Question
This condition corresponds to a value of zero dollars in a unit system developed by Canadian physicist Louis Slotin. For 10 points each:
[10h] Name this non-medical condition that can be deadly in a namesake “excursion” accident. Slotin died after a screwdriver slipped when he was adjusting the so-called demon core and briefly induced this condition.
ANSWER: criticality [or a critical mass; accept critical excursion]
[10e] The demon core went critical because a beryllium tamper designed to reflect these particles was accidentally moved too close. These uncharged particles propagate in a nuclear chain reaction.
ANSWER: neutrons
[10m] Pencil and paper may be helpful. The center of the demon core was an alloy made up primarily of this fissile isotope, which alpha-decays [emphasize] into uranium-235.
ANSWER: plutonium-239 [or Pu-239; prompt on plutonium or Pu]
<Physics>
Summary
| 2024 ACF Winter at Lehigh | 2024-11-16 | Y | 7 | 12.86 | 71% | 43% | 14% |
| 2024 ACF Winter at Ohio State | 2024-11-16 | Y | 1 | 30.00 | 100% | 100% | 100% |
| 2024 ACF Winter at UBC | 2024-11-16 | Y | 1 | 10.00 | 100% | 0% | 0% |
Data
| Penn B | Bard A | 0 | 10 | 10 | 20 |
| Johns Hopkins B | Haverford A | 0 | 10 | 10 | 20 |
| Penn A | Columbia A | 10 | 10 | 0 | 20 |
| Penn State A | Johns Hopkins A | 0 | 10 | 0 | 10 |
| Princeton A | Penn State B | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Rowan A | Columbia B | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Lehigh A | Rutgers A | 0 | 10 | 10 | 20 |