• outhouseperilous@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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    12 hours ago

    If youre not clicking the link: the smaller ball is a famous sphere of plutonium for use in a nuclear bomb (wouldve been the third one dropped on japan) that killed a lot of people in multiple lab accidents. The larger thing is its receptacle/shielding, which is open in these photos (which would kill everyone in the room)

    Imagine a cursed evil (or maybe just anti imperialist) sword that never got a handle attached, but it’s…not a sword.

    • atomicorange@lemmy.world
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      8 hours ago

      Actually, open is good. When the shield (really a reflector) is closed, the core goes critical. Basically, the shield is made of mirrors that reflect neutrons back into the core, knocking more neutrons loose which then get reflected back in, at the point of criticality creating a feedback loop that will run away- a huge explosion. The closer the sphere is to fully closed, the more energy generated and the more radiation emitted.