Death of Louis Slotin
What happened inside the criticality lab?
4.7 (40)
37 mins
Explore the final experiment of Louis Slotin, a physicist working on the Manhattan Project's nuclear research after WWII. Discover how a screwdriver slipped while he was manually controlling the gap between two pieces of plutonium, causing a sudden criticality accident.
Ep 1:
The Sleeping Dragon Wakes
At Los Alamos, a lethal plutonium sphere and a fatal fascination with pushing physics to its edge set the stage for the Manhattan Project's deadliest secret experiment—and its first casualty.
Ep 2:
Nine Seconds With Rufus
Nine months after a colleague's death, Louis Slotin—the cowboy physicist known as Chief Armorer—returns to the same deadly core with a screwdriver, his own hands, and a fatal moment of overconfidence.
Ep 3:
The Last Flash of the Demon Core
Slotin's final nine days chart radiation's merciless toll on the human body, while the Demon Core itself faces a strange, fiery fate that reshapes nuclear safety forever.
Discussions (5)
Melanie
Level 9 · 1 week agoOuchi got 17sv not 21sv
Patrick
Level 7 · 1 week agoSlotin watched Daghlian die tho
Christian
Level 5 · 1 week agoSlotin wasnt reckless he was efficient
