Japan Earthquake

[Mr Momo]

That's why I said "I'm not sure" - normally these issues and risks are included in the design/engineering/construction and, as you can imagine with the Japanese, will be methodical, but the difference when something goes wrong is low probability/high impact compared with driving risks, which is high probability/low impact (on a national population sense).

So I'm watching with anticipation on how this reactor problem unfolds - it's not entirely clear at the moment.

[GraemeLotus]

The second fire this morning is potentially more serious - Reactor 3 uses plutonium not uranium, and pumping in seawater would result in discharge they couldn't measure accurately

[Gareth]

It's a total disaster but you just have to watch in awe at the devastation mother nature causes.
Check this video and how fairly large boats are chucked around like toys.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-12725646

[campbell]

The force of it is almost incomprehensible. Disaster movies won't ever seem quite the same again.

[Noops]

The force of it is almost incomprehensible. Disaster movies won't ever seem quite the same again.

"Disaster movies won't ever seem quite the same again."I agree campbell what is happening in Japan is just breath taking ,I still find it odd watching fillms with the twin towers in them knowing the fate of each and the people that where vaporised in real life

Nature is indeed such a unforgiving force that can just turn on us at a whim with such ease and return to gently sleeping in moments as if nothing ever happened....

[DavieK]

Got sent this the other day and I think it shows pretty well before and after the Tsunami hit

http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2011 ... unami.html

[renmure]

Japanese politeness:

Wendy does all the European Design and Trademark stuff for Sony and is due to go to Tokyo next month.
She sent an email to her contacts at the Company passing on best wishes and thoughts for them and hoping all was well with friends and family after the disaster.

She received a reply from the head of the company which, amunst other things, apologised to her for the disruption that the earthquake and tsunami were causing her. Politeness in adversity indeed.

[j2 lot]

The one thing I have found quite humbling in a lot of the aftermath coverage is how calm and composed people have been, despite being hit with one disaster after another the Japanese have demonstrated the British 'stiff upper lip ' better than the British ever could.

[Titanium S1 111S (gla)]

Out of interest I was checking how many nuclear reactors there were world wide and there are around 450 plus 150 research reactors.

Japan has 55 and France gets 79% of its electricity from nuclear power. World wide it is 14%.

tut

And Scotland gets about 45% of its power from 4 reactors in two stations.

In case any body is interested I am told that our graphite moderated rectors would not have suffered the same fate as the Japanese water reactors.

[robin]

That would have to be some Tsunami (to get up the cliff to Torness!).

Cheers,
Robin

[GraemeLotus]

That would have to be some Tsunami (to get up the cliff to Torness!).

Cheers,
Robin

True - but Hunterston would get taken out by a bit of surf!

[Titanium S1 111S (gla)]

My old gent, who was involved in the design and build of both stations and is now dealing with various decommissioning projects tells me that the much larger thermal mass of an advanced gas cooled reactor would have meant that overheating would not have been such an immediate issue. I understand that an AGR core is several thousand times heavier than a water reactor which would have bought them most of a week to get cooling systems back on line before there were issues of the type experienced. Basically the bigger core would act as a heat sink.

It seems that with nuclear reactors (unlike cars) adding lightness is not necessarily a good thing.

[Noops]

Out of interest I was checking how many nuclear reactors there were world wide and there are around 450 plus 150 research reactors.

Japan has 55 and France gets 79% of its electricity from nuclear power. World wide it is 14%.

tut

And Scotland gets about 45% of its power from 4 reactors in two stations.

In case any body is interested I am told that our graphite moderated rectors would not have suffered the same fate as the Japanese water reactors.

I'm glad of that I stay not far enough away from Torness also I do remember locals being offered Tabs of some kind around Torness a few years ago regarding over the limits Radiation emissions a few years ago...

[BiggestNizzy]

http://www.abc.net.au/news/events/japan ... eafter.htm

[Ferg]

First few prompt amazement, and then as you realise there's loads of them it gets quite upsetting.