling the dragon's tail" with a plutonium core which came to be known as the "demon core". His screwdriver slipped, exposing him to a fatal dose of radiation.
Slotin quickly disassembled the device, likely sparing others in the room from lethal exposure, but Slotin himself died of radiation poisoning nine days later. The demon core was melted down and the material was reused in other bomb tests in subsequent years. [10] 8: 1 [11] [12] 1954: Los Alamos
Louis Slotin, a colleague of Daghlian's, was killed in 1946 while performing criticality tests on the same plutonium core. [6] After these two incidents it became known as the "demon core", [11] and all similar criticality experiments were halted until remote-controlled assembly devices were more fully developed and available. [10]
Daghlian was irradiated as a result of a criticality accident that occurred when he accidentally dropped a tungsten carbide brick onto a 6.2 kg bomb core made of plutonium–gallium alloy. This core, subsequently nicknamed the " demon core ", was later involved in the death of another physicist, Louis Slotin .
During the preparations, he witnessed the accident in which Louis Slotin was exposed to a fatal dose of neutron radiation when a screwdriver Slotin was using during a criticality experiment with one of the plutonium pits for Operation Crossroads slipped and the core went critical. Slotin would die from radiation poisoning nine days later but ...
After the decision was made not to use the bomb, its plutonium core was kept to be used for research. The core was nicknamed "Rufus", and became known as the demon core following two successive lethal criticality accidents. [11] [12] The core was melted down in summer 1946 and the material recycled for use in other cores. [13]