• Tar_Alcaran@sh.itjust.works
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    3
    ·
    edit-2
    3 hours ago

    https://ehrs.upenn.edu/health-safety/lab-safety/safety-alerts/ultracentrifuge-explosion-damages-laboratory

    This is a famous example from when they didn’t have alarms. The don’t just happily wobble across the room.

    The safety shielding in the unit did not contain all the metal fragments. The half-inch thick sliding steel door on top of the unit buckled allowing fragments, including the steel rotor top, to escape (Image 3). Fragments ruined a nearby refrigerator and an ultra-cold freezer in addition to making holes in the walls and ceiling. The unit itself was propelled sideways and damaged cabinets and shelving that contained over a hundred containers of chemicals.

    • Fluke@feddit.uk
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      3
      ·
      2 hours ago

      IMO, you missed the best bit off:

      A shock wave from the accident shattered all four windows in the room. The shock wave also destroyed the control system for an incubator and shook an interior wall causing shelving on the wall to collapse.