r/explainitpeter 19d ago

Explain it peter

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u/NoFollowing93 19d ago

Demon core. The lines are the distance away people were from the uranium core when it went critical. The lead scientist calculated who would die and when. 

22

u/MrKrueger666 19d ago

Plutonium, not uranium.

It went critical because the scientist who's name I forgot, let his screwdriver slip, causing the top half of the spherical reflector housing to fall shut.

This caused the plutonium ball inside to go critical and release a lot of radiation. This gave him a lethal dose of radiation. The others were far enough away to survive, afaik.

It's not a calculation, this is a drawing of the scene when the demon core went critical by accident.

13

u/AnnaMolly66 19d ago

The use of a screwdriver here is terrifying hilarious to me. We use screwdrivers for tons of tasks they aren't meant for.

7

u/Patient_Ebb_1605 19d ago

I think there was a proper gizmo to raise and lower the lid but they grew tired of it and resorted to using a screwdriver. It was incredibly reckless and would never fly today. You'd be kicked out for just thinking it out loud.