Demon Core
The\xa0demon core\xa0was a 6.2-kilogram (14\xa0lb)\xa0subcritical mass\xa0of\xa0plutonium\xa0measuring 89 millimetres (3.5\xa0in) in diameter, which was involved in two\xa0criticality accidents, on August 21, 1945 and May 21, 1946. The core was intended for use in a third World War II nuclear bomb, but remained in use for testing after Japan's surrender. It was designed with a small safety margin to ensure a successful explosion of the bomb. The device briefly went\xa0supercritical\xa0when 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\xa0Los Alamos laboratory\xa0in 1945 and 1946, and resulted in the acute\xa0radiation poisoning\xa0and subsequent deaths of scientists\xa0Harry Daghlian\xa0and\xa0Louis Slotin. After these incidents the spherical plutonium\xa0core\xa0was referred to as the "demon core".
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