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> of course a lot improved after Chernobyl in terms of reactor safety My understanding is that Chernobyl was caused by an experiment that went wrong due to err

> of course a lot improved after Chernobyl in terms of reactor safety My understanding is that Chernobyl was caused by an experiment that went wrong due to errors in following processes correctly. I would assume that most reactors just make electricity, and outside of smaller reactors used for research they aren't used for experiments. Is that correct?

dboreham 6y ago
Not an expert but my understanding is that you are largely incorrect. The "experiment" was a test the facility had to pass (dark station shutdown) in order to be certified safe. The site's primary function was to generate electricity. Secondary function to create weapons material precursors. That humans had to follow processes in order to avoid contaminating large parts of Europe is a fundamental failing.
- speeder 6y ago
  Kinda. Dark Station shutdown is still a problem in some senses. They were indeed, doing an experiment, not just to pass a certification, but they were testing a theory, that in fact makes perfect sense, just the execution of the test was extremely crap. The problem: when the power grid fails, there is no power to keep the coolant system pumps working, thus might cause a meltdown. Chernobyl solution: attempt to improve the turbine designs so they can keep generating power using their own inertia until the diesel generators are online. Chernobyl first failed attempts: improvements were not enough, the idea DID worked, but the turbines stopped spinning too early. Chernobyl last attempt: power usage in the day of the test was unusually high, not only the test was delayed but the reactor had to produce more power than usual, when the test finally came, the procedures of the test weren't followed properly, the crew that did the test didn't knew how to do it, and after they pushed the reactor parameters to values outside the design limits, the computer attempted to fight back, so they disabled the safety features of the computer and tried to control the situation manually, doing things the computer was requesting them to NOT do.
neffy 6y ago
No, there was a design flaw in the reactor, that caused the emergency shutdown procedure to trigger a runaway reaction.

dboreham 6y ago

Not an expert but my understanding is that you are largely incorrect. The "experiment" was a test the facility had to pass (dark station shutdown) in order to be certified safe. The site's primary function was to generate electricity. Secondary function to create weapons material precursors. That humans had to follow processes in order to avoid contaminating large parts of Europe is a fundamental failing.

speeder 6y ago
Kinda. Dark Station shutdown is still a problem in some senses. They were indeed, doing an experiment, not just to pass a certification, but they were testing a theory, that in fact makes perfect sense, just the execution of the test was extremely crap. The problem: when the power grid fails, there is no power to keep the coolant system pumps working, thus might cause a meltdown. Chernobyl solution: attempt to improve the turbine designs so they can keep generating power using their own inertia until the diesel generators are online. Chernobyl first failed attempts: improvements were not enough, the idea DID worked, but the turbines stopped spinning too early. Chernobyl last attempt: power usage in the day of the test was unusually high, not only the test was delayed but the reactor had to produce more power than usual, when the test finally came, the procedures of the test weren't followed properly, the crew that did the test didn't knew how to do it, and after they pushed the reactor parameters to values outside the design limits, the computer attempted to fight back, so they disabled the safety features of the computer and tried to control the situation manually, doing things the computer was requesting them to NOT do.

neffy 6y ago

No, there was a design flaw in the reactor, that caused the emergency shutdown procedure to trigger a runaway reaction.