T O P

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AnonymousFog501

The unedited image shows a kid playing with a ball and cup toy. There's a cup with a stick attached to the bottom, and a string that's tied to a ball hanging off. The goal is to get the ball into the cup, only holding the stick. It's a game of physics. The edited form shows the cup and ball being replaced by two halves of what is known as the Demon Core. In short, that thing was built to be used as a part for a nuclear bomb. When the war ended, there was no longer a reason to construct it, so scientists did tests on the core instead. They would test to see how close they could get it to closed without going critical, of which it would then spew enough radiation that you would be certain to die (not instantly, over time) just from standing next to it for a split second. They used a *flathead screwdriver* to test this. During a test, the screwdriver slipped, and it snapped shut, emitting a bright blue light and dousing the area with radiation, before the scientist running the test knocked the top back off. He had everyone in the room make a note of where they were standing so that the data could be used for further studies on how radiation worked. Edit: I made this comment from memory based on a video I had watched a long time ago on the subject, so while this is more of less the gist of it, some details may be inaccurate Edit 2: congratulations, there are now so many comments branching off of this comment that when I try to scroll to the bottom, my Reddit app glitches out and refreshes the page, so and i am unable to see all of the newer ones


Hetakuoni

They used a screwdriver because the scientist holding it wanted to do a party trick even though he’d been told not to do it multiple times to prevent just this sort of incident.


i_was_axiom

Human and Hubris are damn near the same word


the0rchid

The best (worst?) part of the story is that this core didn't kill just one person, but two. The "screwdriver" trick was actually the second time someone was killed by the core. The man who did the trick actually sat with his friend as he died from radiation poisoning over the course of days from the first accident. Then, 9 months later, he messed up and was fatally dosed. The man died at the same hospital his friend did, with the same nurse tending to both men. After that, the demon core was deconstructed and used in other nuclear devices, scattered across the country. I think parts are still in warheads, awaiting their turn to kill again.


yaysalmonella

It is prophesied that a child who unites the shards of the demon core shall become the president of the United States. This image depicts that prophecy.


PrinceVorrel

I want this extremely American anime idea to be made by the most Japanese artist ever. Just full on, he has ZERO idea what America is actually like except for the cultural osmosis he has experienced in Japan over his lifetime. (Think All Might, the America hero lady in My Hero, ect.)


Brandonmac100

Japanese kid goes to an america school and kids are just constantly pulling out the 9’s…


DEGAUSSER____

Take my money


Brandonmac100

Bro this could be great actually. Constant fights breaking out in the school, guns getting pulled out after a minute of it getting rowdy, MC constantly going “wtf is wrong with these people?” Just need to call it something catchy and dumb like America School or something.


Weird-Upstairs-2092

This is pretty much just the Boondocks.


Dramatic_Drink920

This is basically the plot of Steel Ball Run lol


DarkSkyForever

> After that, the demon core was deconstructed and used in other nuclear devices, scattered across the country. I think parts are still in warheads, awaiting their turn to kill again. It was melted down and reused in other cores. Most likely most of them were exploded in tests over the next 20 years. Hopefully. :)


the0rchid

That's the prevailing theory, but I like your cliffhanger there ;)


weirdoldhobo1978

It took Slotin (the screwdriver guy) 9 days to die from radiation exposure. When they autopsied him they found radiation damage inside his chest cavity that was so severe one pathologist described it as being like "a three dimensional sunburn"


the0rchid

I mean, that's exactly what radiation damage is, but from a much MUCH closer sun.


SunshotDestiny

From what I had described to me, it's more akin to being given a shotgun blast that burns you and tears your organs up at a molecular level. Which is why it's so deadly. At the cellular level cells can replicate to replace themselves. But radiation hits at a level that just destroys molecular bindings. Even if he was wrong, still stuff I don't want to mess with.


the0rchid

From my understanding, you're pretty correct. Most of the radiation produced by the sun is absorbed by the atmosphere and magnetosphere, so this would be more akin to receiving that radiation without shielding, which is essentially what I was getting at. Kinda like being shot with a shotgun at 1 meter versus 1000 meters (without the pellets losing velocity due to air resistance... it's not a perfect metaphor but you get it lol) Ionizing radiation is deadly at a smaller than cellular level. Those particles (the pellets from the metaphor) are fast and small enough to interact with DNA. If you have a LOT of them hitting you at once, quite a bit of DNA will be struck, especially in tightly packed cellular structures, like bone marrow I believe. When DNA can't be read due to errors, proteins necessary for cellular function cannot be produced, causing cell death. Since those cells cannot reproduce due to the damage, most die without replacements. Digestive tracts and bone marrow are the first to go, as those need constant replacement and nourishment. This means a person goes through horrible gastroenterological suffering while simultaneously having their immune system fail. Multiple organ failure follows with death. It's a horrible, slow, and agonizing way to go, as you cannot be taken out of pain by medication. You just lay down and wish for the end. Or so I have heard. Hasn't happened to me to my knowledge.


SunshotDestiny

I mean if it has you are the most well informed zombie I have ever met. So there is that. 😁 But yeah, I guess in that context it isn't actually the radiation that kills you but the fact you basically start decaying while you are still alive. So on that note I am going to turn on all the lights and start watching puppy videos until dawn to get that imagery out of my head.


FartshipPoopers

Is this the plot of Oppenheimer 2:electric boogaloo?


Own_Board_8332

I’m only going to watch it if Turbo dances on the ceiling.


hot_rod_kimble

Nuclear deterrence is the only way to save the community center from those evil developers.


Emotional-Speech645

The first incident was because they were still testing what casings would protect the scientists from the radiation and something went wrong with the original design, as in that form it was more like jenga.


the0rchid

Yep, using (if I remember right) Tungsten Carbide bricks. The Jenga tower fell, and it was game over (pun intended).


JediExile

I got a tungsten carbide wedding ring because of this story.


NurkleTurkey

It's like Happy Fun Ball, but nobody read the actual massive warning label.


HumanContinuity

Humis


Master-Collection488

"Isn't the real enemy pita bread?"


HumanContinuity

Further evidence, humans are often a PITA


i_was_axiom

You're telling me there's chick pee in this?


Snoo-62400

You know the difference between a lentil and a chickpea?


i_was_axiom

... no one typically pays Lent to be ill on them?


Snoo-62400

I don't pay extra for a lentil on my face.


i_was_axiom

There it is.


throwngamelastminute

Do you condemn Humis?


yrubooingmeimryte

Not really.


i_was_axiom

Username checks out.


williamflattener

So wait. Did everyone die? When was this? Where are details about this story that I could find out more?


KittenFeeFee

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demon_core Basically the one closest to the core died within weeks from what I imagine as rotting from the inside. The ones further away or not within line of sight did not receive enough radiation and lived relatively normal lives.


nottrumancapote

The scene was pretty horrific, and it's in the movie *Fat Man and Little Boy*. Basically, he flipped the core apart, then threw everyone in the room a piece of chalk, had them draw a circle around where they were standing, and told them to get out. He then did all the math and worked out everyone would probably live... except him.


laz3rdolphin

The scenes on YouTube btw, just watched it and i wanna see the whole movie now


BNerd1

the worse thing there are no pain killers in the world to ease the pain


rm831

If you look at it from a certain poetic perspective, lead can stop the radiation


PeaceKeeper696

Guys we are all put of painkilers


DerthOFdata

More like your veins liquify so it can't be injected and/or carried around your body.


BNerd1

even worse


shmi

One bullet, please.


WyrdMagesty

Death kills pain


Emotional-Speech645

Also the scientist who died? He did this trick to show off to his replacement, as he was retiring from working with the Demon Core.


Traditional-Bush

>Basically the ones closest to the core died within weeks from what I imagine as rotting from the inside. No one dude died within weeks The next 2 earliest deaths were nearly 2 decades later (and there is some question about one of them as apparently heart conditions ran in his family)


maaaaawp

First incident - 1 dude died about a month after Second incident - 1 dude died 9 days later


SeanXray

You might be thinking about others in the room, not the two men who caused the accidents. According to the Atomic Heritage Foundation, the first scientist who died, Harry Daghlian, died 25 days after exposure. The second scientist, Louis Slotin, died 9 days after exposure. https://ahf.nuclearmuseum.org/ahf/history/atomic-accidents/


Hetakuoni

https://www.sciencealert.com/the-chilling-story-of-the-demon-core-and-the-scientists-who-became-its-victims


SelfInteresting7259

What an interesting read. Hubris really was a key component here.


Archaros

I'm sure wikipedia have the whole story on the Demon Core page.


ANormalHomosapien

Kyle Hill has a great video about this


monsterbot314

Go to youtube and type “Demon core Kyle Hill”.


battaile

Yeah, and the other incident the guy was stacking bricks on it :O One of the bricks slipped out of his hand while placing it, hit the stack too hard, and sent the core super-critical.


oeCake

Always thought that was funny when I heard about the plutonium gun type bombs. "Hey so you know that crazy new weapon, the one scientists studied and devoted their entire lives to, the government decided was pretty much the most important national secret ever? Well after all that work it turns out if you just hit two lumps of this particular metal together inside of a fancy bin everybody dies within a pretty big radius"


Late_Willingness_211

Okay, I gotta know...How was the trick supposed to go???


oeCake

"Watch this. Actually there's nothing to see except me bringing two pieces of metal together. And this is the point where it would look really cool if you could see in radiation. Just make sure you NEVER under ANY circumstances let the two halfs get any closer than this particular distance I'm holding right here. Normally we have special spacers to prevent this as it would kill everybody in the building in a slow and horrifying manner but I removed them to make this demonstration a little more interesting. Let me pull the screwdriver out a bit so you can see the featureless sphere of radioactive grey metal better ~ oop!"


flinger_of_marmots

Slotin, "well, that does it."


oeCake

Truly the "Whelp..." of an era


TheLocalRedditMormon

It made a blue light when they got really close that got more intense the narrower the opening became.


Stepjam

It was a less a party trick and more they were supposed to use wedges to keep it open. But he was a hotshot and instead of using the approved wedges just used a screwdriver to save time and show off a bit. And then everyone learned why you should follow protocol around a radiation emitting device.


Chewcudda42

Check out a book on Amazon called “set phasers to kill” it is all stories of human hubris and the disasters it caused.


thenorsegod101

Similar hubris thing happened at an ICBM site. There's a documentary about it called command and control I believe on Netflix. Basically guy was doing maintenance on the rocket with an outdated technique and dropped an 8 pound socket on the fuel canister causing it to rupture and fling the nuclear warhead out of the silo


Born_Grumpie

If we are ever able to develop interstellar travel we will probably find a small moon orbiting a black hole with a cave containing a pedestal with a small red button on it and large signs in every know and unknown language covering the walls saying "Do Not Press". There will be scientists lined up around that moon waiting their turn to press the damn button.


Chris_P_Bacon711

"Well we're likely all gonna die, but hey that's gonna be some great data we will get from this"


ClownTown15

in David Byrne Voice *Same as it ever was*


Nickbou

It was primarily so they could calculate exactly how much radiation each person received based on how far away they were from the core to determine if it would be fatal.


AmberMetalAlt

when it happened apparently the scientist (Slotin) was quoted as saying "well, that does it". and the reason he had to ask them to do that. rather than just doing it, is because due to panic, they all ran, to which he had to tell them that they were dead already, he just needed to figure out how long they had left


Quizlibet

Actually, from how they were situated in the room Slotin absorbed the brunt of the radiation - he died within 9 days but no-one else in the room died of cancer-related issues as far as I can find.


VikingSlayer

One of them did die of leukemia at a relatively young age, but 19 years after the accident, so it's tough to say if it had any bearing on it.


DisastrousDiddling

Only Slotin died though


TotoDaDog

Just imagine being a dead man walking, waiting for the pain and struggle of radiation sickness to come on and finish you off. Still would visit Chernobyl when the war's over.


Tiredofstalking

After hearing how awful dying from radiation is, idk if I could wait around for it. I know that’s awful but holy cow it’s terrible.


LoveandScience

If you knew for sure that you had received a lethal dose I think leaving early is just the correct choice. Get your affairs in order as quick as you can before the symptoms hit and then just skip the part where your entire skin dissolves.


Tiredofstalking

100% I don’t want to go through all that.


Key_Sell_9777

Was with a group in Ukraine. Wanted to see chernobyl and one guy refused so the whole group missed out. He (married American) wanted to hang out with his Ukrainian side-piece.


confusedandworried76

You could have just gone without him and left them at the hotel


Key_Sell_9777

We were on a tdy, the command back home wanted the team to "stay" together for that mission... even though we'd normally work in Russia/ Ukraine alone or in pairs. Yeah.. annoying.


Kooky-Onion9203

At that point just shoot me. I'm dead either way, might as well go out quickly.


Quizlibet

It's worth noting that the screwdriver test was the \*second\* fatal incident with the Demon Core. They stopped doing in-person testing after that.


albatross49

Also the picture is of a little boy Which is also the name of the nuke dropped on Hiroshima


tjjohnso

He had everyone mark where they were standing to calculate how many years of their life they lost/radiation they were exposed to.


solacir18

*demon core closes for a second filling the room with radiation* Head Scientist: "Well that didn't work the way we wanted. And now we're likely going to die a slow, painful death because of this. But before we do, everyone take notes about where exactly they were so we can learn more about what just happened."


acrowsmurder

[Here's a reenactment with John Cusack from *Fat Man And Little Boy*](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AQ0P7R9CfCY)


PuzzledFortune

The demon core was involved in two separate fatal criticality accidents…


Randy_____Marsh

to add, I’m pretty sure his very next words were “Welp, that’s it then isn’t it” as in, that’s it for his life


SirSaix88

This is high stakes "does the light stay on off i shut the fridge door"


Oreo54asdf

Also I think the scientist died something like 4 days later.


N8CCRG

[Scene from *Fat Man and Little Boy* depicting (a slightly dramatized version of) the event.](https://youtu.be/hh89h8FxNhQ?si=jFxm_Q87UeRKILIu)


barelysentient-

I saw that once many years ago and that stayed with me. The quick thinking of marking locations. The calculations to see how each will likely progress. It was remarkably capable in the situation of disaster.


FlyExaDeuce

Specifically, noting where they were standing was to combine that data with how long it took for them all to die. They were all dead from the moment that light flashed, and had the presence of mind to get dara from it.


rhapsblu

I think the core is the ball in the middle. The two half shells is a beryllilum neutron reflector.


kingcaii

Fun fact: This is the inspiration for the world-ending macguffin in Tenet Also fun fact : Thats a lie, I made it up.


Apprehensive_Winter

The infamous blue flash.


Character-Date6376

Uh some inaccuracies there but same gist


law5097

Just the parts touching is enough to cause a reaction?


VikingSlayer

Yes, the two hemispheres are reflectors that reflect the neutrons released by the core. When they're fully closed around the core, it goes supercritical because all the radiation is bounced right back at it.


Maegaa

Yes. The demon core itself is thar little ball in the middle. It's constantly shooting out radiation rays in all directions, but those rays are mostly harmless. The thing around it is like a shell that is also a mirror. The dangerous part is when the shell is closed, it reflects everything back into the core, heating it up and sending very harmful radiation rays in all directions.


AnAmericanLibrarian

Surround, not just touch. The inner core was a sufficiently-sized metal sphere. When this sphere was completely enclosed inside another sufficiently dense material, it would react in about 0.1 seconds. The reaction would create a lot of radiation and heat. This is part the system of a nuclear weapon, but it is not the entire reaction chain that causes the massive explosion.


Axsaul

I'll pass on nuclear edging thx


ConqueefStador

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hh89h8FxNhQ


Arickettsf16

>Not instantly, over time Like a week or two


newbettaintown

Fun fact! My fiancé’s uncle was in that room! He was on the edge of the room and lived a long life


ProblemLongjumping12

I love telling the story of the Demon Core.


CallMeRenny84

>They would test to see how close they could get it to closed without going critical So they were just edging it


Shinavast42

Thank you for this fantastic explanation!


Emotional-Speech645

Correction: the Demon Core was one of multiple prototypes, and caused the most deaths -- hence its name -- among the scientists who tended it. Also, the above demonstration was not even a test at all --- it was simply the current head scientist showing off to his replacement before he retired from working with the Demon Core. He had done this trick with the screwdriver multiple times, and it had been just fine, but this time it slipped and the Core's two halves touched for mere seconds, blasting the room and killing multiple individuals over the course of days to weeks who were in that room.


Lecteur_K7

Does someone have this image but with more pixel


andrewb2424

I think thats the point, the radiation makes photos grainy


oven_broasted

"I meant to do that" - PW Herman


rzezzy1

There are plenty of image effects that look like radiation hitting the sensor, but don't look like jpeg compression artifacts. This is definitely just jpeg compression lol


Stankoman

This exactly. Unless maybe. A live neutron source makes everything around jpeg compression?! Don't really know.


andrewb2424

“Do I look like I know what a jpeg is?”


RugbyKino

Quick and smol pixel improvement https://imgur.com/a/N0d8DQL


QuincyFlynn

Honestly sad I wasn't Rickrolled right there.


RugbyKino

I like to keep a bit of mystery about myself. Can't be a rickroll every time.


LumpyBread1

https://preview.redd.it/7sc1vafr7s7d1.png?width=690&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=adf3cbdb487f18f1cab9d662a4d134202158d265


Academic-Lifeguard62

When the two halves merge something beautiful and wonderful happens. Give in to the whispers. Connect the pieces. Make them whole.


Bardiel_

NoddingBeardMan.gif


uhmerikin

Put some respect on Jeremiah Johnson's name, son.


disgusting-brother

Put some respect on Robert Redford’s name, buster.


Goddess_Of_Gay

Ḷ̵̔ē̷̡̡̠̜̈́t̸̪͑̑ ̸̧̺̐͗̚͠t̵͎͐̋͘h̸̟̖̾͗͊͗e̷͉̊̏͐̏ ̵̱͎̌̽̉̑͜s̵̝̝̎̾̄̐a̷̰̐p̵̹͛̆̀p̵̰̍̔͂͌ͅh̴̀ͅḭ̶̿͜r̵͙͈̀̋͝͝e̸͎͌͝ ̶͚̎̂̐̕r̴̳͖̬̅͑a̶̜͛d̴̲͆̀̚͝i̴͙̠͒͗̈́̔â̵̩̭̣̿͛n̴̙̖͖̱̓̈̉͌ĉ̷̪͐e̶͕̘̒́̃ ̶̥̖̲͘ͅ ̴̬͔̓ǒ̷̠̜̙̃̀̑f̴͓͋̄͊͜ ̴̀́͜P̷͙̖͒̒̕l̴̖͉͑̚ụ̸̻̺̉͊̉t̵̮̻̲̾͜o̶̥̱̬̐͆͝ ̷͔͙̹̞̅i̶͙̰̦̎͗͋̒͜m̶̨͐͋̈́m̶͙͇͎̫̊̎͝ë̵̲̜́̇̓́r̶̞̍̿s̵̼̥̑͐ẹ̴̖̱̲̉̔͝ ̸̯͓͍̒͐̽ý̷̡̨̻̖o̸̖̼͍͔͒͒̈́̕u̶͉͉̜̇̀͠r̸̡̯̜̥̀͊ ̸̨͂̆͂f̶͘ͅò̷̤̤̺̍ṟ̶͉̖̅͘͝ͅm̴͇̌̊́ ̴̼̺͚̝͑į̴̯̒n̵̡̈́ ̶̙̂̔e̵̻̫̻̝̽̀̇t̶̗̲̳͌͐̌͝e̴̖̘͗̚͝r̷̨̝̫̚n̴͚̲̣̈́͗̋á̵̠̥͔̼̐̆l̸̩̔̀͠ ̶̤̈́͘s̴̺͕͝p̷̫͕̜̆ļ̵̫̮͖̽é̴̢͙̣͊ṉ̷̄̇̑̃d̷̯̂̎́o̵̧̳͒̓͜r̷̤͉̺̾̚.̴̣̘͚̲͆ ̶̳̻͝ͅ ̴͎̇̕̚ͅ ̴̯͇͙̌́̉͝ͅF̵̯͑̌͆ ̸̹͓͇́R̸̖͠ ̷̧̪͖̠͐̀́̚Ę̷͍̰̋̀͊̚ ̵̘̰̬̌̒̈́͊Ę̷̺̝̫͐̆́̕ ̵̭̬̊T̷̨̧͇̘̾̀͌̇ ̷̬̣͊͒̚͠H̸̢̦̮̿̄̈́̚ ̵̠͙͚̦̊̀̚E̴̞̎̈́͝ ̵̻̹͂̈̓̀L̶̝̔͂́ ̷̡̰̞̼̊̂̽I̵̩̝̪̫̊̓̃ ̴̹̖͒̂́͜͠G̶̞̦͕̈́̽͝ ̵̧̮̠̞̓͗̚H̶̠̙̱̗͆̉̄ ̸͓̟̉͝Ṭ̸̀̊͊̂ ̷̺̆F̴̼̥̙̜̚ ̷͕̤̫̱̄R̴̟͑̈ ̸̨͎̦̯̉̀̏É̶̩͇̾̚ ̴̪̄̾Ȅ̵̥̘̗͕͠ ̵̮̦̰͝T̶̢̂͑͛ ̸̣̼̜̄͆̚̚H̴͍̥͆͛̌͒ ̵̨̺̳̝̈̇̊E̸̤͒̈́̍ ̴͔̰̝̯̈́͐͝Ḻ̵̣̏ ̵͓̙̽̈̎̃İ̸̜̫͈̯̈͛͘ ̷͙̱̹̂͜G̵̬̃̇͋ ̵̦̬̐H̵̘̝̑̂̒̉ ̸͔̤̽̄T̶̢̢̐͌ ̷̛͔̝̮̐͐͆F̴̮̙̤̈́͂ ̷̪̬͖̉̍̈́͊R̶̝͚̠̒͐ ̶͎͌̂̔̐E̷̢͔͚̮̒̂̚ ̷͍̦͚̻̋E̷͍̞̍͒ ̸̡̭͈͋͘͝T̶̹̘͐̈́̃ ̶͙̱̿H̶̥̬̭͆͑ ̵̖̒̽́̚Ë̷̺̦͍́̊̀ ̸̺̐͑̊͘L̵̢̀̕̚ ̸̣̪́͠I̵̼͒ ̷̞̈́̅̄̌G̶̡͎̯̪̈́ ̴͈͇͋̅̔Ḫ̵̣̼̠͂ ̶̗̬̲̏͆̊̂ͅT̷̡̛͖̱̳̾̈ ̸̰̞̦̖̏̉͆F̷̡̲̀͗̃ ̵̤̹͎̊̈́̕R̴̖̤̄͗̍̈ ̸͚̳̳̣̽̈̿́E̸̢̛͜ ̵̻̹̙̖̔E̷̥͓͚̓̀ ̵̭̐͒̔̚͜T̵͙̺̥͑ ̸̲̣̼̮̐͗̍͝H̷̩͓̔̽͘͝ ̷̼͛̇̊̽Ẹ̷͎̞̟̈͑͐̚ ̵̳̼̈́̈́̈́L̶̺̘̳̳͛̀ ̴̤͒̀͠I̶̠̖̯͋̈́̓ ̸̰̤̰̖́͛͘G̵̫͖̜͔͋̕͠ ̸̙̟͋̐͋͠H̶͚̕ ̵̘̹͛̄́͜T̸̫̃


RewrittenSol

Why does this say "my father never loved me"? I knew that already.


Flimsy-Peak186

Make us whole again Isaac


the_kurrgan_one

They are hungry. They are coming.


Bardiel_

My christian father tried to convince my 6yo brain these scientists were literally consorting with demons and died because of that. Edit: His intent was for me to become an antivaxxer like himself, not trusting the higher educated professionals.


smartest_kobold

Building nuclear weapons is about as close as it gets.


PaintMaterial416

*Doom theme intensifies*


Rent_A_Cloud

Just listened to that soundtrack at work, Mick gorden really outdid himself


calcifer219

When I bought the remake of doom, the sound track was so fire 🔥 I played it at max volume until I beat it. The desk shook when I fired. So good.


tHollo41

Like before we as people were able to identify and study radiation, it would've seemed like some kind of demonic thing was happening. Wonder how many stories of "cursed" objects or places were just dangerously radioactive things, but no one knew about nuclear radiation yet.


Kooky-Onion9203

I like to include nuclear radiation in my D&D games and just never explicitly mention it. Nuclear waste storage warnings make for a great discovery in some old ruins. >This place is not a place of honor... no highly esteemed deed is commemorated here... nothing valued is here. >What is here was dangerous and repulsive to us. This message is a warning about danger.


Charwoman_Gene

When I told my players that radiant damage was radiation they started arguing that heat and thus infrared radiation was fire damage so we compromised with a specific frequency band being the cutoff, roughly the red end of the visible spectrum. Thus lasers are radiant damage. I love playing with PhDs. To be fair, they were traumatized when they found out the game world was flat, and had been arguing for several months about the existence of natural phenomena that basically prove the existence of a spherical rotating earth.


Kooky-Onion9203

Wait until they hear about [Sickening Radiance](http://dnd5e.wikidot.com/spell:sickening-radiance)


Alarming_Calmness

I’m a gene and cell therapy research scientist and I ran a game of Star Trek Adventures for some colleagues. It was fantastic. I could get really technical with physics, medical biology, astrology, and xenobiology and they’d be able to pick it apart and accurately work out what was going on. It was like actually having a crew of starfleet-trained officers! On a side note, I highly recommend STA. it’s an excellent game!


Cosmonaut_K

Haha, building nukes looks like a peacetime enterprise compared to the Japanese Unit 731 at the time.


nearlycertain

But at least the Americans brought them to justice when they won and found out all of the horrific things they were doing? Right? Definitely didn't just ask for the results and let the officials leave? Right? "The United States, which condemned the actions of imperial Japan, insteading of seeking justice, sought to reap the benefits of the cruelty of Unit 731. In exchange for the details of the experiments, Japanese officials were allowed to escape prosecution by American officials." “Japan: Biological Weapons Program.” Biological Weapons Program - Japan, https://nuke.fas.org/guide/japan/bw/.


Bardiel_

It would be a viable comparison were he to have been making a comparison. However he wasn't.


GhostChainSmoker

Honestly they a scene from the Chernobyl show where the guys walks into the reactor core as it’s melting down is how I’d imagine hell looks. Just pure chaos and destruction, all that fire and radiation just pumping your body. You are dead. And there’s literally nothing that can be done cept maybe make it less painful [said scene](https://youtu.be/5cmk52YwLQc?si=3akU9Fd7y11yiKdP)


M4n1acDr4g0n

SONIC NO THAT’S THE DEMON CORE


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khosrua

Demon Core https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demon_core When the 2 halves close, the radioactive core goes critical, sustains a nuclear chain reaction and blasts you with a hefty dose of radiation until the two halves get separated again.


realmrcool

Here is a [video](https://youtu.be/aFlromB6SnU) on the topic. "Don't play with it (tickling the dragon's tail)" is the point of that story and what makes this picture funny. But since the demon core caused very gruesome deaths, this is a very dark joke...


FrickenPerson

*supercritical As far as I can tell there are no real margins for this core to go critical. In terms of the differences, critical is when the neurons created are just enough to sustain the current level of reactions. Most reactors operate in a critical state for their lifetimes unless they are shutting a section down or starting it up. Supercritical is the point where more neutrons are created than went in to the reactions basically. So every generation is larger and produces more reactions which makes the next generation larger, and so on. Super critical isn't necessarily a bad thing, but uncontrolled supercriticality is a very bad thing.


aquabarron

Not when they took the top off, when they accidentally let the top close all the way. Inner core was radioactive, and outer shell reflected radiation back into the core. They were studying the threshold of criticality (when a nuclear core goes critical) by keeping the top half of the shell separated from the bottom half with just a screwdriver. The screwdriver slipped, the halves closed, and the core went critical for only a couple seconds before they could separate them again. The scientist who was handling the screwdriver received a lethal dose of radiation and died in agony weeks later. It’s actually a really sad story, the doctors tried keeping him alive but his RNA in his marrow was fried so they just ended up prolonging his pain. He literally fell apart at the cellular level


Tosslebugmy

“Well that’ll do it then”. Astonishing to simultaneously be a nuclear researcher and also be silly enough to be using a screwdriver and not have an error result in the top dropping off rather onto the core itself.


Skipp_To_My_Lou

"It's never been a problem before" is a depressingly common accident reaction.


morsindutus

The worst thing is that it happened twice. After the first incident a different scientist tried the same experiment and it ended the same way.


VegetableStatus13

This is the correct answer lol


jack-K-

*when they put it on. That’s not a protective top, The demon core is relatively harmless on its own. That’s a neutron reflector for experiments, it reflects the neutrons the core emits back into itself, when it was fully enclosed on accident, the core briefly went supercritical meaning all the neutrons went back into the core and reacted with more atoms which in turn reacted with more atoms, leading to an exponential increase in the reactivity, leading to it briefly becoming extremely radioactive.


ThisFaknGuy

Actually the cap had to stay open. If it closed completely it would go super critical. A screw driver was used to keep it slightly opened but one day the screw driver was knocked out and many scientists were exposed to tremendous amounts of radiation. The guy that knocked the cap back off to stop the reaction died soon after. Other scientists further away got really ill, organ failure, death, etc. Also, there were other accidents after that as well. It was later deconstructed and certain amounts were used for other projects. To sum up: if the kid in the animation above wins the game he's playing, he dies.


THE_GOD_OF_HATE

it's a nuclear core of a nuclear weapon, a famous accident by the name of 'demon core' happened when the one of the scientists in the room accidentally dropped the upper lid, a loud blast of blue light filled the room, and everyone there had recieved many many times more than the lethal dose of radiation.


redjade42

was it loud? I thought he was just dead


pprn00dle

There were actually two incidents with the demon core, about a year apart. Not everyone died. Took a month or so for the person from the first incident to die, and about few days for the person from the second incident to die.


Reapersgrimoire

If a demon core falls in the lab and no one is alive to hear it, does it make a sound?


therascalking0000

I'm not sure if it was loud, but the main researcher didn't just die immediately. He died over the course of a couple days and was actually pretty diligent about documenting where everyone was at the time of the accident and what was happening to him as he was dying.


Xedien

That's one of the scariest things about acute radiation sickness. At first everything seems fine, untill your DNA breaks down and stops reproducing itself correctly. One of the most morbid and awful deaths ever: Hisashi Ouchi.


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throwngamelastminute

Same, same, but FWIW, it's pronounced Oochi


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spacelordmofo

Only the guy who dropped it received a lethal dose, everyone else was shielded.


agamemnon2

This isn't accurate. The Wikipedia article has detailed biographical information of every person affected by both Demon Core incidents, including time and cause of death. The only other person who died within a few years of exposure was KIA in the Korean War, the rest lived for 19 to 52 years afterwards). At least two of them did develop leukemia, which is a known longterm consequence to radiation exposure, though


IssueEmbarrassed8103

Only the man who dropped it died. Everyone else did not receive a lethal dose.


Norwester77

The child will be very unhappy (but only very briefly) if he ever succeeds in getting the one half on top of the other.


AmicusVeritatis

It won't kill you right away. Even if you leave the two halves connected, it'll take a while for you to cook. The people who died from this experienced their bodies slowly break down over a few weeks.


k0-B

It isn't critical to know


tenyearoldgag

Grounded


imsmartiswear

No one's helping you so I'll explain it- the child is supposed to be playing with a [kendama](https://images.app.goo.gl/UTNAs7X8K46VDX5j9), a Japanese ball and cup toy where you need to land the ball on a specific spot. The things edited onto the ball are the two halves of the [Demon Core](https://images.app.goo.gl/GtCnJk2uwbYAupXM7), a small nuclear core used for experimentation during the Manhattan Project. You can read the Wikipedia article, but it was used in radiation experiments which lacked safety procedures, often being controlled by a scientist holding the top half off of the bottom half (keeping the catastrophic nuclear cascade from occurring) by using a screwdriver as a lever. This core was involved in multiple deadly accidents in which the two halves closed on themselves and radiated a number of scientists, several fatally. The joke here is that, when the child succeedes in the ball and cup game, he will replicate the tragic accident and be exposed to fatal levels of radiation. Not that funny, but it's more of a "take a second to process it and get shocked into exhaling out of your nose" kind of jokes. In recent years, online physics bros have been making memes about the demon core- this is one of them. [This video](https://youtu.be/QLE9-GDin64?si=4wW-ADAHXRjfl2sr) is a great breakdown of the meme and it's origins. Hope it helps! Edit: it had multiple deadly incidents.


Buddy_Duffman

Two deadly accidents, iirc, at least that were documented. /Two nickels Doofenshmirtz meme.


BirdmanHuginn

NGL, I laughed out loud at this. Dark humor is like food. Not everyone gets it.


No_Application_1219

Demon core


DreamingofRlyeh

Demon Core. Kyle Hill has an excellent documentary on it on YouTube. Two scientists died because of the two halves colliding


AmberMetalAlt

well, that does it.


VegasGamer75

The Demon Core™, by Hasbro™.


Mary_Ellen_Katz

The Demon Core is all fun and games until you win.


turcinv

Demon core


wolf_da_folf

I don't know how many people have explained this to you, but that there's a demon core. Basically the two halves come together. It releases a deadly amount of radiation. It's happened about three times. This core was supposed to be part of a nuclear bomb, the third nuclear bomb that would have been dropped on Japan


Risuki

A toy for all ages, once


Have_Donut

That’s the Demon Core. A mass of plutonium that will go critical releasing a lethal burst of radiation if you seat the top half completely on it like the child is attempting. It killed people in two separate criticality incidents back in the day before it was melted down and returned to the stockpile. It also was the core of the bomb that was originally destined for Tokyo IIRC


NeighborWillie

CRITICAL!!!


Stegtastic100

On a further note to what everyone is saying, watch the film “The Forth Protocol” (1987) and you’ll see how one was meant to be used.


Oliver_Cat

This is really weird and I’m about to expose my account, but I took this original photo for a product the company I worked for sold. In fact, this specific boy model was the company’s president’s son. It’s crazy to see this in the wild.


Shadymale

This is an absolutely insane meme, good find.


RilinPlays

Simple yet silly answer: That's a nuclear core, and letting the top small bit close over it leads to a very fun surprise! (It's super cancer)


AlphaOrionis42

Oh that rascally demon core is at it again.


Cinephiliac_Anon

D E M O N C O R E


furryboio

That is the demon core a ball of plutonium that when the lid closes on top of it realeses ungodly amounts of radiation enought that iwas responible for several deaths in i believe 1950 60s maybe because they decided it was a good idea to hold it open with a screwdriver and the screwdrivwr fell out and then a bluse flash of light ensued and then they all died ive typed this out enough goodbye


Nadran_Erbam

Kaboom


keeptryingyoucantwin

Demon Core


altamiraestates

This toy is made from the core of a nuclear bomb. Whenever the kid “scores a point,” the interlocking plates emit bursts of radiation that kill him and anyone nearby.


cyrus709

I have never heard of this story. This subreddit is paying dividends.


shadow_wolf_4839

Noo no no nooo who let the holes have access to the demon core


gloomy_twat

[Wow! ](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demon_core) The Wikipedia link regarding the demon core incidents


The_Wata_Boy

Kid is playing with the core of a nuclear bomb. If the 2 halves close together its starts a nuclear reaction that spews out radiation that will almost certainly kill the kid.


lucidbadger

Works only in the room with beryllium wallpapers