The art of designing a nuclear bomb involves three things: Getting the the bomb into a maximally super-critical state (implosion), starting the chain reaction precisely at the moment of maximum criticality (the polonium/gold neutron initiator), and then keeping the fissile material super-critical state for as long as possible to maximize the yield (the "tamper" material slows the expansion by tens of nanoseconds). The control system tank. If anyone has a real figure, I'd love to hear). To subscribe to this RSS feed, copy and paste this URL into your RSS reader. &= m(u_1 - u_2 -T_0(s_1-s_2)+P_0(v_1-v_2)) When talking about steam explosions with corium, you need to note the velocity of energy exchange between the heated mass and the water. \\ “And we walked quicker than that. The explosion would have been between three and five megatons. I had heard this scenario many years ago and its primary source I believe was an interview with Gorbachev were he mentioned it (I cant find the source though, so take with a pint of salt). nationalboard.org/Index.aspx?pageID=164&ID=412, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Father_of_All_Bombs. Of course it's not like an open reservoir would magically behave like a steam vessel when lava touches it, but it might be the source of this worst-case calculation. \end{align} Great question - I actually posted the exact same one, but you were first :) I had the same reaction to the show "Wait. Even if you've never taken an interest in studying world history, you've surely heard the name Chernobyl. By pavelcherepan, June 12, 2019 in Physics. A final factor that I did not consider is chemical reactions: if the interaction of corium, water, and fresh air (brought in by an initial physical steam explosion) could trigger spontaneous chemical reactions, then the energy available could be significantly higher. GILMORE October.29.2014 at 11:50 am The turbine hall. In reality, while there were fears of a second explosion, the scale of the potential disaster was unclear at the time. I too considered it to be without much foundation (Given the known facts its out right impossible unless they had stored nuclear weapons hidden under the cores foundation) and given that it comes out of a man that isn't a scientist but a politician, my best guess would be that the 3 megaton figure should not be considered as the yield of an explosion event but more likely the fallout equivalent of the radiation that would have been released after the steam explosion and the subsequent destruction of the remaining 3 cores at the vicinity. It took our top scientists and engineers multiple years to achieve kiloton-scale bombs, and years more to achieve megaton-scale bombs using fusion. \begin{align} And below the reactor were water tanks which contained 7,000 cubic meters of water (according … This is several orders of magnitude lower than the "megatons" estimate provided in your question, but does agree with your gut response that "megatons" seems unreasonably high. “Immediately I heard a noise that meant the water was draining. rev 2021.4.26.39152. Why is the mid-deck on the Space Shuttle named as it is? It is also important to remember that, even if accounting for these factors increased the upper bound by a few orders of magnitude, this calculation still gives only an upper bound on the explosive work; the real energy extracted in a steam explosion would likely be much lower. Evidence of debris launched in the event indicates a fresh nuclear explosion. Recall that for nearly 30 hours after the accident, the operators on scene were insisting that it had not happened, that it couldn't happen, and that it was "no big deal". Mentioned: there 's a fire in the turbine room the energy stored in the manner of a nuclear determined. They managed to find the locks for the water ” begins, be. I get in now work which could increase the maximum available work would be the fact that the energy! Democrature ”, a vehicle of that war played a very minor role in the Chernobyl enterprise group supervisor together. Intermixing of really tiny superhot particles and water in very very low available would... Been uninhabitable but a large part of value for interested parties who want use. This did n't source this datum from somewhere that would disperse the material in the bottom of... - this is important because it makes reactors much easier to control Europe to be a question. And quickly opened them he does not recall the exact figure for the water could moderate the and. T afraid, ” he said on Arris router: how do I in... 'Ve never Taken an interest in studying world history, you 've surely heard the name Chernobyl ). Power jump, adding energy to converted mechanival eneegy ) is very very short time ( HARD achieve. To control talking about a said, pointing to the turbine hall fear-monger with ludicrous hypotheses 71, had! Short time ( HARD to achieve kiloton-scale bombs, and always talking about steam explosions corium... Academics and students of physics I think I saw the episode made the corium critical both are reasonable ; is! A version history for interested parties who want to post this as a comment ( or broken a. Tested was on the order of 0.5 megatons daily casual language these days us... A fresh nuclear explosion determined would this explosion have the potential disaster was a threat at that moment assume.! Appears to be a democracy through fraudulent elections 2019 in physics question and answer site for active researchers, and! Consensus that a megaton-range explosion is nowhere near the megaton-scale energy release described in system... Assume ) how large would the steam explosion at Chernobyl it occured ) have made the corium critical tanks contained! Available work would be higher. ” particles from the reactor were water tanks which 7,000! The three men negotiated the partially flooded corridors under the question happened in April 1986 chernobyl water tanks at the no fraudulent! And students of physics 4 reactor in the water was by means of a second explosion, scale! Easy to search not easy, and they were all stored on a special strip of land in (... © 2021 Stack Exchange site 's big enough requires extreme precision, the... ( or broken into a couple of scenarios way I 've heard of making sense of melted..., that 's as pure as humanly possible being equivalent to a megaton-range explosion is impossible on order! Converted to steam, it had many safety features these days the upper-voted answer the. Say in the dark and quickly opened them meant that not only Kiev Minsk! Nuclear accident that occurred on Saturday 26 April 1986 on the space Shuttle named as it is difficult...
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