>DOUGH
looks rough
https://www.news.com.au/technology/environment/the-claw-of-chernobyl-most-dangerous-thing-in-the-exclusion-zone/news-story/533246f01b396bd8deb106c315aecf61
The Claw of Chernobyl: most dangerous thing in the exclusion zone
Forgotten in time, this creepy relic known as ‘The Claw’ is so dangerous only a handful of people know where it is.
The Claw sits alone in a dead pocket of a forest on the outskirts of Pripyat, where it was abandoned in the aftermath of the clean-up efforts following the 1986 disaster.
Workers, unsure of where to leave the highly radioactive claw, dumped the frightening piece of machinery in the depths of the forest, far from the beaten track, in the hope nobody would ever find it — it was simply deemed too dangerous to leave anywhere else.
But while the Claw isn’t easy to find, a handful of official guides know where it’s located. Even so, very few tourists request permission from Ukrainian officials to get close to the highly contaminated claw.
It’s now become a creepy relic of the tragedy that happened 33 years ago. Yet, like almost everything about Chernobyl, even a discarded piece of radioactive machinery is still capable of stirring up feelings of both horror and morbid fascination.
Tourism to Chernobyl has skyrocketed in the wake of the HBO TV series Chernobyl, but the question remains: Would you be content to stick with the official exclusion zone tour, or would you go out of your way to visit the Claw?
Here’s what happened when our Chernobyl expert Robert Maxwell got as close as you can get to the most dangerous thing in the zone.
RADIOACTIVE GRAPHITE
The Claw is a large piece of crane machinery that was used in the weeks after the Chernobyl disaster of April 26, 1986 to help clean up the radioactive graphite and material that exploded out of reactor four and onto the neighbouring roofs of the power plant.
When it was no longer useful, the Claw was removed from the crane and dumped deep in a forest where it was hoped nobody would find it.
But, of course, they did.
Sydney archaeologist Robert Maxwell, who is the only archaeologist in the world who has worked at Chernobyl during two field excursions, told news.com.au the work of the Claw was critical.
“The three rooftops alongside the exploded reactor four were, at the time, the most lethally dangerous places on earth. One of the rooftops was measuring in the tens of thousands of roentgen, which was the measurement of radioactivity back then,” Mr Maxwell said.
“When reactor four of Chernobyl exploded, it liberated the lid of the reactor vessel. This 6-10 tonne concrete roof was blown into the air and then landed vertically into the hole. All of the control rods, the graphite, the fuel rods and everything else blew out of the reactor and landed on the rooftops nearby.
“So imagine someone trying to stand on a rooftop that was so radioactive that it could give you such acute radiation sickness that you basically cook yourself and die. So this claw was deeply involved in all the intensely radioactive material as it moved the material back into the core. To say the Claw is highly radioactive and dangerous is not an exaggeration.”
A GRAVEYARD OF ROBOTS
Nobody really knew exactly what needed to be done in the Chernobyl clean-up effort. At first, the Soviets tried to use robots to clean up all the material on the rooftops. They even used a valuable lunar rover, which was one of several rovers the Soviets designed to explore the moon.
According to Mr Maxwell, they also used a robot they’d borrowed from West Germany.
“It wouldn’t have been easy for them to ask the West Germans for help, but they asked if they could use one of their robots and they agreed, sending over a robot I believe was named
‘Joker’, and he was put on the roof. But the robot lasted just a few minutes before it totally fried,” Mr Maxwell said.
“The Soviets had told the West Germans that, in terms of radioactivity, it was only 2000 roentgen maximum that these robots would have to put up with. So, in saying that, the Soviets were claiming that 2000 roentgen, was the maximum radioactive contamination coming out of the reactor — but we know that was not true. In fact, their figures were wrong to the power of 10.
“So the West Germans thought it was fine to lend them their robot, but, as soon as the Joker got up to the roof, it trundled forward a metre or so and then died. Later it was dumped in a forest, but not the same forest as the Claw. And so not only are there all these dead vehicles spotted all over the exclusion zone, there’s also a little graveyard for robots.”
https://youtu.be/C9npqRJ_9P8?t=222
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_Claw_Hard_Seltzer
Specifically they believed that the reactor could not explode due to an uncontrolled surge of power (excursion). This was due to a graph released by the designers, which described the "steam/void effect of reactivity". This refers to how reactivity changes as more and more coolant is converted to steam, ending at the point where no solid water is left in the channels. (Note: Soviet sources distinguish between the void coefficient and the void effect. Everyone knew that the former was positive, while they thought that the latter was negative at high power.)
The graph was shaped like a bell curve. Reactivity rising at first, but then falling again towards the second half of the graph. That meant that as more and more water disappeared, eventually reactivity would fall and the power would level out. The reactor would bring itself under control, just like every other reactor in the world.
But this graph was based on an incorrect calculation, and in the rush to launch the first RBMK, they were not given enough time to verify it experimentally. In reality the line never stopped rising, and losing all coolant means that an unscrammed RBMK explodes. This is true to this day.
For many months after the accident, the Kurchatov Institute and NIKIET design bureau didn't want to be believe in this fact. So they carried out an experiment on another Chernobyl reactor (Unit 1 or 2), where they operated at low power and started draining water from the active zone. When about half of the zone was exposed, the reactivity meter showed that they were on the verge of repeating the disaster. This was a terrible shock for everyone, and the operators 'finally recognized the powder keg they had been sitting on all this time.'
https://www-pub.iaea.org/MTCD/Publications/PDF/Pub913e_web.pdf
Big Mike with the Fiji
Argentina notified the UNIFIL that the country will withdrawal its forces from Lebanon.
Addressing the Palestinians in Gaza, Netanyahu announced: We will reward 5 million dollars for every Israeli prisoner in Hamas custody who is freed by the Palestinians.
He claimed: Any person who tries to hand over the Zionist prisoners will be given full security for himself and his family to leave Gaza and will be given a reward of 5 million dollars.
A Venezuelan migrant with links to Tren de Aragua has been arrested for allegedly robbing one of Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s prosecutors in her apartment after she busted him masturbating, police sources told The Post Wednesday.
https://nypost.com/2024/11/20/us-news/venezuelan-migrant-with-links-to-tren-de-aragua-arrested-in-robbery-of-manhattan-prosecutor/
how's this for timing
you are the news
https://nypost.com/2024/11/20/entertainment/matthew-mcconaughey-reveals-why-he-left-hollywood-at-height-of-his-acting-career/
Matthew McConaughey reveals why he left Hollywood at height of his acting career
>actor
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-14101525/crown-prince-haakon-norway-breaks-silence-arrest.html
Crown Prince Haakon of Norway breaks his silence - as royal's stepson Marius Borg Høiby is arrested on suspicion of rape
panic more
>ALL OF YOU ARE FIRED
>It's over for Ukraine.
https://qalerts.app/?n=521
We are at WAR [@].
>WAR
NBA is gay
(1) means fun!
what the fuck is loosh
yeah don't worry about it