Monday, June 03, 2019
A Brief History of The Demon Core
It's been years since Neatorama posted the terrifying tale of the Demon Core. In case you missed it, or don't recall all the details, it's an important story about the steep learning curve involved in early nuclear research. Scientists associated with the Manhattan Project knew there was danger in the radioactive materials they were working with, but had yet to codify safety standards into failsafe procedures, which spelled tragedy for two young physicists. Plainly Difficult brings us a video version of the story. This video contains a couple of images that may be disturbing.
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2 comments:
The author of this is over-reacting. My late father worked on the Manhattan Project during WWII. There was ONE death, due to the unfortunate clumsiness of a scientist. Over 100,000 people were involved on the project, across the nation. Some decades ago the government sent out health questionnaires, and response rate was very high. Deaths - note that many workers were very old then - were investigated and classed by age and cause of death. Results of the survey were sent to all respondents, including my father. Normal death/illness/cancer rates. Everyone assumed that the government was lying. Then they met at Los Alamos on 16 July 1995 for the 50th anniversary of Trinity. Lots of workers were there, despite their advanced ages. They talked about their health and the health of those not there. No strange diseases or cancers. Lots of stories of healthy children.
One death? So which one did not die: Harry Daghlian or Louis Slotin?
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