Massive quake hits Japan; Tsunami in Pacific, nations on alert

Second explosion at nuclear power plant in Japan - CSMonitor.com (http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Global-News/2011/0314/Second-explosion-at-nuclear-power-plant-in-Japan)

THIS is......Horrific

Tide of 1,000 bodies overwhelms quake-hit Japan - Toshiba (http://start.toshiba.com/news/read.php?rip_id=%3CD9LUVL8O1%40news.ap.org%3E&ps=1018)

And now they are in they're fourth day without power and water. HELL it could be months before they have power? IF they don't have a meltdown in any of the reactors. HOw long does it take to clean up a disaster like this and get a Nuke back online???
HOLY......Hell.
ABC News - Japan Earthquake: before and after (http://www.abc.net.au/news/events/japan-quake-2011/beforeafter.htm)

My dad is a retired AF officer, and has a degree in Nuc Engineering. We were talking about this yesterday, and it was a very interesting discussion, but bottomline, the reactors that have had the partial meltdowns are done. Just put a barrier around them and let them sit for a loooooong time. The good news though is that in all the cases so far, the actual containment vessels have reportedly held. The outer shells that blew up were outer structures, not primarily responsible for limiting radioactivity, although they did serve that function for any extraneous radiation.

Another note, as to the difference to Chernobyl, just as an interesting aside, is that Chernobyl used a graphite moderator, which collects radiation and slows the nuclear reaction. When it was on fire, the graphite moderators actually caught on fire, and spewed the radiation up high in to the atmosphere, thus causing the extensive following damage. These reactors, and all united states reactors use a water based moderator, so if it there is a meltdown, the radioactive particles are hooked to steam, which while it needs to be released to avoid pressure buildup, will dissipate quickly, and will not harm the primary containment vessel.

Even with all that, let's hope that these reactors are neutralized quickly, and the surrounding population cared for.

My dad is a retired AF officer, and has a degree in Nuc Engineering. We were talking about this yesterday, and it was a very interesting discussion, but bottomline, the reactors that have had the partial meltdowns are done. Just put a barrier around them and let them sit for a loooooong time. The good news though is that in all the cases so far, the actual containment vessels have reportedly held. The outer shells that blew up were outer structures, not primarily responsible for limiting radioactivity, although they did serve that function for any extraneous radiation.

Another note, as to the difference to Chernobyl, just as an interesting aside, is that Chernobyl used a graphite moderator, which collects radiation and slows the nuclear reaction. When it was on fire, the graphite moderators actually caught on fire, and spewed the radiation up high in to the atmosphere, thus causing the extensive following damage. These reactors, and all united states reactors use a water based moderator, so if it there is a meltdown, the radioactive particles are hooked to steam, which while it needs to be released to avoid pressure buildup, will dissipate quickly, and will not harm the primary containment vessel.

Even with all that, let's hope that these reactors are neutralized quickly, and the surrounding population cared for.


What I don't understand is the cooling down issue and why it takes so long. Did your dad talk about that?

It takes so long because even when they shut them down they keep generating heat. Kind of like when you turn off your oven and it takes a while to fully cool down.

I mean, sure she apologized after the fact, but talk about ignorance:

New York Liberty's Cappie Pondexter apologizes for Japan tweets - ESPN New York (http://sports.espn.go.com/new-york/news/story?id=6215398)

BS apology. How could you not think what you were saying isn't offensive or dumb. People don't go out of their way to say stuff like that unless they are truly dumb. WNBA must have cracked down.

I mean, sure she apologized after the fact, but talk about ignorance:

New York Liberty's Cappie Pondexter apologizes for Japan tweets - ESPN New York (http://sports.espn.go.com/new-york/news/story?id=6215398)

I feel much the same way about my earlier joke but at first it didn't seem like it was the huge of a disaster.

BS apology. How could you not think what you were saying isn't offensive or dumb. People don't go out of their way to say stuff like that unless they are truly dumb. WNBA must have cracked down.


Really the only laughing matter in all of that is the WNBA, seriously how is that league still operating?

It takes so long because even when they shut them down they keep generating heat. Kind of like when you turn off your oven and it takes a while to fully cool down.

I realize they retain heat but they must also keep producing heat for some period because of how much time has passed and they are still that hot. The only other thing I could think of is that they have to lower the temp slowly to prevent cracking issues.

I realize they retain heat but they must also keep producing heat for some period because of how much time has passed and they are still that hot. The only other thing I could think of is that they have to lower the temp slowly to prevent cracking issues.


Something tells me it is not that easy and you may need a good understanding of nuclear physics to truly appreciate how it "cools" itself.