When reactor cores melt and sink into the ground below their containment chamber, the molten mass DOES NOT sink ever deeper into the earth. This is the so-called China Syndrome, which is purely a Hollywood invention.
Because the white-hot magma pool melts anything it touches, it behaves as magma does. It is lighter than the surrounding rock, and it is very hot, so it expands, liquefies, gasifies and it rises to the surface. This is exacerbated by groundwater exploding constantly into steam below it, which creates incredible upward pressure on the pool of radioactive magma to boot.
Oh, you can dump mountains of boron, graphite, concrete, granite, titanium or any other earthly substance you like on the magma pool -- it will simply melt it all in turn. There. You've made the magma pool larger, that's all.
Given the immediate proximity of multiple melted or melting reactor cores, the likelihood of several or all of the Fukushima cores merging at some future point is certain.
Given the extremely active seismic situation beneath the coast of Japan, further wrecking of the remaining control infrastructure at Fukushimia is also certain.
No matter what remedies are applied, and no matter how many times they are repeatedly applied, the end result is always going to be a molten magma pool exposed to the atmosphere, the groundwater, and the blue Pacific ocean for as many centuries into the future as you care to imagine.
"Because the white-hot magma pool melts anything it touches, it behaves as magma does. It is lighter than the surrounding rock, and it is very hot, so it expands, liquefies, gasifies and it rises to the surface."
Rock generally tops out at 3 gm/cm3. Uranium is 18 gm/cm3.
I don't think your conclusion is quite as open and shut as you portray.
http://www.nrc.gov/waste/spent-fuel-storage/faqs.html
As the pools near capacity, utilities move some of the older spent fuel into “dry cask” storage. Fuel is typically cooled at least 5 years in the pool before transfer to cask. NRC has authorized transfer as early as 3 years; the industry norm is about 10 years.
The NRC believes spent fuel pools and dry casks both provide adequate protection of the public health and safety and the environment. Therefore there is no pressing safety or security reason to mandate earlier transfer of fuel from pool to cask.
While I don't agree with you and your supremly dire outlook on daiichi .you do raise an obvious question that every person on earth should be asking ,or at least one reputable investigative journalist. if real scientists or nuculear engineers read this forum can someone please explain why the spent fuel is still is sitting on site in positively compromised structures.
I will ask this question once is it impossible to move fresh spent fuel assemblies from Fukushima daiichi spent fuel pools?how long before a fresh assembly can be moved from spent fuel pool?
Thanks tdm.
Oh, you can dump mountains of boron, graphite, concrete, granite, titanium or any other earthly substance you like on the magma pool -- it will simply melt it all in turn. There. You've made the magma pool larger, that's all.
------------------------------------------------------------
Suppose I have some hot water in a bucket. Now I dump some cold water in the bucket. It doesn't matter how much cold water I dump; I've just made the hot water pool larger...
The poster above apparently is ignorant of basic high school physics. The above example with hot water shows the basic error in the above poster's "thinking".
Additionally, the poster is ignoring the fact that as time goes on, the heat generated by the melted cores is decreasing exponentially, as the radionuclides undergo their own exponential decay.
Another anti-nuke "fear monger" demonstrating that they don't know their Physics.
You can't get through one f'n thread without throwing this silly phrase around, can you?
You STILL haven't told us who you represent, you coward. Lurking on this forum, spending inordinate amounts of time .. we've all got your number.
Many of us have figured out who you may be representing, but you're a dysfunctional industry apologist without any xxxx and won't own up. A little boy.
No one will take you seriously because you hide in the shadows.
You haven't been listening. I have said several times, that I represent ONLY myself. I have ZERO association with the nuclear industry.
I am now RETIRED. Before I retired, I was a Professor of Physics at both University of Michigan and MIT.
I reject the contention of the stupid little pinhead anti-nukes that the only people who defend nuclear power are shills that work for the industry.
I carry no water for the nuclear industry. However, when I see the stupid shills, or is that shrills, from the anti-nuke movement LIE, and MISSTATE the Laws of Physics and other objective facts; then I point out their LIES and IGNORANCE.
Exposed cores is the only possible outcome
Unfortunately, let me be explicitly clear.
When reactor cores melt and sink into the ground below their containment chamber, the molten mass DOES NOT sink ever deeper into the earth. This is the so-called China Syndrome, which is purely a Hollywood invention.
Because the white-hot magma pool melts anything it touches, it behaves as magma does. It is lighter than the surrounding rock, and it is very hot, so it expands, liquefies, gasifies and it rises to the surface. This is exacerbated by groundwater exploding constantly into steam below it, which creates incredible upward pressure on the pool of radioactive magma to boot.
Oh, you can dump mountains of boron, graphite, concrete, granite, titanium or any other earthly substance you like on the magma pool -- it will simply melt it all in turn. There. You've made the magma pool larger, that's all.
Given the immediate proximity of multiple melted or melting reactor cores, the likelihood of several or all of the Fukushima cores merging at some future point is certain.
Given the extremely active seismic situation beneath the coast of Japan, further wrecking of the remaining control infrastructure at Fukushimia is also certain.
No matter what remedies are applied, and no matter how many times they are repeatedly applied, the end result is always going to be a molten magma pool exposed to the atmosphere, the groundwater, and the blue Pacific ocean for as many centuries into the future as you care to imagine.
No other outcome is possible from this point.
You can't touch this.
"Because the white-hot magma
"Because the white-hot magma pool melts anything it touches, it behaves as magma does. It is lighter than the surrounding rock, and it is very hot, so it expands, liquefies, gasifies and it rises to the surface."
Rock generally tops out at 3 gm/cm3. Uranium is 18 gm/cm3.
I don't think your conclusion is quite as open and shut as you portray.
NRC answer cooling takes up to 5 years .tdm
http://www.nrc.gov/waste/spent-fuel-storage/faqs.html
As the pools near capacity, utilities move some of the older spent fuel into “dry cask” storage. Fuel is typically cooled at least 5 years in the pool before transfer to cask. NRC has authorized transfer as early as 3 years; the industry norm is about 10 years.
The NRC believes spent fuel pools and dry casks both provide adequate protection of the public health and safety and the environment. Therefore there is no pressing safety or security reason to mandate earlier transfer of fuel from pool to cask.
Head scratcher
While I don't agree with you and your supremly dire outlook on daiichi .you do raise an obvious question that every person on earth should be asking ,or at least one reputable investigative journalist. if real scientists or nuculear engineers read this forum can someone please explain why the spent fuel is still is sitting on site in positively compromised structures.
I will ask this question once is it impossible to move fresh spent fuel assemblies from Fukushima daiichi spent fuel pools?how long before a fresh assembly can be moved from spent fuel pool?
Thanks tdm.
Depends on how much you dump.
Oh, you can dump mountains of boron, graphite, concrete, granite, titanium or any other earthly substance you like on the magma pool -- it will simply melt it all in turn. There. You've made the magma pool larger, that's all.
------------------------------------------------------------
Suppose I have some hot water in a bucket. Now I dump some cold water in the bucket. It doesn't matter how much cold water I dump; I've just made the hot water pool larger...
The poster above apparently is ignorant of basic high school physics. The above example with hot water shows the basic error in the above poster's "thinking".
Additionally, the poster is ignoring the fact that as time goes on, the heat generated by the melted cores is decreasing exponentially, as the radionuclides undergo their own exponential decay.
Another anti-nuke "fear monger" demonstrating that they don't know their Physics.
"Another anti-nuke "fear
"Another anti-nuke "fear monger" .."
You can't get through one f'n thread without throwing this silly phrase around, can you?
You STILL haven't told us who you represent, you coward. Lurking on this forum, spending inordinate amounts of time .. we've all got your number.
Many of us have figured out who you may be representing, but you're a dysfunctional industry apologist without any xxxx and won't own up. A little boy.
No one will take you seriously because you hide in the shadows.
You haven't been listening
You haven't been listening. I have said several times, that I represent ONLY myself. I have ZERO association with the nuclear industry.
I am now RETIRED. Before I retired, I was a Professor of Physics at both University of Michigan and MIT.
I reject the contention of the stupid little pinhead anti-nukes that the only people who defend nuclear power are shills that work for the industry.
I carry no water for the nuclear industry. However, when I see the stupid shills, or is that shrills, from the anti-nuke movement LIE, and MISSTATE the Laws of Physics and other objective facts; then I point out their LIES and IGNORANCE.