Posted on 03/12/2011 4:32:21 PM PST by dynachrome
A primer for those who are not familiar with nuclear power in general may be helpful. The plants in question are "BWR" plants, or "Boiling Water Reactors." Fuel comprising a mixture that contains Uranium-235 and/or Plutonium-239 are placed into rods with a zirconium cladding. These are arranged inside a high-pressure container. Hydraulically-controlled rods that contain material that absorbs neutrons are placed in the core as well. The pressure vessel is filled with ordinary water.
...steam outlet to the turbines is closed. This causes the pressure to rise rapidly and the steam to collapse back to liquid water in part of the reactor. That in turn causes a temporary power spike in the output of the reactor until the control rods are fully re-inserted, as the neutron moderation capacity goes up as the steam bubbles collapse.
(Excerpt) Read more at market-ticker.org ...
I'm of the "all of the above" frame of mind, where it comes to energy production. For the record, I'm not a Utopian, either.
No prob, LH. It happens to all of us from time to time. I'm no more innocent than anyone else, when it comes to that.
Are these some of the reactors that our government bailed-out G.E. built for them.?
Thanks. There’s so much conflicting information out there, it’s hard to know how much to worry.
And the Japanese powers-that-be are almost certainly not telling all.
He is right, but number 3 is 3 mile island. This is going to turn out to be bad locally and they are going to lose some workers. It will not be much more than that, most likely
Do not know if 50 feet would be enough. There were multi-story homes and buildings and fires in that Tsunami cement mixer. Then of course the ground could subside from the quake.
The reactors are well in from the coast, I believe. The diesel generator damage was said to be salt water. They probably had them at ground level or below.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.