The Chernobyl meltdown core was rekindled, and the elephant foot shape remained
Originally thought to be abandoned, a mysterious "elephant's foot" was found underneath the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, which puzzled scientists. What is even more surprising is that this "elephant's foot" still shows signs of resurgence.
Where did this "elephant's foot" come from, and why does it cause so much concern?
In the 1986 Chernobyl accident, due to an accident at a nuclear power plant, a unique landform called "Elephant's Foot" appeared on this land. Although resembling the paws of an elephant's feet, this has nothing to do with elephants.
In fact, the "elephant's foot" is far more powerful than the elephant. Let's go back 30 years and find out the cause of that accident and how this mysterious "elephant's foot" was formed.
On April 26, 1986, the world was enveloped in an icy pain in an instant. On this day, a violent incident occurred at the No. 4 reactor of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in Ukraine, which instantly broke the quiet line of defense and led to the leakage of nuclear fuel.
The dust of radiation, centered on Chernobyl, spread over a radius of 30 kilometers, spreading fear and death to every corner. The nuclear accident left the 31 people on duty that day forever, and more than 200 employees were infected as a result.
After that, the shadow of radiation did not dissipate for 30 years. Over this long period of time, 90,000 people lost their lives and 270,000 people developed cancer.
Although decades have passed since Chernobyl**, the radiation produced by ** has still not completely dissipated. Every year, scientists conduct rigorous monitoring of radiation levels.
Recent measurements have shown that only 5% of the nuclear fuel remains on the surface of the plant. But this does not mean that the fuel has run out, but has been transferred underground. In the underground of Chernobyl, a unique "elephant's foot" was formed.
It is the product of mixing nuclear fuel with cement and earth, and it is an "elephant's foot" with radiation. Scientists named this peculiar phenomenon Krem.
In the year of the Chernobyl power plant nuclear power, it was more than 400 times more powerful than the Hiroshima nuclear bombing. This momentary high temperature is far beyond the normal limit of a nuclear reactor.
As a result, the bottom of the nuclear reactor burned through, causing the nuclear fuel inside it, mainly uranium-235, to flow into the ground along the holes that burned through. However, at this time, the ground has been burned to a molten state, like magma, and uranium-235 is encased in these molten rocks and cement.
After that, the reactor gradually cooled, and the leaking "magma" began to cool, eventually forming a solid substance like an elephant's foot.
The Chernobyl nuclear accident 30 years ago fused cement and rock from the formation with uranium-235 to form a new type of mineral deposit known as "elephant's foot".
Although many years have passed, the uranium-235 in the "elephant's foot" is still in its half-life and contains radiant energy. To this end, the Soviets built a huge concrete structure that enclosed the entire Chernobyl nuclear power plant, preventing the spread of radiation into the air, and at the same time burying the "elephant's foot" deep into the ground.
However, the latest round of examinations has shown that the reaction inside the "elephant's foot" is still ongoing, and the heat is accumulating, and if triggered, it may trigger a new catastrophe!
By comparing the "elephant's foot" more than 30 years ago, scientists found that its shape has changed, which indicates that the "elephant's foot" is still in a molten state, but its plasticity has weakened a bit compared to the original.
However, the possibility of it becoming "magma" again remains, since the entire nuclear power plant never stops reacting. As for why the "elephant's foot" burned again after more than 30 years, scientists explained that it was due to the fact that the "coffin" had cracked over the years, causing rainwater to seep into the inside of the nuclear power plant.
In Chernobyl, the "coffin" nuclear power plant that triggered the ** used a nuclear fission reaction. This reaction relies on neutrons hitting heavy atoms to make them **, producing more neutrons to continue the reaction, forming a chain reaction, which is called "chain reaction".
In nuclear power plants, heavy water is used, which contains the isotopes of hydrogen, deuterium and tritium. Hydrogen, as the first of the elements, has an atom of similar mass to a neutron, which allows the hydrogen atom itself to participate in the reaction as a neutron.
The hydrogen atoms in the rainwater that seep in are involved in the reaction, and once the chain reaction is ignited, the abandoned reactor may be restarted. Therefore, the most important thing is to repair the cracks in the cement "coffin" to prevent rainwater from seeping in, so that the nuclear fuel can safely complete the reaction.
Although the "coffin" has been repaired, the water that seeped into it does not evaporate quickly, and it still stays inside. This residual water may trigger a chain reaction.
At that time, when the "elephant's foot" was still in a molten state, more than 400 workers risked their lives to build a cooling unit for 45 days to prevent it from flowing further into the ground, successfully stopping the flow of the "elephant's foot".
Scientists plan to transform the cooling unit into a heating device that will evaporate the rainwater that remains inside and then diffuse it into the air through cracks. However, there is a risk that the water vapour may carry the radiation, release it into the air and drift to the crowd with the wind.
Therefore,"Elephant's foot"Now it's getting tricky, and it doesn't seem like there's one way to do it perfectly.
If the elephant's foot environment is allowed to rekindle, the nuclear power plant will happen again**, its protective shell will be completely destroyed, and the radiation will once again permeate the air, drifting with the wind to northern and western Europe, leaving the whole of Europe under the shadow of radiation.
More than 300,000 people have been diagnosed with cancer as a result of radiation from Chernobyl, more than 90,000 have died, and more than 270,000 people are still battling the disease.
If Chernobyl erupts again, the possible consequences will be catastrophic. The long-term effects of radiation may mutate the DNA, which in turn can lead to the development of cancer.
These cancer cells are mutated from normal cells, they go on endlessly** and never die. As a result, they will constantly encroach on the space of normal cells, rob them of nutrients, and even destroy the body's immune system, making people more susceptible to illness.
Today, Eastern Europe has a large population, and if it happens again**, the number of victims could double. Therefore, we must take all necessary measures to prevent the recurrence of such a catastrophe.
Diseases will eventually take human lives, and now, in 2021, scientists found that the concentration of neutrons in the underground space under the "elephant's feet" has doubled compared to four years ago, which means that the risk of nuclear contamination is increasing, and the situation is very serious.
Humanity is now facing the threat of nuclear contamination from many places, and the situation is not optimistic.
In 2011, 9Category 0**, which caused a tsunami that caused damage and nuclear leakage at the Fukushima nuclear power plant, and ten years later, in 2021, the Fukushima nuclear power plant decided to discharge wastewater containing nuclear waste into the sea.
At the same time, Chernobyl's nuclear waste is also at risk of being re-opened, as Einstein said, to open Pandora's box. The effects of nuclear radiation are long-lasting, regardless of the high or low level of biological form, young or old, as long as there is a substance with a DNA structure, it will be affected by it.
Imagine if the radiation contained in nuclear wastewater caused bacteria or viruses to mutate, the world could face a catastrophe. Nuclear energy is seen as a new-age energy source, producing higher energy and making raw materials more accessible than traditional fossil fuels.
Nuclear fusion, in particular, is the raw material of the most abundant hydrogen atoms on Earth, and the oceans are full of this element. However, nuclear energy must be used with extreme caution, and any tiny leak can have fatal consequences.
Whether fusion or fission, radiation is produced, which is an unavoidable reality.
Nuclear power is powerful, but its uncontrollable nature carries significant risks. In the event of an accident, the consequences can be unimaginable. In addition, the existence of nuclear ** poses a threat to mankind.
There are currently more than 20,000 nuclear warheads in the world, and if they detonate at the same time, the planet will suffer a lot of damage, and even if the planet can repair itself, humanity may not survive.
Nuclear radiation and nuclear energy are a double-edged sword, and we need to bear the cost of it in exchange for the benefits it brings.