Why you don't mess with a nuclear weapon core
Discussion
The thing is that it wouldn't have taken more than ten minutes to jury rig something that could have done the task safely - for instance with a screw operated type of arrangement so the lowering of the reflector could be done slowly & safely with no chance of dropping it. They must have had access to all sorts of machine tools & materials so there isn't much excuse for bodging it using a screwdriver.
Mr Pointy said:
The thing is that it wouldn't have taken more than ten minutes to jury rig something that could have done the task safely - for instance with a screw operated type of arrangement so the lowering of the reflector could be done slowly & safely with no chance of dropping it. They must have had access to all sorts of machine tools & materials so there isn't much excuse for bodging it using a screwdriver.
Exactly - they could have bodged something from a car jack or similarMartG said:
Mr Pointy said:
The thing is that it wouldn't have taken more than ten minutes to jury rig something that could have done the task safely - for instance with a screw operated type of arrangement so the lowering of the reflector could be done slowly & safely with no chance of dropping it. They must have had access to all sorts of machine tools & materials so there isn't much excuse for bodging it using a screwdriver.
Exactly - they could have bodged something from a car jack or similarHalmyre said:
MartG said:
Mr Pointy said:
The thing is that it wouldn't have taken more than ten minutes to jury rig something that could have done the task safely - for instance with a screw operated type of arrangement so the lowering of the reflector could be done slowly & safely with no chance of dropping it. They must have had access to all sorts of machine tools & materials so there isn't much excuse for bodging it using a screwdriver.
Exactly - they could have bodged something from a car jack or similarMartG said:
Halmyre said:
MartG said:
Mr Pointy said:
The thing is that it wouldn't have taken more than ten minutes to jury rig something that could have done the task safely - for instance with a screw operated type of arrangement so the lowering of the reflector could be done slowly & safely with no chance of dropping it. They must have had access to all sorts of machine tools & materials so there isn't much excuse for bodging it using a screwdriver.
Exactly - they could have bodged something from a car jack or similarotolith said:
The thing had shims to prevent what happened - he removed them.
And Chernobyl's reactors had safeguards built in to prevent exactly the run-away scenario that did happen - the scientists disabled them.Actually I'm not sure if there is a lesson here or not. Thanks for the link, OP.
I suspect that the "flash of light" wasn't real, but was the product of the blast of energetic particles passing through the eyes of the group around the device.
Remember that the first astronauts reported flashes of light, initially mysterious then realised to be due to cosmic rays in their eyes?
John
Remember that the first astronauts reported flashes of light, initially mysterious then realised to be due to cosmic rays in their eyes?
John
Mr Pointy said:
Does anyone know why all those in the room were told to remove all metal objects they had on them before leaving? Would any metal have 'soaked up' the radiation?
I'm not sure of the scientific reason but IIRC some metals are a very good sponge for radiation. Some of the most radioactive bits of Chernobyl and the surrounding areas are the metal structures etc that still stand.For this reason I'd imagine they wouldn't want anyone walking out of the room with highly radioactive materials in their pockets.
I assume the room they were in was lead lined or some such to stop radiation leaking out through the walls etc in the event of such an accident? How do they decontaminate the room afterwards or is it a case of ripping all the furniture out etc and starting again?
This is the grim tale of Cecil Kelley.... - beware a stiring vortex, when the scum on the top is a bit nucleary
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cecil_Kelley_critica...
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cecil_Kelley_critica...
tapkaJohnD said:
I suspect that the "flash of light" wasn't real, but was the product of the blast of energetic particles passing through the eyes of the group around the device.
Remember that the first astronauts reported flashes of light, initially mysterious then realised to be due to cosmic rays in their eyes?
Cherenkov radiation.Remember that the first astronauts reported flashes of light, initially mysterious then realised to be due to cosmic rays in their eyes?
Mr Pointy said:
Does anyone know why all those in the room were told to remove all metal objects they had on them before leaving? Would any metal have 'soaked up' the radiation?
Neutron activation. - the criticality would have produced shed loads on neutrons, neutrons can, to use non-technical phrasing, transmute materials, so your metal object, say a steel belt buckle, could become activated with things like Co-60, so the object becomes radioactive. Often with short lived isotopes, but Co-60 has half life about 5 years!Otolith,
Of course! But in the eyes of the witnesses, or the air of the room?
It's the velocity of light in the medium through which the particles travel, faster than that velocity, that causes Cherenkov and the denser vitreous humour of the eye would produce more photons than air.
Mention of the Kelly incident reminds me that you don't need a nuclear weapon core for this sort of accident.
Aqueous solutions of nucleotides have their neutron emissions moderated by the water, and like Kelly the Toakimura incident involved mixing solutions that went critical.
See: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tokaimura_nuclear_ac...
Blue flashes were seen by those involved in Japan, too.
John
Of course! But in the eyes of the witnesses, or the air of the room?
It's the velocity of light in the medium through which the particles travel, faster than that velocity, that causes Cherenkov and the denser vitreous humour of the eye would produce more photons than air.
Mention of the Kelly incident reminds me that you don't need a nuclear weapon core for this sort of accident.
Aqueous solutions of nucleotides have their neutron emissions moderated by the water, and like Kelly the Toakimura incident involved mixing solutions that went critical.
See: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tokaimura_nuclear_ac...
Blue flashes were seen by those involved in Japan, too.
John
Edited by tapkaJohnD on Tuesday 14th June 20:49
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