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Why Is Californium The Deadliest Man Made Element On Earth?

275K views · 24 Oct 2026

Lights Out Physics

18K subscribers

Comments · 251

@patrickwalsh467 · 12 days ago
In 1970 I carried a small container in which a small Cf-252 source was loaded from the upper yard rad shack at Electric Boat down into the reactor compartment of the USS Archerfish for the initial startup into the source range. I placed it next to the reactor vessel and left the compartment and sealed the access hatching .  We started pulling rods and achieved a small start-up rate down into the source range and then drove the rods back in the core.  I reentered the compartment and returned the source to the source safe in the yard.  We never got to the point of adding heat but thereafter we had enough decay neutrons to start the reactor.
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@marklawes1859 · 13 days ago
Something more expensive than Epson ink? Who knew.
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@danielho5635 · 2 weeks ago
2 minutes of information packed into 2 hours and 11 minutes.
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@walterhynson2898 · 2 weeks ago
Very good lecture about something that exist that no one can ever touch
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@rockman5066 · 2 weeks ago (edited)
Elements that don't want to exist are hard to force into existence and quick to decay, releasing a lot of radiation as it disintegrates.
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@setruninja · 2 weeks ago
I made the mistake of not noticing this video is over 2 hours before clicking on it.
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@JeroldinJerome · 1 day ago
Awesome presentation.  Learned a lot. Great for a drive through Iowa from Wisconsin.  Love your presentations.
@Ai-he1dp · 2 weeks ago
It's would have been nice if the visuals showed the people when mentioned, I know it would have meant more work, it works though as a good listen...thanks.
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@crothe57 · 2 weeks ago
I remember my primary school teacher mentioning Californium in the very early 60s, and how much it cost, which impressed me greatly at the time.  But until listening to this video I didn't know how dangerous it was, and had no idea how many uses it had!  Thank you for a very informative video, though I did listen at 1.5 speed.
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@Nico-sw5lk · 2 weeks ago
Spooky element. Must remain rare, extremely rare.
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@gmichael5506 · 2 weeks ago (edited)
I think this is a beautiful history of the creation and use of this remarkable substance.  Thank you for taking the time to present it in a way it deserves.  As for the detractors, we can't help them.
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@AMDG3 · 2 weeks ago
I think Portlandoregonion is more toxic
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