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:
They were testing radioactive criticality, which is the point where the environmental conditions become favorable to sustain a nuclear chain reaction. In that experiment, they had a sample of radioactive material that was refined to the point of being *just barely( sub-critical (it was radioactive, but couldn’t sustain a chain reaction on its own, and was originally intended to be used in a third Nuke). The shielding around it (two hemispheres of metal separated by a small gap) was designed to reflect neutrons back into it, thus increasing the chance of making a nuclear reaction happen. As long as there was a gap, *just* enough neutrons escaped that the reaction wouldn’t run away.
Someone accidentally removed the screwdriver that had been maintaining that gap. The two halves of the shielding closed entirely, and the core went supercritical. Everyone around was given radiation poisoning.
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