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Scene report from the Chernobyl Zone

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Re: Scene report from the Chernobyl Zone

#51

Post by the_af »

atombender wrote: post #46
dweekly wrote: post #5

The pictures are lovely and the reflections profound. But much of the cited data here appears wrong. For instance, the article states (italicized): "six hundred helicopter pilots were killed" and yet it was only 600 helicopter pilots who _flew_ liquidator missions[1], two of which were killed in an piloting accident and none were registered killed from immediate radiation exposure[2], though at least one eventually d…

For a better-researched, well-sourced and grounded write-up of a visit to Chernobyl — with tons of background on the incident itself — see Andrew Leatherbarrow's Chernobyl 01:23:40, which is available as a blog as well as an e-book: https://leatherbarrowa.exposure.co/chernobyl . Edit: Posted to HN here: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=20033770 .

Very interesting link, thanks for posting! More informative and detailed than TFA, in my opinion, and it also has cool pictures.

Re: Scene report from the Chernobyl Zone

#52

Post by 3JPLW »

keldaris wrote: post #29
gukov wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The show's writer actually reduced the number: https://www.reddit.com/r/TVChernobyl/comments/boo19f/did_she...

It's actually wrong on several levels. First of all, in the show the characters explicitly state that they are referring to a steam explosion. A steam explosion in the megaton range isn't just implausible, it's patently absurd. The upper bound on the real number is lower by 4-5 orders of magnitude. Don't get me wrong - it would still have been extremely disasterous and could have increased the total radionuclide emis…

In the context of a drama about the explosion and aftermath, I'd say it's quite reasonable to use an absurd number from one of the physicists involved.

Perhaps it was indeed wrong, but it sounds like that might be actually what those involved believed at the time.

Re: Scene report from the Chernobyl Zone

#53

Post by the_af »

freehunter wrote: post #31
SomeOldThrow wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I wish they had gone with the actual language + used subtitles, it really destroys the immersion.

I feel the opposite. I always feel like having to read subtitles destroys the immersion, because I can't read the subtitles and also watch the environment and visual cues and facial expressions. If I'm reading subtitles, I might as well be reading a book because I'm not watching the show anymore.

If you grew up watching subtitled cinema, it becomes second nature. You manage to hear the original audio, watch the actors' faces, and read the subtitles, all without missing a beat. Believe me, it trumps the alternative, which is dubbing. Where I come from, dubbing is for kids' movies ;)

Re: Scene report from the Chernobyl Zone

#54

Post by gambiting »

baybal2 wrote: post #9
dweekly wrote: post #5

The pictures are lovely and the reflections profound. But much of the cited data here appears wrong. For instance, the article states (italicized): "six hundred helicopter pilots were killed" and yet it was only 600 helicopter pilots who _flew_ liquidator missions[1], two of which were killed in an piloting accident and none were registered killed from immediate radiation exposure[2], though at least one eventually d…

> equivalent of a 5 megaton explosion Yep, the man greatly dramatises the story. Total deaths from immediate "radiation poisoning" were likely less than 100, with possibly 100 more due to radionuclide ingestion. Immediate DNA damage that does not result in radiation sickness, is much less lethal than popular culture suggests. Another thing to add, the best protective equipment for nuclear disaster is a good respirato…

>>What about the people who knowingly sacrificed themselves to stop a reaction that would have destroyed most of Europe?

If he is talking about those 3 people who went to drain the pool under the reactor - none of them died. I think they are all still alive to this day, at least they were the last time I checked.

Re: Scene report from the Chernobyl Zone

#56

Post by HeWhoLurksLate »

the_af wrote: post #47
wiz21c wrote: post #42

Earlier quoted context omitted.

anyway, it's much lower than death caused by burning coal. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Energy_accidents

Yes. I think it's important the keep the hyperbole to a minimum, if we're truly interested in safe energy and in understanding this accident and its impact. Speaking of millions of deaths, as if it were proven fact, or getting our knowledge from sensationalized miniseries, is doing a disservice to both the Chernobyl disaster and the topic of nuclear energy.

It's unfortunate that people still point to Chernobyl as why we should never go back to nuclear power ever again.

Re: Scene report from the Chernobyl Zone

#58

Post by HeWhoLurksLate »

baybal2 wrote: post #35
joshuamorton wrote: post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> > equivalent of a 5 megaton explosion To be clear, this didn't happen. No one said it did. There was a chance something like this could have happened (the Chernobyl miniseries does a great job of showing this). The issue was that there were large water tanks under the reactor, and that the reactor material would eventually melt into those tanks, superheat the water and cause an enormous steam explosion, further sca…

Man, 5 megaton tnt is like ~25 exajoules. Thermal energy of 100 tons of 2000C uranium is like 0.25 terajoules... Somebody missed at least 5 zeroes And it was later found that only few percents of the fuel melted, so very likely 7 zeroes... And given that it is not possible for anywhere close to 10% of thermal energy of such huge, solid body to go into steam flash, add 2 more zeros.

This is the worst case scenario, right?

Re: Scene report from the Chernobyl Zone

#59

Post by atombender »

the_af wrote: post #51
atombender wrote: post #46

Earlier quoted context omitted.

For a better-researched, well-sourced and grounded write-up of a visit to Chernobyl — with tons of background on the incident itself — see Andrew Leatherbarrow's Chernobyl 01:23:40, which is available as a blog as well as an e-book: https://leatherbarrowa.exposure.co/chernobyl . Edit: Posted to HN here: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=20033770 .

Very interesting link, thanks for posting! More informative and detailed than TFA, in my opinion, and it also has cool pictures.

Thanks! I posted it as a story here: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=20033770.

Re: Scene report from the Chernobyl Zone

#60

Post by dalore »

HeWhoLurksLate wrote: post #55

On that score- the atomic bombs dropped in Hiroshima and Nagasaki did less overall damage than the Allied's firebombings in other cities- and, IIRC, there were less casualties in the nuked cities as well- the damage was just different.

Well yes, some consider that the atomic bombs saved lives by ending the war. If the bombs weren't dropped and the ware continued then those fire bombings would have killed even more.
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