This http://bravenewclimate.com/2011/03/13/fukushima-simple-explanation/" claims that the replacement generators couldn't be made to connect to the existing system in time:
My impression -- and I'm hoping someone here can confirm if it's correct -- is that we tend to underestimate the sheer volume of water that needs to be pumped to keep all these reactors and pools cool enough. Someone on the WSJ comments section said they needed a megawatt of power and 4,000...
I realize it's about what's probable. I guess I was just wondering whether it was possible to quit worrying about whether the alternative cooling systems will continue to work, because we continue to get disheartening news about the cooling systems failing, one after the other. I was hoping...
I'm sorry, Astronuc, I'm still not understanding. I do see that the cooling was inadequate, which was why this problem started developing. With normal cooling, the reactor would shut down and gradually cool off. What we got instead was not "zero cooling," but some interruptions or...
What is the impact, if any, of a breach of the suppression pool torus on the ability of the containment vessel to hold in all the fissile materials? I mean, suppose you hacked a big hole in the torus. Could melted fuel run out there?
Suppose a nuclear reactor were successfully shut down with control rods, but then the cooling system immediately failed and no one managed to do a single thing to get it running again. Does anyone really know whether the containment vessels currently in use should be expected to contain the...