9/2/2023 0 Comments Nuclear fission chernobylThe fuel in the reactor core is contained in fuel rods. This reactor differs from the two described above – but to understand how, we first need to know a little more about what’s going on inside the reactor itself. The Chernobyl reactor was of a different type, known as the RBMK reactor. The majority of western nuclear reactors are PWRs. In pressurised water reactors (PWR), the water heated in the reactor is contained under pressure, and used to produce steam in a secondary loop of water which then goes on to turn the turbines. In boiling water reactors (BWR), the source of the steam that drives the turbine is water in the reactor core this means that short-lived radioactive substances pass through the turbines, so they must be shielded when the reactor is active. The variations are related to the water that’s heated to produce the steam that drives the turbine. In terms of types of reactor, there are two main variations on the above theme for western reactors. The steam that drive the turbine is cooled and condensed back to water, which can then be recycled back through the reactor continuously. This in turn drives a generator producing electricity. The heat generated by these reactions is used to heat water and produce steam, which goes on to turn a turbine. Let’s start with the basics: how do nuclear plants generate electricity? The manner in which they do this is actually not too dissimilar from how it is produced in coal or gas power plants, with the key different being that the fuel is in the form of heat-producing nuclear reactions instead of these fossil fuels. As is often the case, however, the truth is slightly more complicated, and an understanding of how modern nuclear reactors work can help make sense of what happened 30 years ago today. Chernobyl’s legacy is a perhaps understandable wariness and distrust in the safety of nuclear power from a significant proportion of the public, to many of whom it stands as an example of a dangerous series of events that could befall any nuclear plant. I recall staring down into the reactor hall and being amazed at the thought of the invisible atomic processes occurring below, eventually resulting in the generation of electricity for hundreds of thousands of people.Īn interest in the workings of nuclear reactors inevitably leads to an interest in Chernobyl, the one nuclear plant that likely anyone can name. In part, it probably stems from a visit to the Hinckley Point nuclear power plant at the age of around eight (part of a family holiday – you end up having some occasionally weird excursions when one of your parents works in nuclear safety). Though I’m a chemistry teacher by trade, the physics behind nuclear power has always held something of a fascination for me. Here, we look at how nuclear reactors work generally, what led to the accident at Chernobyl 30 years ago, and the differences between Chernobyl and modern reactors. The narrative seems to be a classic cautionary tale against the utilisation of nuclear reactors to generate power, but the reality is more nuanced. At NSC, there are hundreds of sensors working around the clock to monitor factors like air quality, and the sensors have detected increased neutron activity near the fallen reactor hall where the “embers” are.Early in the morning on 26 April 1986, a safety system test at the Chernobyl power plant in Pripyat, now part of Northern Ukraine, ended in a nuclear disaster with catastrophic consequences for both those working at the plant and those living in the surrounding area. The telltale sign is increased readings of neutron activity-a measurable byproduct of nuclear fission, according to the scientists from Institute for Safety Problems of Nuclear Power Plants (ISPNPP) in Kyiv, Ukraine, who held discussions about dismantling the reactor last month, according to Science magazine.Ĭhernobyl Nuclear Power Plant is surrounded by a massive megastructure called Chernobyl New Safe Confinement (NSC). Ukrainian scientists recently realized that leftover nuclear fission fuel made of uranium has begun reacting again in an “inaccessible room” deep within a damaged area of the shuttered plant. Now, thirty-five years later, smoldering nuclear “embers” are still buried within Chernobyl site, raising questions about just what might happen there-and what’s at stake. 4 exploded at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant in Ukraine, causing the worst nuclear accident in history. The reaction could burn out naturally, but it could also require human intervention.The issue is rainwater, which has activated materials buried deep within the closed plant.A melted amalgam of nuclear fuel at Chernobyl is beginning to react.
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