Chernobyl’s Radioactive Lava is Still Hot
2,565,211
Published 2019-06-27
More science: nerdist.com/topic/science-tech/
Watch more Because Science: nerdi.st/BecSci
Follow Kyle Hill: twitter.com/Sci_Phile
Follow us on FB: www.facebook.com/BecauseScience
Follow us on Twitter: twitter.com/becausescience
Follow us on Instagram: www.instagram.com/becausescience
Follow Nerdist: twitter.com/Nerdist
Because Science every Thursday.
Learn More:
DR. ZOLLER’S ELEPHANT’S FOOT PHOTO: digitalcollections.lib.washington.edu/digital/coll…
CORIUM: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corium_(nuclear_reactor)
THE MOST FAMOUS PHOTO AT CHERNOBYL WAS A SELFIE”: www.atlasobscura.com/articles/the-famous-photo-of-…
INTRODUCTION TO THE DISASTER: www.idahoquad.com/OOPS.html
THE RBMK REACTOR: energyeducation.ca/encyclopedia/RBMK
VOID COEFFICIENT: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Void_coefficient
THE CHERNOBYL ACCIDENT: www.world-nuclear.org/information-library/safety-a…
CHERNOBYL’S DISASTER TIMELINE: www.chernobylgallery.com/chernobyl-disaster/timeli…
All Comments (21)
-
Thanks for watching super nerds! I know this was a bit different than our normal episodes, but if you like the more real science angle, let me know and reply below with suggestions! And of course, I couldn't get to every single detail in a 14min video that I only have so long to write. I did simplify and leave some things out. Look to the comments below for context from the other nerds! See you on Friday. -- kH
-
I love when Thor schools me on nuclear disaster.
-
"oh that thing over there looks weird it looks like an elephants foot haha" cough blood
-
The elephants foot is now literally the real life equivalent of the „sealed evil in a can“ trope. “So what did ya do with the evil demon you created?” “It was too powerful to be defeated, so we sealed it away, underground, in a specially designed container, and hope it will never manage to escape, or worse, be freed”
-
That moment you realize that the nuclear reactor is just a big steam engine without coal. Go science
-
On the plus side...the Russians DID find out how their reactor would perform under a low power condition. 💥
-
When one your nuclear reactors in Chernobyl fulfills the 5 year plan for heat energy production in 4 microseconds
-
6:39 “It created a steam explosion that dislodged the top shield of the reactor. It weighed 2 million pounds.” Damn bro
-
10:00 "Writes 10,000 R/hr" Me: No no, my dosimeter reads 3.6
-
"In fact, I think its rad... " This was when I knew I was in the right place.
-
"I saw graphite on the ground.." "No you didn't. YOU DIDNT!!!"
-
I'd love to see an update to this about the fungus that is growing on the inside of the sarcophagus that eats radiation.
-
"You didn't see graphite BECAUSE IT'S NOT THERE!" -Comrade Dyatlov
-
I love how something as sophisticated as a Nuclear Reactor is basically a really fancy water wheel.
-
7:35 "Sand, Clay and other materials". For those curious, the other materials included lead and boron. The sand was used to smother the reaction and try to prevent further smoke, while the boron was supposed to reduce the reaction itself. That was the theory, unfortunately due to the circumstances and difficulty in accurately dropping materials in, it didn't work as planned and pretty much no boron managed to reach the core to slow the reaction. I appreciate you too Kyle :)
-
When your reactor produces your 30 year energy projections in .4 seconds.
-
I just got into the HBO series and I finished it today so I watched a couple of YouTube videos on it and I just realized that today marks 34 years after the actual event. That's crazy.
-
"Alone in a dark basement for centuries." The Elephant's Foot is so emo LOL.
-
2019: Storming Area 51 2020: Storming Chernobyl
-
Years of me looking into this disaster and you go: “steam was created where cooling water should be”, and MIND BLOWN! Thanks.
