Thread: Chernobyl

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  1. #1

    Chernobyl




    Is the recent HBO show Chernobyl accurate? How much of it is fiction? I was thinking it was a documentary but some of it sounds exaggerated to make the story more interesting.

    Did people receive so much radiation that they bled through their skin? Was it ever possible for the damaged reactor to explode like a nuclear bomb? Is it possible to knock a helicopter out of the air with radiation alone? At one point the scientist says that if nothing is done, Urkraine and Belarus could be made inhabitable for hundreds of years. True?
    .

    "This will be a fight against overwhelming odds from which survival cannot be expected. We will do what damage we can."

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  2. #2
    Moderator chazus's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by freefolk View Post
    Is the recent HBO show Chernobyl accurate? How much of it is fiction? I was thinking it was a documentary but some of it sounds exaggerated to make the story more interesting.
    So having watched the first like... 10 seconds, it's probably fiction mostly, considering it's on HBO. I'll watch the entire thing later, but I can guess a lot is exagerrated.

    Did people receive so much radiation that they bled through their skin?
    Entirely possible for a handful of people, especially those right near the reactor. Radiation Poisoning is, in my opinion, one of the most awful ways to die. It can, in some cases, be one of those "just give me a bullet" things.

    Was it ever possible for the damaged reactor to explode like a nuclear bomb?
    I don't understand the question. Are you asking "Is it"? Because it didn't, nor will it. Reactors, and the radioactive component, don't 'explode'.

    Is it possible to knock a helicopter out of the air with radiation alone?
    That one I'm not sure of. At the moment of detonation? Possibly. There might be an EM aspect to it. But now? or after the explosion? No.
    EDIT: To be clear, radiation CAN effect machinery, but this is long time exposure. That's why space equipment (among many other reasons) needs to be shielded in certain ways. Radiation can adversely affect things like cameras as well, depending on the type of radiation, and type of photography equipment.

    At one point the scientist says that if nothing is done, Urkraine and Belarus could be made inhabitable for hundreds of years. True?
    False. They're already habitable, and it's only getting better.
    Last edited by chazus; 2019-05-20 at 03:31 PM.
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  3. #3
    Quote Originally Posted by chazus View Post
    That one I'm not sure of. At the moment of detonation? Possibly. There might be an EM aspect to it. But now? or after the explosion? No.
    As far as I know, and please, someone correct me if I'm wrong, radiation can have an adverse effect on electronic components, which could lead to malfunctions. It's a bit of a stretch, but I think it is possible.

  4. #4
    In the show, after the reactor exploded, exploded not like a nuke but like high explosives and threw all that radioactive graphite all over, they covered the reactor with sand and boron.

    Then the lead scientist says there's a chance the reactor will undergo a nuclear explosion, wiping everything out in a 10KM radius.
    .

    "This will be a fight against overwhelming odds from which survival cannot be expected. We will do what damage we can."

    -- Capt. Copeland

  5. #5
    It's on HBO, and you can bet there will be creative interpretation of the actual events.

    That being said it's a real good palette cleanser from GoT and I thoroughly enjoy it.
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  6. #6
    Pretty sure its anti nuclear power propaganda but it might have some good drama too it.
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  7. #7
    Quote Originally Posted by freefolk View Post
    Was it ever possible for the damaged reactor to explode like a nuclear bomb?
    No. While the Uranium 235 used to power the Chernobyl reactor is also used as a component in nuclear bombs, you require tremendous pressure to reach critical mass. While both a reactor meltdown and a nuclear explosion are considered an uncontrolled reaction only the latter builds up enough of an 'avalanche' in fission to create a nuclear blast.

    Doesn't mean it's not dangerous as fuck.

  8. #8
    Quote Originally Posted by OneWay View Post
    I don't think reactor exploded like a nuclear bomb. It is possible to bled through skin due to high radiation. Radiation is a bad thing, very very bad. Not sure for knocking a helicopter out of the air. Maybe it was just over-dramatic thing with chopper or maybe pilot died due to radiation. Did not saw the scene. About Ukraine and Belarus, probably true if nothing was done.
    Nah, a reactor is not built to explode like a nuke, it was the usual hydrogen gas explosion.

    Edit: If it would explode like that then they wouldn't have needed to built the "coffin" in the first place, since the whole reactor area would have been leveled and there wouldn't be much point in trying to contain something.
    Last edited by Cosmic Janitor; 2019-05-20 at 03:41 PM.

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    The definition of a nuclear meltdown..
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_meltdown

    The thing is, is that the authorities did not even tell the people of Pripyat for two days and that the rest of the world did not even know about it until unusually high amounts of radiation were detected over Sweden..

    As for the helicopter I very much doubt that radiation could bring it down, it would affect the people on the helicopter though.. There is a video of a helicopter crashing over the Chernobyl nuclear plant but that was because it had hit a crane..



    And as others have said this is just over indulgence of story telling of the most serious nuclear accident in world history..
    Last edited by grexly75; 2019-05-20 at 03:54 PM.

  10. #10
    Quote Originally Posted by freefolk View Post
    In the show, after the reactor exploded, exploded not like a nuke but like high explosives and threw all that radioactive graphite all over, they covered the reactor with sand and boron.

    Then the lead scientist says there's a chance the reactor will undergo a nuclear explosion, wiping everything out in a 10KM radius.
    That sounds pretty far fetched. Might have to give it a look.

  11. #11
    Field Marshal Elbryan's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by freefolk View Post
    In the show, after the reactor exploded, exploded not like a nuke but like high explosives and threw all that radioactive graphite all over, they covered the reactor with sand and boron.

    Then the lead scientist says there's a chance the reactor will undergo a nuclear explosion, wiping everything out in a 10KM radius.
    The scientist said a thermal explosion, which would happen if the core reached the water resevoir underneath the reactor.

  12. #12
    Quote Originally Posted by Elbryan View Post
    The scientist said a thermal explosion, which would happen if the core reached the water resevoir underneath the reactor.
    That sounds more accurate.

  13. #13
    Its very big problem of nowadays

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    Quote Originally Posted by Elbryan View Post
    The scientist said a thermal explosion, which would happen if the core reached the water resevoir underneath the reactor.
    Yeah that sounds about right, since the fuel rods would be at something like 4000 degrees Celsius, so being that hot meeting cold water then yeah there would be the explosion..

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    Void Lord Elegiac's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by freefolk View Post
    Is the recent HBO show Chernobyl accurate?
    HBO show
    HBO
    There's your answer; no.
    Quote Originally Posted by Marjane Satrapi
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  16. #16
    My impression with that scene with the helicopter was that the pilots inside were passing out/getting horribly sick.
    Pretty good show imo, really crazy how they kept calling in more people to fix it without telling anyone the risks.

  17. #17
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    It's not word-by-word accurate, but most stuff shown so far really took place.
    Some of it was changed just a bit for dramatic purposes, e.g. IRL it was prof. Legasov who drove the dosimeter fitted truck to the plant, not the military guy. The helicopter crashed some few months after the accident - not because the pilot flew too close but because he took too many flies that day. There was no Belorussian lady who opposed Legasov, but rather a whole team of scientists who disputed his decisions constantly. I guess they merged them into a single person to simplify the narrative.
    The most horrid stuff, such as scuba guys draining the water to prevent global nuclear disaster, unequiped firefighters who did not even know what was the fire they were dealing with, "temporary evacuation" - all really took place.

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    Stealthed Defender unbound's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by freefolk View Post



    Is the recent HBO show Chernobyl accurate? How much of it is fiction? I was thinking it was a documentary but some of it sounds exaggerated to make the story more interesting.

    Did people receive so much radiation that they bled through their skin? Was it ever possible for the damaged reactor to explode like a nuclear bomb? Is it possible to knock a helicopter out of the air with radiation alone? At one point the scientist says that if nothing is done, Urkraine and Belarus could be made inhabitable for hundreds of years. True?
    Haven't seen the series yet, but the high level sounds roughly accurate.

    The people that fought the fires to try to prevent them from spreading to the other reactors received massive doses of radiation...many of whom died starting a couple of weeks after through a couple of months, so bleeding through the skin is distinctly possible. One of them received a radiation dose of 20,000 mSv (nearly 10,000 times higher than an abdominal xray).

    It wasn't a matter of it being a damaged reactor. They were shutting down the reactor when someone wanted to do a test first. They attempted to restart the reactor when it was starting to power down and ended up raising the control rods too far to reverse the reactor to power up. Because of how that style reactor works (graphite moderated), when it did start powering back up, it powered up fully with the control rods up to high resulting in the reactor going prompt critical. This created a steam explosion which has nothing in common with an atomic bomb.

    In regards to the helicopter crash, it did happen, but I'm pretty sure it was because the pilot flew it too close to nearby cables.



    If nothing was done, you bet the surrounding countries would have been uninhabitable. They avoided that by pouring literally thousands of tons of boron, dolomite, sand, clay, and lead into the core in the following days, then a large concrete shelter was erected (and further improved shelter was put in place a few years ago) to keep radioactive contamination minimized.

  19. #19
    Moderator chazus's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Skulltaker View Post
    As far as I know, and please, someone correct me if I'm wrong, radiation can have an adverse effect on electronic components, which could lead to malfunctions. It's a bit of a stretch, but I think it is possible.
    I added on a bit after I posted. Yes, radiation CAN have an adverse effect on machinery and electronics, but its usually a case of exposure of time, not like some kind of magic field that just makes it instantly fail.

    If you parked a newer car inside the reactor containment shell (sarcophagus I believe its called), and left it there for a few years, the car probably wouldn't start... However I have no expert knowledge on how long it takes for ionized radiation to break down things like wiring components.
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  20. #20
    Quote Originally Posted by chazus View Post
    I added on a bit after I posted. Yes, radiation CAN have an adverse effect on machinery and electronics, but its usually a case of exposure of time, not like some kind of magic field that just makes it instantly fail.

    If you parked a newer car inside the reactor containment shell (sarcophagus I believe its called), and left it there for a few years, the car probably wouldn't start... However I have no expert knowledge on how long it takes for ionized radiation to break down things like wiring components.
    That's okay, the sarcophagus can keep that car, I don't want it that bad anyway...

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