Скачать или смотреть The Demon Core: The Killer Plutonium Nuclear Core

The Demon Core was never meant to be a science experiment. It was a weapon—a 6.2-kilogram sphere of plutonium-gallium alloy intended to be the "Third Shot" dropped on Japan after Hiroshima and Nagasaki. But when the war ended, the core stayed at Los Alamos, where a relaxed "cowboy culture" of brilliant but reckless physicists led to two of the most terrifying accidents in nuclear history.

In this deep dive, we explore the timeline of the Demon Core (originally nicknamed "Rufus") and the specific moments that sealed the fates of Harry Daghlian in 1945 and Louis Slotin in 1946. We examine the physics of "tickling the dragon's tail"—the dangerous practice of bringing the core to the edge of criticality using nothing but a handheld screwdriver and a beryllium reflector.

What you will see in this video:

The Daghlian Incident (1945): How a single brick of tungsten carbide slipped, triggering a blast of neutron radiation that killed Harry Daghlian 25 days later.

The Slotin Incident (1946): The infamous "screwdriver slip." We break down exactly how Louis Slotin was holding the beryllium tamper, why the screwdriver slipped, and the "Blue Flash" of Cherenkov radiation that flooded the room.

The Physics of Horror: What is Acute Radiation Syndrome (ARS)? Why did the air glow blue? And why did the scientists calculate their own time of death immediately after the flash?

The Aftermath: How these accidents ended the era of hands-on assembly and forced the creation of remote manipulation protocols.

00:00:10 - Intro: The Unassuming Killer, Rufus
00:01:55 - Part 1: The Metallurgy of Destruction (Plutonium-Gallium Alloy)
00:03:43 - Part 2: The Lost Target & Post-War Testing
00:05:07 - Part 3: The First Victim: Harry Daghlian (The Tungsten Carbide Accident)
00:07:00 - The Blue Flash and The Deadly Handshake
00:08:09 - Part 5: The Cowboy Culture of Los Alamos
00:09:19 - Part 6: The Second Victim: Louis Slotin (Tickling the Dragon's Tail)
00:10:41 - The Ionization of Air: The True Blue Flash
00:12:05 - Part 8: The Chalk Marks & Slotin's Final Days
00:13:28 - Conclusion: The GDIA Legacy of the Core
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📚 REFERENCES & TERMS:

Prompt Criticality: The state where a nuclear chain reaction escalates instantly.

Cherenkov Radiation: The blue glow caused by charged particles moving faster than light through a medium (air/fluid).

Beryllium Tamper: The reflector used to bounce neutrons back into the core.

Omega Site: The secret laboratory at Los Alamos where the accidents occurred.

🎥 ABOUT THE CHANNEL: 2AM Archives explores the intersection of history, technology, and the unsettling unknown. From analog horror aesthetics to deep dives into forgotten incidents, we document the things that keep you up at night.

⚠️ DISCLAIMER: This video is for educational and historical documentary purposes.

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