(05-14-2019 12:25 PM)Redwingtom Wrote: Is anyone watching the new miniseries on HBO? It's one of the most riveting things I've ever watched.
I believe I saw commercials for this some time back... How many episodes will it be?
They're 2 episodes in so far...and I think I saw that there are at least 4. Most of these types of limited series are anywhere from 6 to 10 episodes usually.
EDIT: Per wiki, it's only 5 episodes.
(This post was last modified: 05-14-2019 12:40 PM by Redwingtom.)
Pass. Watching anti-nuclear power propaganda makes me want to vomit.
More people have died falling off roofs installing solar panels or in accidents involving wind turbines than have been killed by nuclear power ever, but let's vilify the only energy source that can get the world off of fossil fuels because it's scary.
BTW, the area around Chernobyl is flourishing ecologically speaking.
(05-14-2019 12:50 PM)EigenEagle Wrote: Pass. Watching anti-nuclear power propaganda makes me want to vomit.
More people have died falling off roofs installing solar panels or in accidents involving wind turbines than have been killed by nuclear power ever, but let's vilify the only energy source that can get the world off of fossil fuels because it's scary.
BTW, the area around Chernobyl is flourishing ecologically speaking.
Wow someone took offense to this.. Not like you're a nuclear engineer, right?
I have been watching it. It is riveting. Done Band of Brothers style.
To EigenEagle:
it is true that 'more people have died from installing solar panels'. But, a solar panel doesnt have the potential of tossing off a 30 megaton blast the way Chernobyl nearly did.
Even the 'non-political' books I have read noted that had not the underground tanks been drained, the melting slag pile (the Elephant's Foot of molten graphite, uranium, dumped sand, and dumped boron) that eventually breached the tanks would have blown in a cataclysmic fashion, and probably taken still functioning Units 1, 2, and 3 with it.
The resulting fallout of that blast would have rendered most of the Ukraine and vast portions of Belyrussia uninhabitable.
I dont think a solar panel, let alone a solar panel factory, would have even near that potential for disaster.
(05-14-2019 12:50 PM)EigenEagle Wrote: Pass. Watching anti-nuclear power propaganda makes me want to vomit.
More people have died falling off roofs installing solar panels or in accidents involving wind turbines than have been killed by nuclear power ever, but let's vilify the only energy source that can get the world off of fossil fuels because it's scary.
BTW, the area around Chernobyl is flourishing ecologically speaking.
I haven't really seen any of this in the first two episodes. And I'm completely fine with nuclear power personally. The only thing they've made look bad so far is one Russian official who initially says the fallout was equivalent to getting a chest x-ray. LOL
(05-14-2019 12:25 PM)Redwingtom Wrote: Is anyone watching the new miniseries on HBO? It's one of the most riveting things I've ever watched.
Im watching it. Its amazing how poorly the Russians managed the first few days of the crisis. I had no idea it was so close to being catastrophic. Its been really interesting.
Ive kinda casually read up on the situation and apparently there is still disagreement on the actual cause. They all agree that crew was running a test depriving the reactor core pumps of power to see if the momentum of the steam turbine generators could provide enough power to run those pumps during the few minutes required for the emergency backup generators to kick in. Unfortunately, unusual circumstances led to the the test being delayed because unexpected power needs required the plant to stay on grid rather than go off line at the appointed test time. Making a long story short---this caused the reactor to not really be properly configured for the test (in fact, they say the core was configured in a way it should never be configured). Additionally, the delay also caused the test to be carried out by the night crew rather than the day crew that had been heavily trained to run the test. The night crew was only mildly familiar with the protocols of the test. The leading theories are that these factors led to an overheating of the core. At that point most believe the core was damaged when water overheated causing a steam explosion in the cooling jacket. A minority theory is that the core reaction actually got out of control enough to create weak "fizzle" detonation.
(This post was last modified: 05-14-2019 10:54 PM by Attackcoog.)
I don't have HBO but would definitely watch it if I did. For the person talking about Chernobyl now flourishing ecologically speaking. Yes, that's true. Wildlife loves it because humans aren't allowed to live near the nuclear plant for 10,000 more years. Nature can adapt much easier than humans.
But some humans are living on the edges of the zones where they're not supposed to. This is a really interesting article on a family that lives about 30 kilometers from the main Chernobyl accident.
(05-14-2019 12:47 PM)VA49er Wrote: Don't have HBO. However, from other pieces I've seen on Chernobyl it is interesting to see nature retake the land.
It has taken back the land, but the reaction is still going on. They've now completed what I believe is the third containment floor under the reaction. And those who build these are still getting exposure.
I think pretty much everyone who built the first containment floor was martyred. Those guys truly gave their lives for others.
(This post was last modified: 05-14-2019 05:42 PM by JRsec.)
(05-14-2019 01:57 PM)SoMs Eagle Wrote: Communism-socialism at its best....
Yep. What happens when you let commissars who don't value human life manage deadly activities. They've had a few screwups in their military and their space programs from not taking adequate precautions.
(05-14-2019 02:57 PM)Redwingtom Wrote:
(05-14-2019 12:50 PM)EigenEagle Wrote: Pass. Watching anti-nuclear power propaganda makes me want to vomit.
More people have died falling off roofs installing solar panels or in accidents involving wind turbines than have been killed by nuclear power ever, but let's vilify the only energy source that can get the world off of fossil fuels because it's scary.
BTW, the area around Chernobyl is flourishing ecologically speaking.
I haven't really seen any of this in the first two episodes. And I'm completely fine with nuclear power personally. The only thing they've made look bad so far is one Russian official who initially says the fallout was equivalent to getting a chest x-ray. LOL
The Russians had the wrong approach to nuclear power. Rickover had the right concept for the nuke sub program. Standardize everything as much as possible. Even with different plant configurations, make the control panel work exactly the same. Helps with training and with muscle memory in a crisis. French have the same concept. They have one package plant that they replicate over and over. They get 80% of their electricity from nukes and haven't had anything like Chernobyl or even TMI. That's the way to do nuke. And the bottom line is that we are not going to hit anything remotely approaching our CO2 emissions reduction targets without a heavy dose of nuke.
(05-14-2019 01:57 PM)SoMs Eagle Wrote: Communism-socialism at its best....
Yep. What happens when you let commissars who don't value human life manage deadly activities. They've had a few screwups in their military and their space programs from not taking adequate precautions.
(05-14-2019 02:57 PM)Redwingtom Wrote:
(05-14-2019 12:50 PM)EigenEagle Wrote: Pass. Watching anti-nuclear power propaganda makes me want to vomit.
More people have died falling off roofs installing solar panels or in accidents involving wind turbines than have been killed by nuclear power ever, but let's vilify the only energy source that can get the world off of fossil fuels because it's scary.
BTW, the area around Chernobyl is flourishing ecologically speaking.
I haven't really seen any of this in the first two episodes. And I'm completely fine with nuclear power personally. The only thing they've made look bad so far is one Russian official who initially says the fallout was equivalent to getting a chest x-ray. LOL
The Russians had the wrong approach to nuclear power. Rickover had the right concept for the nuke sub program. Standardize everything as much as possible. Even with different plant configurations, make the control panel work exactly the same. Helps with training and with muscle memory in a crisis. French have the same concept. They have one package plant that they replicate over and over. They get 80% of their electricity from nukes and haven't had anything like Chernobyl or even TMI. That's the way to do nuke. And the bottom line is that we are not going to hit anything remotely approaching our CO2 emissions reduction targets without a heavy dose of nuke.
Yup--and my concern is that this show may very well create a whole new anti-nuke voting block (kinda like the China Syndrome did years ago). I have to admit, seeing how close they were to a catastrophic result at Chernobyl is sobering. That said, I hope they make it clear somewhere along the line that the Russians were building really sad sub-par reactor designs from a safety standpoint. For instance, back then, the Russian reactors did not even have the large thick domed steel and concrete "containment vessels" that are common in all western designs. So, if the actual core enclosure breached---there was nothing other than regular commercial building walls preventing the spread of radioactive material.
(This post was last modified: 05-14-2019 06:37 PM by Attackcoog.)