Chernobyl Episode 5 * FULL LENGTH REACTION
Added 2023-11-27 16:00:04 +0000 UTCI love how the beginning makes a lot more sense now. I actually like that that was the first scene we saw, then got to see why he ended up doing what he did.
It was great to see just how terrible of a boss/person Dyatlov was. I hate how grossly incompetent and greedy the three were in order to get pieces of paper making them look good.
In the end, this series has made me so angry with people in charge, and it's so heartbreaking to see all the innocent people that are affected by higher ups.
The fact that their death count is STILL marked at 31 is proof of why I lost faith in humanity so often. But it's true that the negatives are usually highlighted, so it seems like there is a lot more negative than positive in the world.
For this style of reaction, you need your own copy to watch the episode. Also know there is an extension that allows you to do Picture-in-Picture in case you are interested: https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/picture-in-picture-extens/hkgfoiooedgoejojocmhlaklaeopbecg?hl=en
- Vero ⚛🌿
Thank you everyone for your continued support <3
Comments
A very important mistake... assuming all operators would never be that stupid/reckless/incompetent 😐 Extra design and time is needed to prevent people who don't know how to operate something from causing a catastrophe, sadly. Thank you for all the additional details, I wrote down to look up a diagram of your explanation so I can visualize it better
Verowak
2023-11-29 03:35:09 +0000 UTCI am continuously amazed at how you know so much about so many things! Makes sense that "burning off" the xenon is making it more stable which reduces the reactivity. I assumed it was some kind of chemical reaction and not like burning the xenon like how you can burn paper :D
Verowak
2023-11-29 03:32:54 +0000 UTCThis is so frustrating! Overconfidence is a slow and insidious killer, and the fact that he just failed upwards is just insane
Verowak
2023-11-29 03:30:27 +0000 UTCI didn't know that! I'll have to see if I can find it, thank you!
Verowak
2023-11-29 03:29:25 +0000 UTCAbout the control rods: The description of "graphite tips" is not really accurate and is misleading. Lighter elements do more to reduce the neutron flux than heavier elements, so boron is more of a moderator than graphite (pure carbon), and the hydrogen in water is more of a moderator than boron. The designers of the reactor figured (correctly) that when the operators would withdraw the control rods it was because they wanted to increase the reaction and vice-versa. If they simply remove the rods, their place would be take by water from the cooling system, so graphite was added to the ends of the control rods to prevent water from backfilling in place of the withdrawing boron rods. This is what Legasov meant by "displacing water and steam" at the end of Ep 4. So the "graphite tips" are the same length as the entire boron portion in order to displace all of the water from the control rod channel when the rods are withdrawn. However, they never anticipated the the rods would be completely withdrawn while the reactor was actually in operation (surely the operators couldn't be that stupid/reckless/incompetent). So if the controls were set to completely remove the rods, that must be because the rods were to be inspected, maintenance performed, replaced, etc. When they were set to be withdrawn 99%, the graphite portion remained in the control rod channel in the reactor, but if they were set for 100% withdrawn, then the entire rod, including the graphite portion was withdrawn, which in turn allows water to fill the control rod channel, which reduces the neutron flux more than either the graphite or boron would. A scram (A3-5 or AZ-5) with the rods 99% withdrawn would mean that carbon graphite is replaced with boron , which would reduce reactivity, but having the rods 100% withdrawn meant that water rich in hydrogen was replaced with carbon graphite. PS: "A3-5"/"AZ-5" stands for "control condition 5"
JAKH
2023-11-29 02:37:21 +0000 UTCAbout the Xenon: The xenon produced in an uranium fission reaction is an unnatural isotope. Each xenon isotope atom will absorb 1 neutron, then become inert as normal noble xenon. This absorption of neutrons is what reduces the reactivity by reducing the number of free neutrons available to continue the self-sustaining fission reaction, and is what they mean by "burning off" the xenon.
JAKH
2023-11-29 02:13:10 +0000 UTCThe control room supervisor, Dyatlov, had transferred from military grade nuclear reactors that used high-grade, highly enriched uranium, to civilian reactors that used low grade minimally enriched uranium, but because he had a lot of years on the job, he was overconfident in himself and never bothered to learn the detailed differences in the engineering, construction, practical functioning, and operation between the two designs that resulted from using different kinds of fuel. It is like coming from working on race car engines using 120 octane top fuel gasoline to working on a Coleman camp stove using 50 octane white gas and thinking that they are the same. He had also previously been in (and caused) an accident with a military reactor and received the highest radiation dose ever survived by anyone in the Soviet Union up to that time, which made him contemptuous of the dangers of radiation: "hey, I survived, it's not that dangerous, quit whining you wimps". Note that after causing a previous serious accident, he was put back as a supervisor. Talk about failing upwards [ironic look].
JAKH
2023-11-29 02:04:43 +0000 UTCThere is an additional episode, a documentary called "Chernobyl: The Lost Tapes", similar to the 11th episode of Band of Brothers. It features archival footage from the actual events. it is especially interesting to see how closely the show followed in depicting the makeshift radiation protection gear that the workers cobbled together. If you are watching on HBO Max or Amazon Prime, it is available along with the "Chernobyl" series, but it is alone under its own listing, not with the other 5 episodes.
JAKH
2023-11-29 02:00:04 +0000 UTCShowing the balancing act was done really well. Without the visuals it would have been a lot harder to remember and follow along. I agree, if the bridge of death was fictional, then it's silly to expand on the fictional aspect at the end, when it's reserved for actual events. It's definitely really hard to know 100% what happened in the past. There is always survivorship bias, or embellishments. Though I do think it gives a very good overview of what happened, which is more than I've ever learned about Chernobyl
Verowak
2023-11-27 23:47:08 +0000 UTCYay scientists! After all these years, still claiming that so few people died is just maddening. What horrible last words. This series was so heartbreaking but so frustrating!
Verowak
2023-11-27 23:44:20 +0000 UTCI remember that from last year. I was so confused what they were doing, but lack of education about what happened makes sense. Clearly, admitting something went wrong shows weakness and that is unacceptable. No mistakes were EVER made 🙄
Verowak
2023-11-27 23:43:03 +0000 UTCThis episode has one of my favourite technical explanations in any movie or show - graphically showing the balancing act within the reactor was done so well. I did hear that the bridge of death was entirely fictional, which in itself isn’t a problem for me, but if this is the case, then doubling down on it during the end segment (seemingly presented to the audience as facts from real events) is inexcusable to me. If people viewing the power station from a bridge didn’t really happen then don’t mention it again as the end. Still a fantastic show however, just one I have to remember is fictional drama based around a real event.
James Hadden
2023-11-27 21:30:02 +0000 UTCAn incredible series. The real outcome was truly bittersweet. It’s an absolute travesty of claiming such a small amount of people who died. Such a shame. “Why worry about something that isn’t going to happen?” Fatal. Last. Words.
Billy Dancel
2023-11-27 19:12:11 +0000 UTCRussians are still so oblivious to this that a year ago in the war with Urkaine they stationed alot of troops in Chernobyl and they all got seriously sick. Clearly they don't teach the failures of their past at the school today resulting in more casualties 37 years after the facts.
King_Panarisi
2023-11-27 17:48:21 +0000 UTC
