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The Deadly Secret of the Devil's Core: Why did two accidents cost scientists their lives?
The Devil's Core is a sphere made of plutonium, which was involved in two fatal radiation accidents during the testing of the United States' first atomic bomb program, costing scientists their lives. The cylindrical core was built by the Manhattan Project in 1945 during World War II for the purpose of developing atomic weapons. It weighed 6.2 kilograms (14 pounds) and had a diameter of 8.9 centimeters (3.5 inches). It was originally destined for the Pacific Theater, where it was planned to be used in a third nuclear weapon against Japan. However, following Japan's surrender in August 1945, the core was retained for testing and potential further use.
The lives of scientists are often intertwined with the unknowns they explore.
Manufacturing and Early History
The Demon Core is a sphere made of a gallium alloy that, when assembled, consists of two hemispheres and a blowout ring designed to control the flow of neutrons to avoid dangerous critical conditions. Materials for the 鈈 are sourced from the Hanford, Washington, plant and shipped to the Los Alamos laboratory for testing and assembly. After a series of complicated processes, the core was manufactured in 1945, but it failed to function as expected.
First accident
On August 21, 1945, physicist Harry Daghlian suffered a fatal accident while conducting a neutron reflector experiment. While working alone, he accidentally dropped a piece of neutron-reflective material onto the core. Soon after, the core entered a supercritical state, causing a self-sustaining critical chain reaction, and Harry suffered fatal radiation damage. Although he removed the reflector in time, the radiation he received was irreversible, and he died of acute radiation poisoning 25 days later.
Second accident
On May 21, 1946, while conducting a similar experiment, another physicist, Louis Slotin, caused the core to enter a supercritical state again due to an operational error. In this accident, Slotin's screwdriver slipped, triggering intense neutron radiation, causing him to receive an instant fatal dose of radiation. Slotin died of acute radiation poisoning nine days later, and other staff present were also affected by radiation to varying degrees.
In the pursuit of scientific truth, we often overlook the dangers lurking deep within.
Medical Research and Safety Improvement
Research after both accidents revealed the importance placed on radiation safety at the time. Over time, health surveys related to these accidents revealed that survivors experienced long-term health problems in their lives after the accident. Based on these tragedies, the laboratory began to adopt stricter safety measures, prohibiting manual critical experiments, and introducing remote control technology for related physical tests.
Planned use and final fate
The Devil's Core was originally planned to be used in the "Operation Crusader" nuclear tests, but due to two fatal accidents, the use of the core was delayed. It was eventually melted down in the summer of 1946 and recycled for use in other nuclear weapons. Make. Although scientists have paid the price with their lives for the exploration of nuclear energy, mankind's pursuit of new knowledge still continues.
Are we vigilant enough about the safety of scientific experiments to avoid similar tragedies from happening again?
