Attention Deficit Disorder Prosthetic Memory Program

Demon Core

ADDPMP358
Demon Core - © Attention Deficit Disorder Prosthetic Memory Program

The demon core was a spherical 6.2-kilogram (14 lb) subcritical mass of plutonium 89 millimetres (3.5 in) in diameter, manufactured during World War II by the United States nuclear weapon development effort, the Manhattan Project, as a fissile core for an early atomic bomb, that was involved in two criticality accidents, on August 21, 1945, and May 21, 1946. The core was intended for use in a possible third nuclear weapon to be dropped on Japan, but when Japan’s surrender made this unnecessary, it was used for testing.

It was designed with a small safety margin to ensure a successful explosion of the bomb. The device briefly went supercritical when it was accidentally placed in supercritical configurations during two separate experiments intended to guarantee the core was indeed close to the critical point. The incidents happened at the Los Alamos Laboratory in 1945 and 1946, resulting in the acute radiation poisoning and subsequent deaths of scientists Harry Daghlian and Louis Slotin, respectively. After these incidents the spherical plutonium core was referred to as the “demon core”.

Freezing Rain - © Attention Deficit Disorder Prosthetic Memory Program
ADDPMP301
Freezing Rain
Let's Take Back Our Space - © Attention Deficit Disorder Prosthetic Memory Program
ADDPMP110
Let's Take Back Our Space
Dhampir - © Attention Deficit Disorder Prosthetic Memory Program
ADDPMP218
Dhampir
Chinese military parades - © Attention Deficit Disorder Prosthetic Memory Program
ADDPMP078
Chinese military parades
Macrocilix Maia - © Attention Deficit Disorder Prosthetic Memory Program
ADDPMP298
Macrocilix Maia
Luecke Farm - © Attention Deficit Disorder Prosthetic Memory Program
ADDPMP204
Luecke Farm
New Car Smell - © Attention Deficit Disorder Prosthetic Memory Program
ADDPMP196
New Car Smell
The Mind's Eye - © Attention Deficit Disorder Prosthetic Memory Program
ADDPMP564
The Mind's Eye
The Anthropocene Era - © Attention Deficit Disorder Prosthetic Memory Program
ADDPMP073
The Anthropocene Era
Hellas Planitia - © Attention Deficit Disorder Prosthetic Memory Program
ADDPMP720
Hellas Planitia
Optical Camouflage - © Attention Deficit Disorder Prosthetic Memory Program
ADDPMP105
Optical Camouflage
Pallasite - © Attention Deficit Disorder Prosthetic Memory Program
ADDPMP515
Pallasite

You are using an outdated browser.
Please upgrade your browser to improve your experience.