I don’t completely understand this. If the reaction has been stopped, except for a little residual reaction, then the fuel, rods etc, should be cooling over time. The problems should be DECREASING.
Instead, they seem to be having a terrible time getting ahead of the cooling curve. So, if they can’t get a handle on the cooling - then that means that the reactors are probably GENERATING heat, and then we aren’t just talking about getting rid of residual heat and how much “residual” reaction is going on? Enough to destroy the system if it isn’t stopped? Is the partial meltdown stopping the reaction control process, and causing the reaction to increase? What’s the top end of the curve?
Look, I’ve never worked on anything more complicated then a lawn mower, but the “everything fine” crew seem to be telling me things that defy everything I know about thermodynamics, which, admittedly, isn’t much.
It takes days to get the core down to a cold state. The longer they can keep cooling the cores, the better. The problem was getting enough seawater to the cores in a consistent way.
Hence the need for auxiliary cooling in the event of a SCRAM.
From the Ticker Forum thread, and Karl is banning anyone posting sheer speculation, it is an excellent place for news/rational comments:
http://tickerforum.org/akcs-www?post=182121&page=71
Morning/evening folks. Latest update on Reactor status from Kyodo News. (Items in parenthesis added by me from other sources)
The following is the known status as of Tuesday evening of each of the six reactors at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant.
— Reactor No. 1 - Cooling failure, partial melting of core, vapor vented, hydrogen explosion, seawater pumped in.
— Reactor No. 2 - Cooling failure, seawater pumped in, fuel rods fully exposed temporarily, vapor vented, damage to containment system, potential meltdown feared.
— Reactor No. 3 - Cooling failure, partial melting of core feared, vapor vented, seawater pumped in, hydrogen explosion, high-level radiation measured nearby.
— Reactor No. 4 - Under maintenance when quake struck, fire caused possibly by hydrogen explosion at pool holding spent fuel rods, pool water level feared receding. (Outer containment building perforated by explosion from No.3-Reuters, Crack in roof of outer containment building-Reuters, 4 Workers missing after explosion, last seen near Reactor 4-Reuters)
— Reactor No. 5 - Under maintenance when quake struck, temperature slightly rising at spent fuel pool.
— Reactor No. 6 - Under maintenance when quake struck, temperature slightly rising at spent fuel pool.
Well don't expect to hear that from the Global media...They are loving this.
The Japanese are going to wonder which was the biggest battle....dueling with the Reactors or the international Media.....
They sure can't say just yet that the problems are decreasing!