I saw these pop up in his recent lecture video, and found them interesting. I haven't seen these before.
Photo #1 - RZM's gantry crane blocking the view from RZM control room window.
Photo #2 - A piece of wall of the reactor hall.
Machine oil used in the turbines would be cooled in these tanks (located on level -4.2), using water that cycled through them. These look like the coolers for turbine #8 (TG-8).
The article at The Washington Post site is behind a paywall, so I used the Wayback Machine to get the full article. It was published just 6 years after the disaster, while Dyatlov was still alive.
^(AI-generated summary:)
>The article revisits the 1986 Chernobyl disaster through the perspective of Anatoly Dyatlov, the engineer supervising Reactor No. 4 when it exploded. Official Soviet investigations blamed Dyatlov and other plant operators for negligence during a safety test, leading to his imprisonment. However, Dyatlov argues that the operators were scapegoated for fundamental design flaws in the reactor itself.
>According to Dyatlov, the control room showed no signs of danger until a sudden and inexplicable power surge triggered explosions. He claims the operators did not know that the reactor’s control rods - intended to shut down the reactor - were flawed and could actually increase power under certain conditions.
>Dyatlov criticizes Soviet authorities and reactor designers for covering up the true causes of the accident and minimizing the dangers to the public. He accuses officials of concealing radiation risks, delaying evacuations, and protecting the scientific establishment from blame. Later investigations, including by the International Atomic Energy Agency, reportedly supported the view that major reactor design flaws contributed heavily to the disaster.
The article mentions that: "unlike the operators of the Chernobyl plant, six of whom were sent to prison for their part in the disaster, the designers of the reactor were never punished. The principal designer, Anatoly Aleksandrov, a past president of the Soviet Academy of Sciences, still refuses to concede that there was anything wrong with his reactor."
A 3-week-old moose calf rescued from the Chernobyl fires was transported to the village of Medvino (on the southern edge of the Exclusion Zone), where there is a small zoo. There, it was given water and food and began to visibly regain its strength.
It had previously been determined that the fawn may have been exposed to smoke, which is particularly dangerous for such young animals. His condition was complicated by the fact that his mother had abandoned him, likely driven away by the fire. It is certain that he would not have survived on his own.
If you thought that May Day parade in Kiev was the only big public event shortly after the disaster, hold my kvass.
The Peace Race, dating back to 1948 and known as the “Tour de France of the East”, was a prestigious cycling event attended not only by communist bloc states but also guest cyclists from the West. It was on a high sporting level but it also played an important political and ideological role. Its traditional participants were from Czechoslovakia, Poland and East Germany. In 1986 the Soviet Union joined in and it was decided the race should start from Kiev (Ukraine). The Czechoslovak cyclists who were due to take part had been informed about the Chernobyl accident from their West-German colleagues during a bike race in Italy. They realised the dangers involved but for political reasons it was impossible to cancel the Ukraine laps or even the participation of the Czechoslovak team. The cyclists faced a crucial decision - to risk their health or jeopardize their career.
Others in the communist block faced the same dilemma. In the end, only 64 cyclists entered the race; less than half of the usual number of participants. As Jozef Regec - who participated in the race recalls – while all competitors from the eastern bloc turned up for the race, from the west, only the French were on the starting line.
Read more here: https://zavodmiru.com/en/the-peloton-in-the-shadow-of-chernobyl-refusal-signified-the-end-of-a-career
The article adds: "It is necessary to add that all indications are that Kiev escaped the direct consequences of the explosion in Chernobyl, the radioactive fallout was directed by the wind to the north and northwest to Belarus and Scandinavia. And the regular measurement of the competitors did not show increased radiation beyond the natural range, the results from Kyiv were the same as later in Warsaw."
Here are some memories of Andrey Fedorovichi Mitenkov (Google-translated from a Russian source).
In 1986, he graduated from the Physics and Technology Faculty of the Gorky Polytechnic Institute with a degree in engineering and physics and worked as a senior engineer in the Department of Nuclear Reactors and Power Plants. From July 1986 to March 1987, he led the Separate Radiation Reconnaissance Group for the city of Pripyat, the Red Forest, and other sites within the 10-kilometer Exclusion Zone, participating in particularly hazardous work to localize highly active radiation sources on the roof of Unit 3 of the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant.
Here's a photo of the northern side of the Unit 4, taken some time before the construction of the Sarcophagus began. I've seen this photo before, but never noticed something very interesting, until it was poined out recently by someone in a Chernobyl VK group: there are two of the abandoned fire engines dumped there, to be entombed in concrete as part of the Northern Cascade Wall.
(please follow this subreddit's rules, especially rule #7, and avoid heated political discussions or slurs)
The Exclusion Zone in general, and Pripyat in particular, have long been "frozen in time", including Soviet-era place names, statues, and other attributes. But the authorities finally got to it as well. Even seemingly innocent names like "Friendship Street", "International Street", or the ones named after May Day are getting changed.
Tell me everything known about it. Did hobbits make brandy and/or whiskey? Did dwarves, elves, humans, or orcs make anything strong?
[Edit] Found a comment by Christopher in HoME - "There is, in fact, no evidence for the distillation of brandy in the Shire"
Officials said strong winds were driving the flames rapidly across woodland, allowing the fire to spread into new forest compartments.
“The situation is being complicated by dry weather, strong gusts of wind and the presence of landmines in certain areas, which significantly limits firefighting operations,” the SES said.
According to the service, some sections of the forest remain inaccessible due to the risk of unexploded ordnance, forcing emergency crews to suspend operations in those zones.
"IzPrebuilt explores a promotional package received from the Subnautica 2 development team, featuring various physical collectibles. The contents include a USB drive packed with digital assets, ranging from high-resolution in-game screenshots and creature concept art to snippets of the upcoming sequel's original soundtrack and behind-the-scenes production materials."
English translation:
Construction of the Central-Ukrainian nuclear power plant in Kiev region is provided for by the decree of the Council of Ministers of the USSR from September 29, 1966 No. 800-555 "On the construction plan and commissioning of the operation of nuclear power plants for 1966-1975".
This resolution puts into effect the first stage with a capacity of 1000 thousand kW of the Central-Ukrainian nuclear power plant before it is seen in 1974 and the second stage - 1000 thousand, kW - in 1975.
The nuclear power plant is designed to provide electro-energy for industry, agriculture and utilities needs of the central regions of the Ukrainian SSR.
In 1965-1966 the Kiev branch of Teploelektroproekt conducted a survey of 16 points in Kiev, Vinnytsia and Khitomir regions in order to identify the most suitable and most economical site for hosting a nuclear power plant.
Of these 16 points, 15 were rejected due to the fact that they they did not meet the necessary requirements for the placement of nuclear power plants or were not coordinated with the ministries and departments of the Ukrainian SSR.
The site near the village of Kopachi, Chornibilsky district, which was recommended by the Teploelektroproekt and the state commission is located on the right shore of Pripyat, 12 km from Chornobyl, mainly on unproductive land, and meets the requirements for water supply, transport, cleanliness of the zone.
Total land area to be allocated for construction project of the power plant and inhabited village, is 1676 hectares, including arable land - 96 hectares, vegetable gardens - 50 hectares, flood meadows - 1400 hectares, forests - 130 hectares.
Main technical and economic indicators for Central-Ukrainian nuclear power plant:
Capacity - 2000 thousand kW
Electricity generation - 14 billion kWh per year
Operating Personnel - 1,900 people
Construction Investment - 325.73 million rubles
Inhabited village - 27.6 million rubles
Power lines and sub-station - 36.35 million kW
Here's a couple of screenshots from a NIKIET expedition footage where they went into the sub-reactor space, and even into the core itself. You can see a graphite block lying here, but what's inside it? It's not a fuel channel or control rod channel. Looks something solid.
The correct answer is in the comments.
Detailed, explorable 3D models, with additional information. Enjoy!
We get a fairly good picture of how the Sarcophagus was built, but hardly anything is being said about the turbine hall in the months and years following the disaster. There are some photos which offer some clues, such as a wall constructed to separate that part of the hall from the rest of it, and one of the two turbines getting dismantled? There are photos where we can see lead-walled cabins placed on top of the turbines, what's the story behind that?
If anyone could guide us through these processes, or point to an article or a video that does that, I'd be very grateful.
The veracity of people seeing a glow above the destroyed Unit 4 in the early hours of April 26 1986 is still being debated in this subreddit. In this thread, I'll try to compile as many first-hand witness accounts of people seeing this glow as I can. I'll start with some, and this post will be updated as and when I find more of them.
Let's start with perhaps the most well-known account:
Alexander Yuvchenko, senior mechanical engineer: "To get a clearer idea of what had happened we walked outside. [...] From where I stood I could see a huge beam of projected light flooding up into infinity from the reactor. It was like a laser light, caused by the ionisation of the air. It was light-bluish, and it was very beautiful. I watched it for several seconds. If I'd stood there for just a few minutes I would probably have died on the spot because of gamma rays and neutrons and everything else that was spewing out. But Tregub yanked me around the corner to get me out the way. He was older and more experienced." https://ecolo.org/documents/documents_in_english/cherno-alexander_yuvchenko.htm
Alexander Agulov, senior pump operator (Unit 3): "We left the building to approach the Unit 4 and see what we could from ground level. [...] The structure of the central hall was destroyed. And from there was a glow, but the glow was uniform. That is, it wasn't like a burning flame. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g136wNQvCuE&t=2095s
Ivan Chornyi, electrician: "We were driving past the switchyard and saw this glow. Like when a welder welds at night, and there's ultraviolet rays, so bright and shining into the sky. [...] I used to work at a construction site, and there were about 10 welders not far from each other. There was such a glow." https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SkIX__i1bb0&t=2412s
Oleg Genrikh, reactor hall operator (Unit 4): "We were running around the block, and then we saw this glow. [...] There was a pillar of light. I'd never seen the northern lights, only on TV, but it was like that, mesmerising. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=midkAAZ9NXI&t=1751s
Pyotr Khmel, firefighter: "I went out to my balcony and could see a very bright glow. It looked the same as did the welding works at units 5 and 6." https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IrTpDTBI7jY&t=1414s
Nikolay Solovyov, turbine operator (Unit 2): "Looking from the Unit 3's side there was a glow, and there were several firefighters silhouetted against it, pouring water into the glow. The glow wasn't like from a flame, it was a pillar. By its colour you could guess that the temperature there was very high." https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Ye6ghd7d9w&t=2160s
Fan art by Zerna https://www.deviantart.com/zerna/art/Subnautica-692170656
That fire extinguisher you picked up right at the beginning - always carry it with you, you never know when you're gonna need it 😉
Once you dive in, pick up all the Acid Mushrooms you see, until your inventory is full. Even though you don't know what they are used for, do it just in case 😉
Swim directly towards the Aurora. I mean, that's your spaceship, it's bound to be safe 😉
When crafting the High Capacity O2 tank, craft a new regular O2 tank, ignore the one you alrady have equipped 😉
(I'll update this with more noob tips when I think of some)
