https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demon_core
In regards to the above, what was the actual purpose of using the screw driver, what were they testing?
In:
The demon’s core was mass of radioactive material and it emitted radiation. Imagine a ball and it is emitting radioactive particles.
Now the experiment was that you place the ball inside a beryllium enclosure which is a radioactive particle reflector meaning if a radioactive particle hits it it gets reflected backwards. Imagine radioactive particles emitting from the ball hitting the enclosure and reflecting back to the core.
Now when the enclosure is part open and part open some radioactive particles reflect back and some pass through the opening.
The experiment was to keep reducing the opening so that more radioactive particles are reflected backwards and measure the activity of the core.
Why measure the activity of the core?
Because there were trying to measure how many radio active particles hitting back the core is required to make the core go super critical.
Supercritical meaning as more and more radioactive particles are reflected backwards and hit the core after a certain amount a chain reaction starts which causes more radioactive particles to be emitted from the core and more getting reflected backwards and in turn more getting emitted.
They were trying to measure just how much they can reduce the opening before this chain reaction starts that is the core goes super critical.
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