demon core
E719940
The demon core was a subcritical mass of plutonium used in early U.S. nuclear weapon experiments at Los Alamos, infamous for causing two fatal criticality accidents in 1945 and 1946.
Observed surface forms (1)
| Surface form | Occurrences |
|---|---|
| Demon core | 0 |
Statements (48)
| Predicate | Object |
|---|---|
| instanceOf |
nuclear experiment component
ⓘ
plutonium core ⓘ subcritical mass ⓘ |
| accidentType | prompt criticality accident ⓘ |
| associatedLaboratory | Los Alamos National Laboratory NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| associatedWithProject | early U.S. nuclear weapons program ⓘ |
| causedDeathOf |
Harry Daghlian
NERFINISHED
ⓘ
Louis Slotin NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| compositionDetail | plutonium-gallium alloy ⓘ |
| countryOfOrigin |
United States of America
ⓘ
surface form:
United States
|
| criticalityAccident |
Harry Daghlian accident
ⓘ
Louis Slotin accident ⓘ |
| dateOfAccident |
21 August 1945
ⓘ
21 May 1946 ⓘ |
| era |
World War II
ⓘ
early Cold War ⓘ |
| givenName | demon core ⓘ |
| hasMass | approximately 6.2 kilograms ⓘ |
| isPartOf | Manhattan Project NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| legacy | symbol of dangers of nuclear research ⓘ |
| locatedIn | Los Alamos, New Mexico NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| material | plutonium ⓘ |
| nickname | Rufus NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| notableFor |
causing two fatal criticality accidents
ⓘ
laboratory criticality safety lessons ⓘ |
| originalIntendedUse |
core for a third nuclear weapon
ⓘ
weapon core for planned strike on Japan ⓘ |
| placeOfUse | Los Alamos Laboratory NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| plutoniumIsotope | plutonium-239 ⓘ |
| radiationType |
gamma radiation
ⓘ
neutron radiation ⓘ |
| relatedConcept |
critical mass
ⓘ
criticality accident ⓘ nuclear chain reaction ⓘ |
| relatedPerson |
Enrico Fermi
NERFINISHED
ⓘ
Harry Daghlian NERFINISHED ⓘ Louis Slotin NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| safetyIssue |
lack of remote handling equipment
ⓘ
manual manipulation of neutron reflectors ⓘ |
| safetyLesson |
ended hands-on criticality experiments at Los Alamos
ⓘ
led to stricter criticality safety procedures ⓘ |
| shape | sphere ⓘ |
| startUseDate | 1945 ⓘ |
| statusAfterAccidents |
melted down
ⓘ
recycled into other cores ⓘ |
| usedFor |
criticality experiments
ⓘ
nuclear weapon experiments ⓘ |
| weaponDesignContext | implosion-type nuclear weapon ⓘ |
Referenced by (1)
Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.
subject surface form:
demon core