What happened to the third atomic bomb that the US was going to drop on Japan?


On August 6 and 9, 1945, the United States dropped the only two atomic bombs used in a war on Japan. The first, little boyfell in the city of Hiroshima and the second, fat man, 10 times more powerful, in Nagasaki. Both attacks are considered among the worst human tragedies in history, as they claimed the lives of more than 200,000 people and caused serious health consequences for thousands of others injured.

However, a fact that is often overlooked is that Washington already had another radioactive nucleus ready that it would use to assemble a third atomic bomb if the Japanese government did not give up supporting Nazism in World War II. Luckily for thousands of lives, the release of this deadly weapon never happened.

Rufus, the nucleus of the third atomic bomb

After the surrender of the Japanese Emperor Hirohito, the scientists of the Manhattan Project, the research group in charge of manufacturing the atomic bombs, kept in the Los Alamos laboratory, in New Mexico, the “naked” nucleus of what was to be the third of them to be released. It was a 6.2-kilogram sphere made of plutonium, nicknamed Rufus.

The nucleus of the third atomic bomb the United States ever dropped. Photo: Los Alamos National Laboratory

The US had created two types of atomic bombs. The simplest and weakest consisted of a nucleus of uranium-235; while the most complex and powerful possessed a nucleus of plutonium-239. Both isotopes were key because they easily experienced the Nuclear fisionthe process by which the nucleus of an atom is divided into smaller particles, thus releasing large amounts of energy.

Like Fat Man and Gadget—the first atomic bomb used under real conditions—Rufus was a plutonium-239-based cast weapon.

With Rufus no longer to be used, American scientists began to use the radioactive core for a series of extremely dangerous experiments, the goal of which was to learn the point at which a chain reaction of plutonium could unleash a deadly radiation explosion.

The activity was so risky that researchers referred to the audacity as “tickling a dragon,” says Alex Wellerstein, historian of science and nuclear weapons and author of the book “Restricted Data: The History of Nuclear Secrecy in the United States.” Joined”.

However, even knowing that, a couple of scientists made the attempt, but it had tragic consequences. Therefore, they called the sphere “the demonic core”.

Aerial view of the room where the experiments with Rufus, the nucleus of the third atomic bomb, were carried out.  Photo: Los Alamos National Laboratory

Aerial view of the room where the experiments with Rufus, the nucleus of the third atomic bomb, were carried out. Photo: Los Alamos National Laboratory

“Demon Core”

Rufus’s first victim was the American physicist Harry Daghlian Jr., 24 years old. On the night of August 21, 1951, Daghlian carefully built a stack of tungsten carbide blocks around the perimeter of the plutonium core. His objective was to create a kind of wall around it that would allow the neutrons released by the radioactive ball to bounce and cause its “criticality”.

The experiments with Rufus were performed at the Los Alamos Laboratory.  Photo: Los Alamos National Laboratory/Flickr

The experiments with Rufus were performed at the Los Alamos Laboratory. Photo: Los Alamos National Laboratory/Flickr

When he was about to place the last piece, his measuring instruments indicated that it was a step that would reach the supercritical state. Unfortunately, as he withdrew his hand, the block fell on the core and generated a blue glow that struck the scientist’s right hand, an event that at first caused him to tingle.

Daghlian received a dose of 510 rem of ionizing radiation (500 is the average to kill a person) and for 25 days he endured the painful effects of radiation until he finally died.

Harry Daghlian's burned and blistered hand.  Photo: Los Alamos National Laboratory

Harry Daghlian’s burned and blistered hand. Photo: Los Alamos National Laboratory

The second victim was louis stolin (35 years old), another prominent American physicist expert in the handling of plutonium who had also been present at the Daghlian incident. Stolin carried out an exercise that consisted of joining two halves of a beryllium sphere, with the intention of forming a kind of dome that encloses the nucleus.

Louis Slotin (left) stands next to the first nuclear bomb, which is partially assembled.  Photo: Los Alamos National Laboratory

Louis Slotin (left) stands next to the first nuclear bomb, which is partially assembled. Photo: Los Alamos National Laboratory

The key in this test was to prevent the two half-spheres from completely covering the nucleus, something that was avoided by using a screwdriver that, while forming a kind of exhaust valve for the neutrons, also allowed fission to be recorded as it increased.

However, Stolin let the screwdriver slip and the dome closed completely. In just a few tenths of seconds, the nucleus reached its critical point and released a stream of neutrons that collided with the researcher. After his mistake, Stolin managed to say that the experiment was over. Nine days later, he died in the same hospital room as Daghlian.

The hands of Louis Stolin after his admission to the hospital.  Photo: Los Alamos National Laboratory/New York Public Library/Nuclear Secrecy

The hands of Louis Stolin after his admission to the hospital. Photo: Los Alamos National Laboratory/New York Public Library/Nuclear Secrecy

The end of the ‘curse’

Although the “demon core” was long believed to have been used shortly thereafter in Operation Crossroads, where the Able and Baker nuclear bombs went off; In his book on the history of nuclear weapons, Wellerstein revealed that it was actually melted down in 1946 and used to make a new arsenal of weapons over the years.

Nuclear bombs are the most destructive and deadly weapons ever created.  Photo: Los Alamos National Laboratory

Nuclear bombs are the most destructive and deadly weapons ever created. Photo: Los Alamos National Laboratory

Source-larepublica.pe