Japanese reactor crisis

dreadgeek · 03-14-2011, 12:25 PM

1) Will the reactors explode like a nuclear bomb?

No. That can't happen. The physics of a nuclear bomb being detonated are different than the physics of a nuclear power plant. There are no conditions that could ever occur in the core of a reactor that would be sufficient for the large, immediate, release of ALL of the energy. A nuclear bomb is releasing all of the energy in the fissile material in a matter of a second. A nuclear power plant does not have the conditions necessary for that kind of fast reaction.

2) Will radiation kill me?

High enough doses of radiation will kill you. That said, you are exposed to radiation every day. The Sun is bombarding you with radiation, the ground is bombarding you with radiation. The thing is we evolved on this planet so our bodies are capable of, more or less, are capable of dealing with the daily exposures. The problem is when you get high doses of radiation. The kind of radiation that concerns us is ionizing radiation. The danger of this form of radiation is that it is high energy and thus enough to break chemical bonds. This includes the chemical bonds in our DNA which can cause replication errors leading to cancer.

3) Will the reactors experience a full meltdown?

No one knows. This is terra incognito however, the thing that is helping me sleep at night is that it is clear the the plant operators are trying to 'kill' the reactor instead of bring it down gracefully so it can be started up later. By 'kill' I mean that they are pumping sea water into it and, of course, salt is a corrosive. They are also injecting boric acid into the reactor. The key here is not the acid but the boron. That element absorbs neutrons without fissioning so it will slow down the reaction rate in the core. I would be FAR more concerned if they were trying to save the reactors.

That's it for now. I will answer questions as asked to the best of my ability. I'll update this thread as I get more information and process it.

Cheers
Aj

Andrew, Jr. · 03-14-2011, 12:41 PM

After watching CNN, Fox, BBC, HLN, and other news casts I am very worried. First it was the explosions in the first then second reactors. The thinking of using the sea water to cool off the reactors. Then the sirens going off for people to evacuate. I feel like this is just unreal. It is such a humanitarian diseaster more like a nightmare. Then to learn that Japan has moved 13 feet! I just shake my head.

I have a short wave radio that I have been listening too. I have picked up some news from Japan, and what we are learning and what is being said here there is a delay of some kind. Why is that?

Also, for those interested the NOAA is something that everyone would enjoy watching and listening too. They are the main weather folks. They do alot with tides and currents. Also, the Navy has a public site but I forget what it is called. They show the currents, tides, and so on before and after the events in Japan.

My heart is broken by what has happened in Japan, and to the people and animals. It is why I am so very blessed with my life.

03-14-2011, 12:25 PM	#1
dreadgeek Power Femme How Do You Identify?: Cinnamon spiced, caramel colored, power-femme Preferred Pronoun?: She Relationship Status: Married to a wonderful horse girl Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: Lat: 45.60 Lon: -122.60 Posts: 1,733 My Photo Gallery Thanks: 1,132 Thanked 6,841 Times in 1,493 Posts Rep Power: 21474852	Japanese reactors--part 3. Some preemptive questions 1) Will the reactors explode like a nuclear bomb? No. That can't happen. The physics of a nuclear bomb being detonated are different than the physics of a nuclear power plant. There are no conditions that could ever occur in the core of a reactor that would be sufficient for the large, immediate, release of ALL of the energy. A nuclear bomb is releasing all of the energy in the fissile material in a matter of a second. A nuclear power plant does not have the conditions necessary for that kind of fast reaction. 2) Will radiation kill me? High enough doses of radiation will kill you. That said, you are exposed to radiation every day. The Sun is bombarding you with radiation, the ground is bombarding you with radiation. The thing is we evolved on this planet so our bodies are capable of, more or less, are capable of dealing with the daily exposures. The problem is when you get high doses of radiation. The kind of radiation that concerns us is ionizing radiation. The danger of this form of radiation is that it is high energy and thus enough to break chemical bonds. This includes the chemical bonds in our DNA which can cause replication errors leading to cancer. 3) Will the reactors experience a full meltdown? No one knows. This is terra incognito however, the thing that is helping me sleep at night is that it is clear the the plant operators are trying to 'kill' the reactor instead of bring it down gracefully so it can be started up later. By 'kill' I mean that they are pumping sea water into it and, of course, salt is a corrosive. They are also injecting boric acid into the reactor. The key here is not the acid but the boron. That element absorbs neutrons without fissioning so it will slow down the reaction rate in the core. I would be FAR more concerned if they were trying to save the reactors. That's it for now. I will answer questions as asked to the best of my ability. I'll update this thread as I get more information and process it. Cheers Aj __________________ Proud member of the reality-based community. "People on the side of The People always ended up disappointed, in any case. They found that The People tended not to be grateful or appreciative or forward-thinking or obedient. The People tended to be small-minded and conservative and not very clever and were even distrustful of cleverness. And so, the children of the revolution were faced with the age-old problem: it wasn’t that you had the wrong kind of government, which was obvious, but that you had the wrong kind of people. As soon as you saw people as things to be measured, they didn’t measure up." (Terry Pratchett)

03-14-2011, 12:41 PM	#2
Andrew, Jr. Timed Out How Do You Identify?: Me Preferred Pronoun?: He Relationship Status: Unavailable Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Over the Rainbow in a House Posts: 5,072 My Photo Gallery Thanks: 16,004 Thanked 5,249 Times in 2,216 Posts Rep Power: 0	After watching CNN, Fox, BBC, HLN, and other news casts I am very worried. First it was the explosions in the first then second reactors. The thinking of using the sea water to cool off the reactors. Then the sirens going off for people to evacuate. I feel like this is just unreal. It is such a humanitarian diseaster more like a nightmare. Then to learn that Japan has moved 13 feet! I just shake my head. I have a short wave radio that I have been listening too. I have picked up some news from Japan, and what we are learning and what is being said here there is a delay of some kind. Why is that? Also, for those interested the NOAA is something that everyone would enjoy watching and listening too. They are the main weather folks. They do alot with tides and currents. Also, the Navy has a public site but I forget what it is called. They show the currents, tides, and so on before and after the events in Japan. My heart is broken by what has happened in Japan, and to the people and animals. It is why I am so very blessed with my life.