Science behind what's going on in Japan.

[i_got_a_mohawk]

Well, more specifically, the nuclear power plant.

The MIT Nuclear Sciences and Engineering department has a blog running which explains the science behind what is happening at the facility.

It'll give you a better idea than popular media outlets, which tend to fudge the terms and what is actually happening:

MIT NSE Nuclear Information Hub (http://web.mit.edu/nse/) | Information about the incident at the Fukushima Nuclear Plants in Japan hosted by http://web.mit.edu/nse/ :: Maintained by the students of the Department of Nuclear Science and Engineering a

(it's a blog, so remember to read it from the first post at the bottom of the first page)

Hopefully help clarify some things, as I realise there are a lot of folk on here, which are worried about the goings on.

[PSPookie]

No thanks. I don't want actual scientific facts. Gimme panic and wild speculation, please.

[BassChuck]

Originally Posted by PSPookie

No thanks. I don't want actual scientific facts. Gimme panic and wild speculation, please.

Agreed. What the 'popular media' know is that we all want 1.) fear of what could happen 2.) Knowing that somone is suffereing just a bit (or a lot) more than we are. Nothing beats a slow motion problem in a foreign land. And if it doesn't unfold in slow motion then watching it come on is good enough (Hurricanes are better than tornados). And besides, we didn't know enough about radiation in August of 1945 so, this kinda makes up for that.

[Ziltoid]

Thanks for posting!

[BurningSkies]

If anyone wants a great overview of how and why nuclear power plants work and the overall development of our understanding of both nuclear weapons and power, check out the Richard Rhodes Making of the Atomic Bomb book. Its a really surprisingly good and interesting read and you'll get a great layman's understanding of the physics and mechanics behind both the big 'splody kind of nuclear as well as the domesticated version of nuclear.

Amazon.com: The Making of the Atomic Bomb (9780684813783): Richard Rhodes: Books

The actual science and engineering/conceptual side of things is way simpler that you might think. But then, I was the child of a rocket scientist who was involved in nuclear energy as well.

[Philbiker]

MIT Blog seems interesting.

Another book for my reading list there.

Another great book is "Atomic Awakening" by James A Mahaffey. It is all about the history of nuclear science, from Madam Curie to the present day. Also, specific to nuclear power, "Power to save the world" by Gwynneth Cravens is a must read.

[sloasdaylight]

Originally Posted by BurningSkies

If anyone wants a great overview of how and why nuclear power plants work and the overall development of our understanding of both nuclear weapons and power, check out the Richard Rhodes Making of the Atomic Bomb book. Its a really surprisingly good and interesting read and you'll get a great layman's understanding of the physics and mechanics behind both the big 'splody kind of nuclear as well as the domesticated version of nuclear.

Amazon.com: The Making of the Atomic Bomb (9780684813783): Richard Rhodes: Books

The actual science and engineering/conceptual side of things is way simpler that you might think. But then, I was the child of a rocket scientist who was involved in nuclear energy as well.

That was an amazing book.

[hbarcat]

Originally Posted by PSPookie

No thanks. I don't want actual scientific facts. Gimme panic and wild speculation, please.

My new Sig!

[colcifer]

Another great book to read is Physics for Future Presidents. I haven't read the whole thing (I just borrowed a copy one day to kill time) but it has great explanations of why not to worry about these sorts of things (problems at nuclear energy plants, dirty bombs, etc).

Anyhoo, to those who are worried, stop. Short of comic book levels of radiation, nothin' bad (in measurable quantities, anyway) is gonna happen to you.

[BurningSkies]

Originally Posted by sloasdaylight

That was an amazing book.

The early reactors that the book covers (Princeton U. I think) are similar to what the Soviets had in Chernobyl from what I can tell. The 'pot' kind that the Japanese are using are theoretically safer and less prone to catastrophic failure. What's gone on in the past week lends credence to that notion.

[UnsungZeros]

Excellent find! It's so refreshing to read clear and concise information about all of this instead of the garbage that's on the news.

[UnsungZeros]

Here's a great chart explaining radiation doses put together by Randall Munroe of XKCD fame:

http://xkcd.com/radiation/

[Philbiker]

Originally Posted by UnsungZeros

Here's a great chart explaining radiation doses put together by Randall Munroe of XKCD fame:

http://xkcd.com/radiation/

Ha! I was about to post that! Great chart really puts things into perspective.

[Pacman]

This will help

YouTube - (Subbed) Nuclear Boy

[Philbiker]

Originally Posted by Pacman

This will help

YouTube - (Subbed) Nuclear Boy

That is fantastic.

[Joe Gress]

Originally Posted by Pacman

This will help

YouTube - (Subbed) Nuclear Boy

"Chernobyl boy diarrhead all over the place and made a big mess. He literally pooed in the classroom!"

[bassrique]

The power of a reactor is directly proportional to the neutron population . If there are more neutrons in the system, more fission will take place producing more energy. When a reactor is starting up, the neutron population is increased slowly in a controlled manner, so that more neutrons are produced than are lost, and the nuclear reactor becomes supercritical. This allows the neutron population to increase and more power to be produced. When the desired power level is achieved, the nuclear reactor is placed into a critical configuration to keep the neutron population and power constant. Finally, during shutdown, the reactor is placed in a subcritical configuration so that the neutron population and power decreases. Therefore, when a reactor is said to have “gone critical,” it actually means it is in a stable configuration producing a constant power.

I just woke up and haven't had my coffee yet. I'm going to have another go at this later.

God bless all of you TBers in Japan.

[higgi]

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/30/wo...ewanted=1&_r=3

News Releases

YouTube - Japan Faces Worst Catastrophe Since Dawn of Nuclear Age. Democracy Now! Report March 14. 3 of 3

Updates on Fukushima: | Fairewinds Associates, Inc

Check out Arnie Gundersen's video report for March 29, 2011 on fairewinds.

Things are not looking good. They have found Radioactive Iodine above EPA limits as far away as PA.

[4Mal]

They gone fishin' - nuclear fission at the end of the world - Bill kirchen
I think I'm turning Japanese, The vapors, from A NewClear Day

[MakiSupaStar]

Nice. Lots of good information here. Thanks.