What was the Demon Core?
Update (7/23/2023): Lots of people are asking what would have happened to the core if the beryllium shields were left on the core during the second experiment. The core would NOT have detonated like in the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombings. Instead the core would have heated up to the point of melting, likely burning the lab down, and simultaneously emitting tons of radiation. Then as the core melted and lost its shape, it would have gone subcritical as it would have had less surface area to absorb the reflected particles.
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0:00 Core 0:10 Explination 0:17 Surrenderation 0:28 Experimentation 0:38 Death amount 0:47 Performance 0:52 Neutron reflection 1:00 Supercritical core image 1:57 OH SH*T THE BRICK FELL 2:00 No more brick 2:24 Radiation dose 2:57 Harry's experience 3:23 Louis death.. 4:25 After the experimentation 4:37 Employee count 5:00 Deatch causes 5:30 Louis death cause 6:46 Credits 6:52 End
wow that is some fast pinning, less than three hours after the comment was made?
Timestamps for fast navigation.
kzhead.info/sun/m8xxacxwfaqEm4k/bejne.htmlsi=-ov7qUEzYwcTtiG-
It’s a 7 minute video lol
Imagine being a super physicist like slotin and then suddenly losing all your brain cells and performing an experiment about the demon core with a fucking screw driver
He was a doctor? 🧐
If you were a physicist in a brand new field of science, with massive government funding, would you not grow an ego, and think you knew better?
@@kingwaffleton1774 Slotin was cavalier about the dangers of radiation. He had taken unnecessary risks on other projects several times and openly dismissed the danger when warned.
They lost all brain cells already when they invented the bomb.
Ya know, sometimes smart people are just fucking stupid. That’s some bullshit, why would he even think for a second “nah, this deadly thing? This extremely dangerous object? I’m going to fuck around and find out” And by “find out” I mean “die”
Slotin's Demon Core experiment is the perfect example of how flathead screwdrivers are used for anything except actually screwing a screw
They make some of the best chisels around. When it comes to actually using it on a screw I want to blow my brains out.
How about a flathead on an electric drill, thats even more enjoyable
They are not even good at what they are designed for. They essentially prybars.
I struggle to remember the last time I used a flat head screw driver for it’s intended purpose. And I am a DIY person as well as use hand tools at work. Lol
you can them as bottle openers
Imagine being Slotin immediately after he flipped off the top half of the shield, just standing there in a normal-looking room, fully aware that you are 100% dead within the next few days because of this little slip.
I would never say somebody “deserved” to die, but he really was asking for it. Scumbag got a couple other people dead too. This is why nobody should be above the rules, not even those with more authority or experience. There should have been more rigorous safety standards
@@redandblue1013 I agree with you, but maybe the effects of radiation weren't as known by everyone back then as they are now. Thankfully handling nuclear energy is extremely safe now (if following procedure).
appearantly the fisrt words he said after the incident was "well, that does it" ... imagine
@@4w0ken Yeah, he definately knew. The thing is, the people making the safety regulations maybe didn’t.
I once witnessed such a situation with a medical radiation source. Guy didn't die, but lost his hand. He was perfectly calm and just said: "I fucked up!" But as someone who works around radiation sources from time to time I have to correct you in one aspect: That was no little slip! It was incredably reckless to do the experiment like that. He should have created a mechanism that hold the upper sphere and lower or raise it by a threatbolt. You don't bet your life and that of your collegues on not slipping once in your carreer. You create test circumstances where such a slip will not have catastropohic consequences.
As Murphy’s Law stated: “If everything is proceeding well and smoothly, then something was overlooked.” And his other famous law, “What can go wrong will go wrong.”
Like when I invest. I buy shares of something, the rest of the world says "oh, I guess it's bankrupt now. Oh my god no price is too low no price is too low!" Me: aha, I'm not falling for it, I'm going to buy more." Rest of the world: "OMG double bankrupt, new 52 week low, bankrupt!" Me: buys some more, rest of the world: "OMG it's all over, 20 year low, free free free free free!" Me: to hell with this, sell. Rest of the world. "Omg. OMG! It's so awesome now! NO PRICE IS TOO HIGH!"
S$%t happens when you get stupid.😢
but how can go wrongs go wrongs? I mean, every could go wrong didnt go wrong normally get overlooked, so i guess? but its a weird law, ngl
Slotin's death just goes to show that no matter how smart you are, you can never allow yourself to get complacent.
Tony stark do it all the time
Some smart people are very dumb.
@@devyadav3273 He payed the price ;)
@@Glory_inthe_3rd77 Yep, there's guy where I work. he has a university education with 2 different degrees. he is highly intelligent. yet, at the same time, when it comes to everyday things and life in general you wouldnt believe it, he acts so dumb, and is in so many ways. go figure.
And people wonder why OSHA exist
The irony is that these physicists understand how dangerous even the most brief exposure of radiation is
I am a physicist who became a Nuclear Engineer and Radiation Safety professional. During my career my general experience was that the average physicist may understand how radiation behaves they don't know the actual effects on humans. Also, these criticality accidents happened at Los Alamos in the early days of Nuclear Science. It was kind of like the Old West dealing with things back in the day. Radiation Safety has come a long way since then.
@@jkprez it might've not been pushed this far if it weren't because of them
No, not really. You can look up how the Manhattan project were actually playing with this new property. Some guy did eat a radioactive piece, and it is said they laughed over the fact that they could detect the radiation in his breath from the other side of the room... Early days, bro
"Ooops! Haha, slipped a bit there, silly me. Now we're all going to die in a week or so lol."
@@ImNotEmily that sounds like it came out from the Team Fortress 2 Medic’s mouth
Slotin is a perfect example of having 99 Intelligence and 1 Wisdom.
The guys in the room said there was a blue flash that filled the room when he dropped it can you imagine
Being extremely intelligent doesn't guarantee any common sense.
Common sense is intelligence though wisdom is intuition and medical knowledge there has been some retconning in dnd i am pretty sure
@@waynejohnting2954 Why are you spewing this nonsense? Jealous of intelligent people? You are clearly not wise or intelligent. Yes, it means that. Intelligence is a prerequisite for majority of intellectual feats, such as common sense, hence the name - intelligence.
99 int? Not really. We dont know how intelligent he was.
Slotin was a perfect example of "if you get comfortable, you get stupid" Comfortable as in using a screwdriver
By the way, the "official" story that was reported immediately after the incident was that Louis Slotin was a "hero" for ending the critical reaction and "protecting" the other observers, not that the reaction had been caused by his negligence and failure to observe proper procedures that would have prevented such an incident in the first place.
What would've happened if they didn't do anything and the core went beyond supercritical?
@@kartik5876 Probably would have melted out of the container sphere and cooled once dispersed. Would have been a huge dangerous mess to clean up.
They had a "be kind to Slotin" day...
@@beakytwitch7905 well...they wanted MORE people to become nuclear scientists...not less. Smart people don't like to be around idiots. >.>
Not if you read the official accident report. In that report, the responsibility is put on Slotin for not following safety procedures.
Friend: "If we make a teeeeeeeny tiny mistake, we will die?" Slotin: "Yup!, That's why we should use this handy dandy screwdriver to do the job!"
Why did he use a screwdriver?
@@sugisdoomguy54 Beats me 🤷
@@sugisdoomguy54 overconfidence, as the video says he got used to the experiment and decided to use a screwdriver because gods know why
@@sugisdoomguy54 why not hammer instead?
@@sugisdoomguy54 W̷̧̧̡̨̛͙̪̣͉͇͍̬̩̜͇̼̳͈̗͉̬͈̜͍̹̠̬̣͉̫̣͖͓̬̜̝͖̞̥͈̫͚̼̹̙͔̹̩̆́̐̓̈́͒̂̀̆͐̍̇̓̔͆͑̿́́̇́̽̆͆͑͒̈̌̋͒̈̔͛͌̇̀̏̉͝͠͠͠ͅͅͅͅŌ̷̱͕̩̜̖̝͔̟̭̲̰̏͜͝Ŗ̸̡̹͎͇̩̱̗̻̺̱̪̥͙͉̘͖̳̥͈̈̄̌͊̏͛̇̒̈́̀̇́̉̉̚̚̕S̸̢̨̢̛̳͎̭̤͉̩̘̳̟̟̘͎̹͕͉̺̹͍͖̰̙̱̖͚͎̤͍͖̬͓̦͎͉̦̖͎̤̭̹̻̙͎̦̽̈́̉̂̊̌̿̋̀̆̿̏̈́͋̀́͐͌̾̐̂͑́̊̄̃͘̚͝͝͝H̴̨͙̥̰̳͍̗̥̼̩͕̠̜̪̻̱̞͚̹̼̙͚͈͉̩̮̺̖̺͎̻̮̯̼̹̹̹̘̯̤̺̫̬̉̓̊̒̒͑̍̔̋̃̉͑̆͆͘͜Ī̶̛̥̳̜̖̮͎̝͎̮͉̇̈̌͑̽̇͛́͐͋́̒̃͋̀̂̋̑̓̇̅̇̊͊̌́̈̃̕͝͝͝P̸̤͓̏͑̈́̄͐̓̓̍̑̊̊̆̐̽͝ ̸̡̛̰̣͓͉͈̖͖̗̠͇̠̪̬̺̥̺͚̘̼̹̪̤̞̤̜̭̆͆̓́̄̇͌͂͊͐̅̋̓͗̉̉̈̽̚̚̚͝͝͠T̵̡̢̹͕͙̬͎̬͍̝͍͎̤͈̻̥̦̝͙̪͉̪̜̭͇͉̮̙͕̝͓̥̘̫̭̻̙̩̜̰͈̑̇̆̃̎̈̾̎͛͝ͅH̴̢̧̢̧̥̳͈̹̫̻̺̬̫̬̻̱͉̻̩͙͚̗̗͇͍̳̖̤̣̠̺̠͇̄̈́͐̂̅̊̔̄̂̀͌͗́̃̈́͛̕͝͝͝E̴̡̛̛̙̦̩͇̔̌̇̓͋̅̉̒̓͊̾͗͂̇̔̈́̀̆͛̉͋̇̅͗̾̊̍̅̍̉͒͛͊͗͐̏̑̆̍͑̊͘͘̕͠͠͝ ̸̧̛̲̫̱͎͔͕͈͔͎̗͔̹̼͉͍̼̬̬̠͖̱͓͉̘̦̪͙̲̞̝̙̫͙̮͈̯̤̦͔̞̪͈̫͕̬̇̓̐́̅̂̀̐̄̃͊̋͐͌̿̑͒̈̈́̓̆̒̓̀̈́̿͑̄̽̾̓͂̆̿͑̉̆̈́́͘̕͜͜͠͝͠͝͝͠S̷̡̧̢̡̢͇̳͈̩̘͎͉͕̣̬̦̭̩̳̳͉͍̻͙͚͚͎͍͎̜̺͎͍̞̫̳͖̦̗̥̘͚̾̓̈́́̄͋̊̎̋̉͗̐͜͠͠͝ͅC̶̡̡̢̢̨̙̬͖͔̰̥̳͕̣̼͇̺̺͕̟̪̮͇̦̠̣̰̙̩̰͈͚͔̝̔̔̆̌̃́̂̓̊̈́̍̔͌͜͝͝ͅͅŔ̵̢̨̧̡̜̝̠̜̻̞̱͚̪̝̗͎͔̜͍͖͔̪̖̳͖͍͓̦̰̮͔̙͓̤̹̹̗͈̟̟̟̭̆̄̈́̍͐͗̌͗̀̐̆̌̕̕̕͝͝ͅͅE̴̱̝̹̲͌̈́͌̈́́͐͂͗͌̈́̑͋͊̌̎̍̑̾̾̊͌̆͐͌̄̾̈́̌̑̑̃̅̂̾͋̈́̂̽̑̏̈́͋̈̕͘̕͜͝͝͠͝W̸̛͕͍͙̖̤͕̫̰̟̘͚͚̲̱͋͂͌̀̂̍̈͌̒̔͋̒̇̀̓̃̉̽̔̅̀́̕͜͜͠ͅḐ̴̢̧̯̼̲̤͉̜̥̺̼͍̼̮͉̻̼͚̥̗̝̠̥̹̺̥̩̈́̋͌̋̓̓͂̌̏͂̍̅̐͑͛̆̃̿̒̌́̈́͛̌͒̈́̎͒͌̔̓̑̃́̕̚͘͜͠R̶̡̨͎̙̖̤̜̮̬͕̥̹͇̺̞̟͚̖̬̪̺̰͓̱̣̯̯̖̞̜͍͉̗̻̣̲̲̞̰̲̟̺͚̼̀͗̍̾̒̂̔̓͆̅̍͊́͋͊͑̈́̿̆͒͂̂́̀͗͋̋̾̔̋͘̚̕̚̚ͅI̴̧͖͙̠͔̬̟̺̜̙͙̣̙̪͔̥͉̜̱͚̖̤̲̪͍̝̘̝̹̓̑́̊̃̋̿̿̆́͂̀̐̃̋̆̊͒͗̌́̌̑̽̓̃́̿̒̉͒͑̏͌̆̑͗̂̋͑̓̃͋̊̈͘͘̚̕̚͜͜͝͝ͅͅV̸̡̧̢̡̡̛̛̛̤̗̫̣̩̜̤̞̪̦͎̘̤͖̣̮̖͈̦̖͎̊͂̒̏́̍̃͗̊̍͆͐̿̓̾̿̒̉̇͗͘͜͝͠È̶̢̨̛̛̛̲̦͕͚͎̯͚̬̥͙̻̮͖̊̄̓̂̑̍̃̋̏̇̄́͆̈͛̋͋̐̎̅͐̌͂̃̓͌̏̍̓̊͋̒̑̔͘̕͝͝Ŗ̸̨͇̦̩͕͎̞̺͙̬̟͍̺̫͖̤̭̤̖̣̣̥̲̠͓̎̇̍́̒̄̎̕͜͠͝ͅͅ,̶̧̨̛̯͔̞̦̣̼̺͍͚̭̻̘͈̺̘͇͕̳̤̲̰̫̟̼̯̞͓̓̆̒̈́̓͗̔̒̎̔̇̏̀͛̇̐̚̚͜ ̶̹̜̖͎̞̺̥̥͖̟̦̮̺̟̩̣̳̮̺͕͇̬͎͎̪̗̭̲͓̩̮̜̩͙̳̳̲̿́̈́̉͋̈́͌́͋̈́͘͜͜͝͝ͅÍ̵̢̪̖͙̘̟͍͈͛̿͆̅͝T̸̨̛͖̼̤̩̲̲̳͖̲̾̐̔͂̀͒͗̽̈́͂̄̈́̿̍́̾͆̀͗̐͌͐̽͐̀̎̀͗̚̕̕͘͠͝ ̴̢̛̪͖̪̞̼̤̖͓̱͎̜͔̞̯̹̪͕̱̥̠̭͕͓̥̲̈͂ͅͅI̶̢̨̢̧̛̫̦̱͙̩̹̖̳̬̗͈͕͎̬̙̱̗̗̖͈̲͍͈̻̠̻͔̟̠̥̩̼̘͒̊̈́͌̎̉̉̊̀́̿̓͂̇̓̈́́̒́̆̔̄̃͌́͆̈́̓͐̈́̂͐̃̌̿̈͒́̕͘͘̚͜͝ͅS̵͍̺̼̪̀͒̽ ̸̨̨̢̨̨̨̨̧̛̳̠̱̘̫̮̯͇͍̗͎̟̘̻͎̭̝̥͖̣͍̘͍̗͔̣̦̻͈̤͉̺̬̬̯̣͓̅̀̿́͐͑̄̍̎͂̇͊́̐͋́̏͋͆͋̑͐̿̏̿̈́͌͆̕̕̚̚͝͝͝͠͠ͅÁ̸̛̺̻̥͖̤̄̊͂̄̅̒̀͐́̃̀̆̌̉͗͆̏͂̀̆͂͜͝͠ͅL̴̨̨̡̛͔̜̳̝͎͉̲̲̳̯̝̥̠͈̩͙̼̭͕̩͈̂̈́̿̍̉̀͠Ļ̷̨̨̛̩̹̖̳̬͙̼͔͖̥̳̞̙̻̱͔̺͙̥̫̝̳͇̟͕̦̗̣͉̯̳̤̟̯͉̝̣͍͍̒̔͊͗͒́̀͆̂̅̿̂͋̇̓̎͒͊̂̕͜ ̵̡̢̨̢̘̪̦͕̩͍͕̠̼̫̻̬̦̯̯͈̮͍̪̝̱̬̖͉̭̮̮͖̜͈͇̞̥̙͎̱͇̺̖̲̻̮̮̱̜̐͋̈̊́́̆͒̈̆̇̐͑̓̄̀͂̈́̊̽̽̑̓͆͛̓͒́̓͊̉̃̌͌͛̅̇̌̒̓̎͌͊̕̚͘̕͜͝͝͝ͅͅK̵̢̢̧̡̧̢̨̨̛̯͈͔̼̝̬̘͚̞̫̙̣͕̪̠̝͉͇͓̲̭̮͚̣͉̲̞͔͈͎̖̹̺̼͍̥̲̿̀̊̓̉̐̏̂̎̊͛͌̄̍̈̅̑͂̋͒̋͌͗̾̍͒͋̕͘͜͠ͅŅ̸̡̨̨̨̨͕̪̘̼̜̖̺̤͉͇̠͚͈͇̱̙̖͉͈̺̪̦̩̻̥̺̯̖͍̩̬̳̫̘̥̞͉̟͋́̑͌͋̃̏̈́͠O̵̥͆̃͐͂͗̏͋̃͛̀̋̎͗̏̄̅͌͆͊̆̾̓̉͑́̆͋͐̄̿̓̀̈́̈̈́̔̇̋͌͒͑͘̕͠͝͝͠͠͠͝͝͝W̶̧̡̨̟̰̠͕̩̮̟̱̰̩̙̱̭͎̱͓̠͈͍̱͙̼̌̽̅̈̔͑́̿̀͐̍̊͘͘͜I̵̧̛̛̛̲̹̞̞͉̥͙̞̙̲̽̌̎̔́͆͗̔͆̊̊̍͛́̈́͋͂͑̂̎̓̍̀͐͌̉̊̄̈́̋̋̃̕͝Ņ̴̧̡̛͔̠̖̪̳̝̳͔̣̞̙̬̠̭̻̞͖̹̤̦̗̥̫̜̦̪͉̣̫̝̱̮̼͈̪͂́̿̒́̓͊̌̇̿̍̐̑̊̓̿̈́́̔́̅͋͊̒̑͑̓̔̈́́̓͒͒̑̀̕̕͜͠͠G̵̥͓͑̎̑̓̅̄͑̇̽̑͌́̇͘
I cannot let you escape squidward, I have added another demon core to your confinement
i can't be laughing at this man cmon
Every time I hear about the Demon Core, (which is about once every five years or so), I'm once again shocked that the two hemispheres were just, like, loose. Like not built into a mechanism that would allow you to move them closer to or farther from each other, while being physically incapable of bringing them dangerously close together. AFTER the brick stacking fiasco, they were just like, "Sure, move them around, just, you know, don't forget the shims or whatever." Blows my mind every time.
They were supposed to fix the top part to be unmovable and move the lower half instead. Slotin was warned by his friends not to do the opposite
@@worsethanhitlerpt.2539 it's just such a simple mechanism! Give me a machine shop and I could whip up something safer in an afternoon, and I'm hardly a master machinist. It was such a stupid example of straight up negligence; they already knew the danger and the cost of having a professional build them a convenient setup that couldn't kill anyone would have been like two weeks delay and $5k in today's money. These guys really needed adult supervision.
My brain: lick the forbidden jaw breaker
YES
What could possibly go wrong with licking a nukular core
Godzilla: oouu a pice of candy
Yes
@Lucas Zhu your pfp explains your comment and why you arent fun at parties not because that whay your saying makes sense but you cant take a joke and assume everyone who isnt you is stupid
Slotin was 24 at the time. Imagine what he couldve achieved later in life if he didnt have such bravado and pride
No, he was 35. Check your facts. Imagine what you could achieve if you weren't such an idiot that doesn't know how to look up sources.
maybe he could have invented a lot of stuff related to nuclear power
@@mihneababanu4224 maybe, maybe just bigger bombs.
@@aidensnow5017 or a raygun that would use radiation
@@mihneababanu4224 hell yea COD ray gun
Imagine being any one of those two. You make just one small mistake and fix it in not time. The gauge had shown extremely high state and you know there was a fatal dose of radiation... but you felt nothing. You can still walk, talk, drink and eat; but for how long. It's just so strange.
"one small mistake " is at best a huge euphemism. what happened in both those incidents has been caused by their foolishness and total lack of regards for elementary safetyness. Playing with crazy radioactive stuff, protecting your life with a tower of bricks? or with a screwdriver ? seriously?
As far as I understand, they would definitely have been violently vomiting and convulsing after just a few hours, and their conditions would continue to get more and more severe until dying in a few days
what causes the vommitting@@redandblue1013
"How do we approach an intensely dangerous object called the Demon Core for precision testing?" World renowned physicist for some unfathomable reason says: "Hand me a screwdriver and hold my beer."
I love you, man. I FINALLY understand HOW it went supercritical. All the other people with demon core videos regurgitate the "why" they read off Wikipedia. The fallen block angle on the first one beautifully explained it.
Was just gonna say this! I've been flicking through many videos just to find one that can put my brain at ease, and I have!
There are other videos as well that explain it pretty good. So what was your problem not understanding the other videos? I also looked at Wikipedia, it explains it normally as well. Maybe the detail with the brick angle is left out but that shouldn't matter
We're all be irradiated eventually, it's just a matter of time
@@gregoriusprime I understood the concept.That's not difficult, smart guy. This video detailed HOW it technically happens though. Not just the outcome like all other videos and Wikipedia did.
@@gregoriusprime wwoah you're so smart!!!!!!!! woah!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Slotin is a very great example of why being intelligent doesn't neccesarily make someone wise.
he was notoriously cocky. After his death Schreiber, one of the scientists who was in the room, designed a remote mechanical system to do the tests with cctv cameras in the room with no personnel permitted within a half mile of the core.
Book-smarts versus Street-smarts my friend
He slipped what does that have to do with being wise?
@@22Chrome OP most likely means not doing it in such a dangerous manner just to show off.
@@xwarrior760 That’s true I suppose, did they not have any protection back then? Genuine question I’m sort of just too lazy to research and I’m hoping you know.
Apparently there actually was a way to raise and lower the 'lid' off the core remotely, however, the machine to do it made jerky, unpredictable movements when using it, resulting in Slotin and the others choosing to move it manually.
There was the possibility to make any sort of contraption to it manually but safely
I can just imagine harry's most "oh fuck" expression on his face after he dropped the brick
"oh god its gonna explode"
Or the screwdriver
@@easternasia8258the screwdriver was slotin’s fault
More like, disappointing sigh and "Well, that does it."
@@janematthews9087 That's what Slotin said.
Imagine being there when Slotin dropped a hemisphere and realising that you'll be dead in a couple of weeks. It is one thing to die instantly in a car crash, for example. It's another thing to not feel anything different but know for a fact that your life just ended here and now
Also, in general being this close without protection to such a radioactive material that is capable of ending your life in an extremely unpleasant way makes me uneasy even thinking about it!
I was just thinking to myself if I were the one standing right there and taking 3x a lethal dose of radiation, I would say farewells to my friends and family the same day and probably just go off myself that evening. Can't imagine the idea of waiting to die as my body shuts down and literally disintegrates.
I would've asked him to just keep the core closed and let me die quickly in the resulting explosion.
I wonder if he knew he would die like this the moment he decided to take part in project Manhattan. A part of him had to know this was one of the outcomes.
Add on to that the guilt of being responsible for exposing everyone else in the room to radiation, of course he wouldn't know the effects on the others were generally not that bad.
0:39 wow that’s a weird looking GameCube
Gamesphere
I cannot let you escape Squidward, I'm adding another Demon Core to your confinment until you calm down.
I don't think you can call the second incident a accident or a mistake. It that was clear negligence, complacency and total disregard of everyone else in the room.
what gets me is that Slotin was *warned* that he was going to get killed by doing it that way
@@sobersplash6172 Play stupid games, win catastrophic radiation poisoning
Yeah well. Don't forget who's speaking. It's a narrator who's been brainwashed enough to STILL think that the use of atomic bombs in the war was anything else than one of the greatest war crimes ever!
@@Petra44YT The bombs being dropped was horrific and it should never happen again under any circumstances, but it unfortunately had to be done. Japan was going to literally fight to the last man and if the bombs weren't dropped then there would a lot more lives lost on both sides as the Japanese military was run into the ground by force. I will agree that the second bomb was unnecessary, and the first almost certainly would have been enough to guarantee surrender.
@@Mothbean really... is that so? Personally, I'd say that the first bomb was unnecessary. We already know, from documents, that they moved up the drop because Japan was already in surrender talks with the Russians. Let me say that again ... "Japan was already in surrender talks" ... Unfortunately, NOBODY in the western alliance wanted the Russians to gain from the surrender. And, lets face it,... you don't let a cool toy like that go to waste! So, what was happening just before we dropped the bomb... Well, the war was pretty much over! VE day was a whole 3 months prior... and Japan was already on its knees and in surrender talks with the Russians. The official surrender only took a further three weeks because of the chaos and disruption caused by the bomb. And, why were the Japanese surrendering to the Russians rather than the Americans? Well, they were terrified of what the US would do to them. Turns out, they were absolutely right! The US didn't want a surrender, they wanted retribution... and I get it, I really do. The Japanese were disgusting during WWII... my own Grandfather was a Japanese PoW following his capture during the Burma campaign. But, as inconvenient as it might be... surrender is surrender... and once talks begin, hostilities should end. A White flag is a white flag, regardless of which ally you wave it at... and the Japs were already in a Parlay with the Allied forces. America didn't see it like that. But... You'll argue, I'm sure... in fact, if you're American you almost have to! America have invested a lot of time rewriting history to be the good guys. So, lets cut the nonsense about whether Japan deserves it, or how many lives Americans like to say it saved,,, and get, instead, to another issue ... That time when the USA nuked the Bikini Islanders _(friendlies BTW)_ and deliberately moved them all back to their homes to monitor the effects of radiation on humans, crops and livestock. Eh? What? Yeah... that was a whole thing that happened... The USA is a nation that caused untold suffering to a friendly peaceful nation counted as an ally... knowing what most of the effects would be, but considering that real-world measurement of those effects to be more important to US interests, than... y'know... innocent lives ... or ... maybe not being f**king evil. They're still suffering now, due to that _"Strategic curiosity"_ And, when they all started getting ill, we told them they were safer where they were! So, tell me again... how America HAD to drop the bomb on a surrendering nation, to save "millions" of lives in a war that had been mostly over for 3 months ... and how they would NEVER commit a war crime because that's something that only their enemies do : / I suppose, technically speaking, the Bikini Islanders wasn't even a war crime... ... y'know, being that they were civilian friendlies
Having work experience in the nuclear weapons complex I've heard of both of these stories but didn't realize it was the same core. Crazy.
Hmm, sounds interesting. What was it like working there?
@@jesustyronechrist2330 I liked it.
@@philliptoone So everything else is confidential?
@@philliptoone lmao
@@philliptoone I liked it, puts down screwdriver.
Interesting thing about *thermal* burns: if something is really REALLY hot you don't actually feel it as much as something that's just pretty hot. Time is the key factor in burn pain, not temperature.
Full thickness burns (previously known as 3rd degree burns) are mercifully fairly painless, due to the destruction of the nerves.
True. First degree burns hurt badly while a third degree burn is painless since the nerves are dead.
Really?
From personal experience I can say that’s not quite right, it still hurts but it’s true it’s not as bad as you’d imagine. It’s certainly not proportional to the damage being done! Most of the pain/discomfort comes a few weeks later.
@@MrElliotholman as a chef-turned-welder I find 1st and 2nd degree burns to be way more painful than [small] 3rd degree burns. They sizzle for a second, then all the nerves get cooked.
Radiation poisoning is one of the worst deaths possible. Slow, long, painful, miserable, horrifying, and with full knowledge that there is nothing you can do nor do you have the time to do anything other than sit in the hospital
It is possible to survive Radiation poisoning, it just depends on the dose recieved and quality of medical care.
It would have been worth mentioning the calm and logical demeanor of Slotin. At the moment of the blue flash he told everybody in the room to freeze. After flicking the top sphere off, he ordered chalk to be tossed to everyone in the room and for everyone to draw a circle on the floor around them and sign their name. That way, there would be exposure data to correlate with any symptoms each experienced. He knew he was a dead man and that some of the others were not likely to survive the next few days; he did not want the information of these potential research subjects to be lost or their deaths to be for nothing. While I cannot find a source, I also once heard that he initially refused pain management so he could report on any changes he felt in his condition. Thanks to his quick thinking and dedication to scientific progress a lot was learned about radiation dosing and the effects it has on the human body.
I'm not sure the other people in the room appreciated his "quick thinking" or their involuntary parts in learning about radiation dosing.
@@herz4217 As far as any of them knew, they were all dead already. All being scientists, they would want to contribute to research in any way they could. They wouldn't have volunteered to take a high dose of radiation in the first place, but it happened and all they could do was move forward. All he did was snap them out of their initial shock and/or panic and had them take a minute to log their location.
Sounds like it was a suicidal experiment.
@@dhawthorne1634 At that level of radiation exposure, him pausing to say freeze before opening it up would be the difference between dying in tomorrow or in a decade, and in one decade versus in three.
@@IamlordEVIL I'm sure he was in the process of knocking the top off as he was saying it. In a situation like that, it's like your brain is overclocked and your motor neurons are the bottleneck. He had likely already though "shit!", "have to get this off", "we're all dead men walking" and "this has to count for something" before his biceps even had a chance to start contracting.
Named “Demon Core” Sponson: “let’s poke it with a screwdriver!”
What else are you supposed to do?
@Revan I'm aware, I was being satire
Lol
Lmfao
@@thecommunistowl811 I love being a satire
Something that wasn't covered in the memes is that Slotin wasn't just putting himself at risk. He was also putting all his coworkers and everyone else in that room at risk but no one stopped him
Im adding another demon core to your confinet untill you calm down
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH
I notice a lot of people asking what would have happened if they had left the hemispheres on top of the demon core instead of removing them. Okay, I am a retired Nuclear Engineer, not a Nuclear Bomb maker. Basically, until the hemispheres were removed there would be a critical mass so that there would be lots of energy including heat and radiation emitted by the demon core. During this time everyone in the room would receive large doses of radiation. As the core heated up it would undergo physical changes and the hemispheres would be blown away from the core ending the criticality. I don't know how strong the explosion would have been but it would not be as large as a nuclear bomb. My understanding is when designing a bomb one needs to find a way to hold the 'core' together long enough to generate massive amounts of energy because its trying to blow itself apart.
It wouldn't explode , it'll just melt out before that , since its jn the shape of a sphere , as it heats up it'll loose structural integrity and just slide off the top , however if it was a in a cuboid box then it would explode in some time , not as in effective manner since to make a bomb...more bomb like ,they have to make sure the enclosure is in pressure , otherwise it'll just expand in a comparatively lower rate
So nuclear bomb is basically like releasing a water pressure after u have stored it 🤔
@@gauravrai680 pretty much, the first bombs were cores strapped with an explosive shell to compact it rapidly
@@douglassmalls6934 You're just about right. However the bomb material is not in a 'critical' configuration prior to detonation. The detonation of the bomb brings the material together in a more compact 'supercritical' configuration in which a massive amount of energy is produced within less than several milliseconds. This configuration is so unstable trying to expand that it must be held together long enough to allow all the energy to be produced for maximum explosive force. As you mention in some early bombs this involved surrounding the nuclear material with explosives to force it together and hold it there long enough.
@@gauravrai680 If you heat up any container of water it will eventually 'explode' once the stored energy(pressure) is too much for the container. However, the quantities of energy involved in a 'physical explosion' like this have no comparison to the energy released in a nuclear explosion. You will find pieces of the water container after it explodes. However, after the nuclear explosion the destruction is total. Everything near the bomb will be pretty much vapourized.
Fact: Sievers (at the right of the picture at the 5:00 mark) was so horrified by what happened that he became a stern opponent of such testing and spent the rest of his life trying to perfect technology that would enable manipulation of radioactive materials from a distance.
Professor Farnsworrth regretted not inventing the fing-longer, which would have been the perfect device
@@MrDogfish83 "whaa?"
@@MrDogfish83lmao woah Futurama, nice.
I cannot let you escape squidward. i am adding another demon core to your confinement until you calm down.
Me: just one more video before bed. The video:
This video feels like an SCP foundation entry.
Radiation is an explained scp
Bruh
SCP irl
@@aultic my feelings after reading this comment
SCP fans when workplace incidents happen
5:30 Amazing that Graves lived to 1965 and died from a heart attack instead of some radiation-induced sickness, given he stood right behind Slotin.
It's theorized his heart attack was partially caused by the damage he received in the experiment. One of the Chernobyl divers also died of a heart attack almost in the same time span.
Actually, a human body being composed of about 60% water would make a reasonable radiation shield. Water is a commonly used shield for gamma and neutron radiation.
Slotin's body absorbed much of the radiation, which is why Graves suffered less severe complications than some of the other people in the room despite being closer to the core.
Just shows how good water is at shielding radiation. They have theorized the same way of blocking radiation on spacecraft
Slotin was a literal meat shield, his body absorbed most of the radiation that would have hit graves
The Slotin incident to me is one of the biggest "Fuck around and find out" moments in history.
I cannot let you escape Squidward. I am adding another demon core to your confinement until you calm down.
Exposure to extremly high levels of radiation is one of the scariest ways to go
Ikr? Once you got exposed to that dose you are dead no matter what you do
Imagine being so exposed to it, the air and you are burning from what appears to be bright blue fire
No, the normal high doses are scary. After an extremely high dose you just immediately die on the spot. The worst thing is slowly dying over the span of a few days after receiving a dose thats just high enough to kill you.
@Currywurst 4444 Gee I'm gonna argue semantics but whatever. imo if a certain amount of radiation is enough to be lethal, it's okay to call it extremely high. Most geiger counters don't even reach those digits.
Is that why you work at a nuclear plant?
In hindsight , it seems that such an experiment was so dangerous they would have had a lowering device that was geared with a handle . I would be terrified to know my job could kill me if my screwdriver slipped.
After Slotin's death Schreiber, one of the scientists who was there, designed a remote mechanical system to do the tests with ccv cameras in the room with no personnel permitted within a half mile of the core.
especially a death so slow and painful
Actually people with common sense were offering them to flip their approach, to pull the lower hemisphere up instead, which would exclude any kind of issues. I dunno how anyone with more than a half of a brain cell wouldn't immediately want to use this approach.
@@user-mb4xy2cz3t too bad they didnt have you there to work on it
Now I can understand the spongebob memes. Thank you!
Couple of points. 1. 300 isn't "fatal" by some specific definition. In fact it's much more widely recognized that 450 is a reasonable cutoff point, where 50% of victims will die. As that implies, it's possible to survive higher doses-if there's a hard limit, it's probably over 1000 rads. 2. The final fate of the Demon Core wasn't discussed. It's fairly interesting. They were planning to use it for the third atomic test in the first post-war series of tests (making it the sixth atomic explosion overall), but that third test was canceled after the second in that series, "Baker", ended up causing a radiological disaster. The Demon Core was eventually melted down and repurposed for many other tests down the road.
So the melting down of the core for use in other tests at 5:58 wasn't discussed in this video? Those watching this video must have an incredible imagination.
Bombs that killed tens of thousands: Fat Man, Little Boy Bomb that killed two people and hurt a couple of others: *DEMON CORE*
It’s like how a joke is funny until it’s on you
Not a bomb but ok
You do know that the demon core can cause more damage to the environment because of it radiation
But demon core did so by doing literally nothing
Well that is WW2 US for ya, killing a bunch of japanese people by dropping nukes on civilian settlements is fine but if a few negligent scientists get killed by their own experiments that is a tragedy.
Great video. If you’re interested in this topic, there’s a book called “83 days of radiation sickness” and it’s about the man who survived a massive nucular meltdown in Japan in 1999. He received 17 SV and it’s an interesting short book about how his DNA was literally destroyed out of his cells so he couldn’t make anymore cells to live. Just bringing it up if you want to make a science video about it
Actually I came here after watching a video on the topic you mentioned. It is available here kzhead.info/sun/ZbixfNaem3-BipE/bejne.html
The fact that they kept him alive for that long was both a crime and medical marvel.
Nuclear. Wtf is nucular ???
@@Izanagioomikami it's a typo, common mistake made by you humans, but you seem incapable to understand it, how could you think we would initiate contact in conditions like this?
Dont look it up,i had nightmares for months
if either panicked, tried to run, and ignored the core instead, more lives would probably be taken i can't imagine calmly taking responsibility for an accident you caused with your life
im sorry squidward
Imagine having 100k+ subs and still making errors, its almost like you're human
just keeping you on your feet
This is the best channel to browse at 3am in the morning
Lmao currently 5:42 on a nightshift
Agreed
Doing that just now at 04:16
2.09 am now
This implies that there is a 3am in the evening.
"hey guys wanna see something cool?" *loud explosion followed by blue light*
So what you’re saying is that 1 in every 10 people who were exposed to the demon core radiation died in the Korean War. Radiation is truly mysterious and frightening
you're really not funny
1 in 10 military personnel serving in a military weapon research & development base died in war. Huh.
@@roadent217 So what you're saying is that a war had a 10% fatality rate. War is truly mysterious and frightening
What would happen if instead of flicking it off immediately, the scientist panics and runs away? Does it continue to shoot radiation out until the entire city is doomed?
I saw one person saying that if it was just left in there, it would probably get so hot that it would melt down the demon core and the container it was in, letting it cool afterwards
So basically Chernobyl would happen?
@@Yos115 it would be like a Chernobyl wet fart
no bc the sphere around the core wouldve be pushed open by the resulting chemical reaction taking place. the longer you can keep the casing around the core from rupturing during criticality, the longer the positive feedback mechanism running the reactions goes, resulting in exponentially higher release of energy. which is what happens with regular nuclear bombs. i learned all this in the past 20 mins so forgive me for explanation errors
@@Yos115 - Chernobyl was not a “nuclear” bomb. It was not a nuclear explosion and could not have become such. It was a very large run-away steam explosion. The construction of a nuclear power plant does not allow the chemical conditions necessary to create a rapid bomb-like fissionable event. Maybe in the exact perfect conditions a nuclear plant may become something similar to a “dirty bomb”? Just guessing toward the benefit-of-the-doubt on that one.
You got Hiroshima and Nagasaki switched on the map
“Squidward I’m putting another demon core in the basement until you calm down.”
i cannot let you escape squidward. im adding another bomb to your confinement until you calm down.
*demonic screams*
During bromatology class, one of my classmates are the potato chips sample we were going to analyse. And yea, the sample was already macerated in the ceramic grinder. Sometimes human stupidity overthrows safety protocols even if we explain to the students a thousand times that one must not eat inside the laboratory, especially if it is the sample to be analyzed
Wait... Your classmates are potato chips ???
It was a typo i think they meant "ate"
But are they alive?
@@awesomeindependence9435 It's pretty safe to assume, that they are not... :(
@@sormdev1996 rip🙏🙏
The first guy dying was an accident, he made a simple mistake. Second guy just got way too comfy with his job.
2:12Oh no nuclear core is going of! Lemme pick that up with my bare hand real quick
Thanks, your explanation is very clear
It's amazing there weren't more accidents. They're doing experiments with near-critical mass of a plutonium alloy using duct tape and a wooden yardstick (see 1:50). Not exactly the stuff of legend for precision...
It's funny though to think that it was early enough in the production of duct tape that it might have still been viewed as high tech military equipment.
If you actually payed attention you would know that it wasn't the actual core and just a recreation.
In the movie Fat Man And Little Boy (about the development and making of the two bombs) John Cusack is performing the "tickling the dragons tail" maneuver with the screw driver and it's a pretty cool scene.
Anyone else got recommended this because of the SpongeBob 'Demon Core' memes?
Me
Beautiful video, handled and explained very well
"So... These wedges are the most effective way to stop the Demon Core from-" Slotin: *S c r e w d r i v e r*
I cannot let you escape squidward.
Relieved that I now understand how this experiment was carried out, thanks for the video!
Thanks for the video, was greatly explained
4:30 Interesting that in Ouchi's incident and this demon core accident, all victims saw a blue flash
Neutron radiation
@@___-vz7mp it's like when woman
@@therealwisemysticaltree what
@@skksksalslsllsslzlzkdinpap5451 yes
@@therealwisemysticaltree when bruh?
Absolute insanity when you think about how easily something could have gone wrong with both setups and then inevitably did.
bruh I can't imagine the tension in the room after Slotin fumbled the screwdriver. And then repeating the thought of letting a guy handle a plutonium ball with a screwdriver for the rest of the week LOL
Just came across this site. Kudos Sir. It’s difficult to pinpoint, but you explained this in a way that perfectly balanced layman’s terms with technicalities. That’s a rare thing. I look forward to exploring your posts further. And, no doubt, a soon-to-be Patreon supporter.
You talk weird.
@@kanjakan weird is relative my child
@@mastershooter64 nah in this case, it's pretty objectively weird
@@kanjakan there's no objective anything when it comes to human emotions, for example i find that not weird while you do, some people do, some people dont. most things are very subjective, only a few things arent
@@mastershooter64 That's 100% wrong, there are a myriad of things that human beings are hardwired to find weird meaning things can be objectively weird, that's why things like the uncanny valley exist.
The American media said that Daghlian passed away from an "industrial accident". He was the first ever accidental death to radiation and, America wanting to keep the nuclear fear on the decrease, lied about many things related to radiation.
it was a classified military project. everything was covered up to keep the project out of potential enemy hands. nothing about it was to decrease it's fear. some hidden policy kept it under locks well beyond what would have made reasonable sense and it was only recently that the policy allowed for it's classified status to finally expire.
"I can't let you escape squidward, I will add another demon core until you calm down."
Love how the voice start talking exactly as the video start, no introduction what so ever.
You hear "terrifying spawn of nuclear physics" I hear "forbidden gobstopper"
2:35 this is why logically King Kong either won't able to win or even survive after winning against the encounter of Godzilla because of the fact he's not just a giant lizard he's a giant radioactive lizard that emits radiation that can cause people to get sick and die!
Finally someone said it
Logically kingkong couldn't even exist
the best response@@Premium55
This is why Wisdom and Intelligence are separate modifiers. For example, you may know full well that the object you are working with WILL explode if you mess up (High Intelligence), but that doesn't prevent you from cutting corners and attempting to control an experiment using your hands and a screwdriver instead of properly safe machinery (Low Wisdom).
Okay, yeah, I know, Serious video about nuclear stuff... but also... 0:12 nice.
Wow never even heard of this before. It's mind blowing some of the things we've created.
Nuclear science is serious biz. Your body alone has enough energy to blow up the entire world. Imagine all the conflicts we have and all the people who wants to take over the world, it's a wonder we are still around!
@@karlkarlsson9126 ok
@@karlkarlsson9126 that's cool
@@backstabboi4559 Bombs in Hiroshima and Nagasaki used something like a small portion of a coins matter, so your body is enough to blow up the whole world, that's how much energy that are stored in matter! Enough reason for people like in the video being so fascinated and stupid around these things.
I realized that this story was retold in the show “1000 Ways To Die”.
Brilliant, I love these kind of videos. Honestly I spend most of my time on KZhead watching military/aviation videos 😂 Wild that they used to just let them play bricks with the nuclear material.
engineering has always been a love I could never have
"Yo check this out" -Famous last words
I always knew about this incident but because I'm not a chem/physics guy I never understood just HOW the criticality happened, so this was a great explanation and the diagrams really helped. Thanks!!!!
>With no mistakes >No miscalculations Yeah uhh what about all the other missing nukes
‘The third person to die from reckless experimentations on the demon core was one Homer Simpson of Springfield...”
Slotin, within an hour of the supercriticality, did all the math to see how many people got exposed. Everyone was mostly fine, but he turned to his crewmate and said "I'm dead".
I now think that the worst way to go out its not either burnt alive or being drowned. Those are really bad but nothing compares being the guy in front of the demon core, getting x10 times the lethal radiation dose. And getting all those side effects. You see your own (once healthy) body literally desintegrating and dying in a celular level
"They were geniuses: they made a weapon to exterminate a fuckton of people, and their reward was gruesome, painful death."
yup pretty much
Many who worked on the Manhattan project were convinced that it would only ever be used against the Nazis. After it was dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki many of the project leads and scientists either fell into deep depression or became ardent anti-nuclear activists (Oppenheimer and Feynman most notably)
Yeah it feels really wierd how America represent themselfs as heros for dropping two nukes on populated cities as a retaliation for a military island being attacked. And with a third nuked planed and to this day barely any regrets
@@molybdenumrose its really fucked up
@@molybdenumrose Just show those guys what Tojo was up to in Nanking '37, should make them damn proud of their work in a jiffy.
DemonCore... Sounds like a great Heavy metal band!
I said this in a different video, but I feel for the medical staff that had to watch someone literally melt into goo. Bet very very few people had to witness someone die due to such extreme levels of radiation and it really must have rattled for months (or years) afterwards.
The demon core: “So you have chosen, death”
There was a scene in fat man and little boy about the Manhattan project where they used the second accident from the Demon Core in the movie .
2:42 - I just realised that I shouldn't watch this during my dinner
That was very interesting, but also harrowing. It makes me a bit more sad about the course of history that led to this invention as well.
"I cannot let you escape squidward, i must add another demon core to your confinement until you calm down." AAAAAAAAAA-
Playing with an exposed plutonium core without any safety measures, operating with such a specialized equipment as a screwdriver. Sure, it was 40's, but effects of ionizing radiation were already known by then, what the actual fuck they were thinking.
First nuclear reactor was turned on like 4 years prior
Aaah the 40s, when uranium was still an icecream flavour, and uranium condoms and toothpastes were advertised for being awesomely beneficial for health.
It produced blue light - they probably expected something magical to happen
its insane they let them slowly die, instead of giving them a lethal injection or somthing
Slotin's dead helped to understand the effects of heavy radiation exposure
Slotin almost certainly didn't let them for his case because of the above comment's reason
Amazing to me that with all of the technology and mechanical engineering available, these geniuses in physics used cavemen-like experimental setups to their own demise.
For a second I thought I was getting myself into some really cool obscure rock genre...
i love how in the beginning the core travels across the world because of the nature of most maps