Nuclear scientist step on in

[12poundbass]

Ok, question for anyone who knows about anything nuclear. I was watching “I was there” on the History channel last night and the episode was about the Chernobyl disaster and it got me thinking. What causes nuclear reactors to heat up? I understand they creat heat and use steam to creat the power, but what creates the heat. Also how does nuclear radiation work? It’s basically snowing nuclear fallout in the episode and it has deadly consequences and lasting effects, what is it that causes such irreversible damage to the body and the surrounding areas for decades or centuries? 
 

My nerd brain has been in overdrive lately. ?

[BigAngus752]

Oversimplifying it:  The atoms in Uranium split easily, which is how fission is achieved.  Fission creates a massive amount of heat.  In a nuke power plant Uranium rods are bundled together (which causes and explosive amount of heat) and submerged in water. The water is used to control the heat.  The folks at the Chernobyl plant failed to stay awake on "safety training day" and the heat got out of control.  That particular plant wasn't like most of them you see today in the U.S. with the huge dome that is a protective containment vessel.  So...when the heat got out of control it (the steam containing the radioactive elements) was released into the air.  Many of the elements had a short half-life but several had a half-life of 30 or more years.  Half-life is how long it takes the element to finish breaking down (fission) and disintegrate.  The whole time it's breaking down it's releasing radiation which damages human cells.  In many, many very ugly ways.   

[DaubsNU1]

I'm no expert...but have watched a ton of documentaries and researched Chernobyl. 

 

Lots of information out there on the reactor design, test that led to the explosions, the first responders, the "bio-robots," elephant's foot, etc. 

 

Scary stuff for sure. 

 

I grew up just just 30 miles from a nuclear power station here in Eastern Nebraska. Honestly, we were never afraid of the plant, even after Three-Mile-Island. 

 

We were far more concerned about nuclear war...the Strategic Air Command (SAC) was here. 

 

Our teachers joked..."if there ever is a nuclear war, we won't know...all we will see is a bright light...then the pearly gates of Heaven...SAC is likely one of the Soviet's first targets..."

[12poundbass]

31 minutes ago, BigAngus752 said:

Oversimplifying it:  The atoms in Uranium split easily, which is how fission is achieved.  Fission creates a massive amount of heat.  In a nuke power plant Uranium rods are bundled together (which causes and explosive amount of heat) and submerged in water. The water is used to control the heat.  The folks at the Chernobyl plant failed to stay awake on "safety training day" and the heat got out of control.  That particular plant wasn't like most of them you see today in the U.S. with the huge dome that is a protective containment vessel.  So...when the heat got out of control it (the steam containing the radioactive elements) was released into the air.  Many of the elements had a short half-life but several had a half-life of 30 or more years.  Half-life is how long it takes the element to finish breaking down (fission) and disintegrate.  The whole time it's breaking down it's releasing radiation which damages human cells.  In many, many very ugly ways.   

The splitting of atoms is what creates a nuclear bomb and the heat in a nuclear plant correct? How do they go about splitting atoms? 
 

Thinking about it, I just remembered there’s a giant atom smasher on the MSU campus less than an hour from here. 

[MN Fisher]

5 minutes ago, 12poundbass said:

How do they go about splitting atoms? 

In the case of nuclear reactors - free neutrons collide with the core-nucleus of fissionable atoms...U235 being an example. The nucleus becomes unstable and splits - creating two smaller atoms and a couple free neutrons...that go on to collide with other U235 atoms and the cycle continues. The control rods absorb excess neutrons and are raised/lowered between the fuel rods to control the reaction rate. If the control rods are stuck 'up'...then the reaction occurs faster and an accident like Chernobyl happens.

 

For bombs - they use a triggering explosive.

Little Boy (Hiroshima) used a small mass of Uranium fired by a nitrocellulose explosion into a larger mass of Uranium - the combined mass went 'super critical' and rapid atom splitting occurred causing the nuclear explosion.

Fat Man (Nagasaki) had a sphere of Plutonium with charges placed around it. When the charges detonated simultaneously, the sphere was compressed, became 'super critical' - and a nuclear explosion happened.

 

<- Dad has a masters in Nuclear Physics.

[slonezp]

[soflabasser]

If you like this subject you should research the Hanford Site in the state of Washington.

[TnRiver46]

8 hours ago, DaubsNU1 said:

likely one of the Soviet's first targets..."

Similar here, they built what they dropped on Japan close by. Papaw helped 

[Deleted account]

"Doc Bruce Banner, belted by Gamma rays, turned in the Hulk..."

Marie Currie just died of bone cancer leukemia thing.

 

The atoms of all elements have the potential to decay, some are so stable that for all intent and purposes don't, others have such short half lives that are all but instantaneous. Somewhere in the middle are the ones that are radioactive. Isotopes of several elements are used in medicine and science extensively, but don't get as much press as reactors, or things that go boom!

[813basstard]

I ain’t sure but I do know our 3rd grade teacher has us convinced hiding under that desk would make everything alright…

[Deleted account]

22 minutes ago, 813basstard said:

I ain’t sure but I do know our 3rd grade teacher has us convinced hiding under that desk would make everything alright…

I never understood how if its "duck and cover" the presenter was a turtle...

[MN Fisher]

26 minutes ago, 813basstard said:

I ain’t sure but I do know our 3rd grade teacher has us convinced hiding under that desk would make everything alright…

No, you're hiding under the desk so no one else can see you kiss your arse goodbye.

[slonezp]

Remember this movie?

 

[TnRiver46]

4 minutes ago, slonezp said:

Remember this movie?

 

No but I heard a discussion about it on the radio. Apparently teachers made all the school kids watch it on Sunday night and report on it Monday 

[MN Fisher]

14 minutes ago, slonezp said:

Remember this movie?

Yep - scary thing...and it's not irrelevant today...everything still applies.

[gim]

11 hours ago, MN Fisher said:

Dad has a masters in Nuclear Physics.

Whoa, that's impressive.

[Glenn]

1 hour ago, slonezp said:

Remember this movie?

 

Yep.  Just thought about it yesterday, in fact.  Freaked me out when it originally aired.

 

That launched a whole new era of reality-like movies and tv shows.

 

[Tennessee Boy]

I couple of weeks ago I replaced the door sensor switch on our microwave.  That's all the experience I have in the nuclear sciences.  

[softwateronly]

You'll never eat a banana on a cross country flight again!

 

scott

[12poundbass]

4 hours ago, slonezp said:

Remember this movie?

 

Nope, same year I was born grandpa. ?

[BigAngus752]

On 3/9/2022 at 5:40 AM, Deleted account said:

"Doc Bruce Banner, belted by Gamma rays, turned in the Hulk..."

I run a shooting complex that caters only to LE and military.  Right outside my fenced compound is another, smaller fenced compound that contains an accelerator purchased with $6 million in grant money to study gamma radiation.  They tell me that the safe standoff is 100 feet.  Their fence is 150 feet from the device.  My office is 250 feet from the device.  I was going to sue them, but my wife says I was an enormous, green rage-monster years before they put that thing there...