A criticality accident occurred on December 30, 1958, at Los Alamos National Laboratory in Los Alamos, New Mexico, in the United States. It is one of 60 known criticality events that have occurred glo
Diagram of the criticality accident
Kelley Criticality Vessel 2
Cherenkov radiation
Videos
Cherenkov radiation is an electromagnetic radiation emitted when a charged particle passes through a dielectric medium at a speed greater than the phase velocity of light in that medium. A classic exa
Cecil Kelley criticality accident
…at the contents of the mixing tank through a viewing window when the excursion occurred. Two other technicians working in the laboratory witnessed a bright flash of blue light followed by a thud. The burst either caused Kelley to collapse or knocked him off the ladder, and he had fallen to the ground. He arose disoriented…
Cherenkov radiation glowing in the core of the Advanced Test Reactor at Idaho National Laboratory
Cherenkov radiation in the University of Massachusetts Lowell Radiation Laboratory
Cherenkov radiation in a TRIGA reactor pool.