Solutions to assist Japan. FROM OUT OF BOX THINKERS.

The nuclear poblem is three fold:

1) The rods irradiate and heat up anything that they come in contact with. Liquids are great heat sinks, but they will become irratiated immediately and the vaporized unless a constant supply is provided. Solids aren't good enough heat sinks and can't be made to flow over the rods. Gases would require a closed system which is not in place.

2) It's too radioactive near the rods for anyone to approach. We can't even fly over low enough to drop liquid without exposing the flight crew. To boot, there's no power and the facility is constantly lighting on fire and exploding. It's too dangerous to send humans in.

3) Any solution has to be implemented within the next couple days if it's going to be implemented at all. If there's going to be a total meltdown, that's when it will happen.

I think they should use a UAV helicopter to fly in a small robot, then use the same helicopter to fly in a thin strong wire attached at the other end to a tall crane or scaffold that is relatively far away. Have the robot bolt the wire to something. Then, use the wire to send a fire hose to the robot from the crane. Run the other end of the hose to a water source and connect a strong pump. Have the robot bring the hose nosel to the reactor and aim it at the cooling rods. Then, use the pump to flood the place and don't stop pumping until a long term solution can be found. This seems like something I could implement with a few friends in an afternoon if we had the equipment, and I'm not even an expert.

Thoughts?

Originally posted by MischeviousElf
reply to post by rubbertramp

 

What would happen is that you would put huge amounts of radiation high into the atmosphere from the nuke, like in hiroshima many years later people being born deformed genetic problems. And to that you add hundreds of tons of spent fuel that would mix with the dust in the mushroom cloud or even go into fission itself.

It would the worst possible thing you could do in this situation worse that hrowing petrol inside the reactors.

Elf

ok, scratch that idea. lol.

how about an explosion out to sea that would bury the reactor beneath a wave?
after evacuating the area, of course.

reply to post by Leemo

My points exactly. Use some type of material that may react to radiation and cool materials contaminated by it. The thing about the salt water, does salt make water boil faster?

Thanks Leemo for the input and care.

Is there any possible way where they can just take the fuel rods out and just rapidly transport it to Antarctica and bury it somewhere in the ice? Or anywhere close by, especially Northern Russia where temperatures drop way below the negative scale lol

Is Liquid Helium 3 or 4 explosive?

An air drop of several hundred thousand cylinders of refrigerant would do the trick.

Originally posted by Leemo
Why not get a big FIRE EXTINGUISHER TYPE OF MATERIAL and freeze the # out of it! I'm not a physicist but salt water isn't going to cool down radioactive material. As my logic tells me, you can only cool radiation with other types of elements.

The rods would heat and vaporize away any "fire extinguisher type material." As far as I know, the only cold fire extinguishers use halon, co2, or other inert gases. These gases would immediately disperse and there's not enough of a supply anywhere in the world to keep a constant flow over the rods for an extended period. Water works fine as long as there is a constant supply. (everything on earth, including sea water, is made of "other types of elements")

reply to post by OnceReturned


Wow OnceReturned! I see you are the first to bring in the robots for usage considering the fact that it is too hostil an environment for humans. Very well layed out indeed in the proccess you went at doing so. I think this is another Great idea here and hopefully the monitors who monitor can make it happen or try to. It saves human lives and gets close up to the problem...

THANKS!

Originally posted by rubbertramp

how about an explosion out to sea that would bury the reactor beneath a wave?
after evacuating the area, of course.

Interesting reuse the tsunami aspect but make it controlled. It sounds good but I wonder if it will contaminate the water more.

Im still amazed that in the year 2012 we dont have some kind or remote controlled helicopters that can be used in situations like this.

Originally posted by ljonesyuk
Is Liquid Helium 3 or 4 explosive?

I dont know for sure but are you speaking as a freezing agent of some sort. Thanks for adding more data ljonesyuk!!

My points exactly. Use some type of material that may react to radiation and cool materials contaminated by it. The thing about the salt water, does salt make water boil faster?

Everything reacts to radiation, that's why it's so dangerous. Contaminated material is not really a problem in terms of heat, it's just poisonous. What needs to be cooled are the rods themselves. Salt water does boil a few degrees below fresh water, but those few degrees don't have an impact when the temperatures involved are as high as they are here. Also, lower boiling point is actually not necessarily a bad thing: when water is boiling it's not continuing to heat, any additional thermal enegy it absorbs goes to convert remaining liquid water to steam. That's why boiling water on your stove doesn't get any hotter even if you crank up the temperature, it just makes steam faster.

Is there any possible way where they can just take the fuel rods out and just rapidly transport it to Antarctica and bury it somewhere in the ice?

It would kill the crew involved and melt through the bottom of the plane.

An air drop of several hundred thousand cylinders of refrigerant would do the trick.

Refrigerants all have pretty low boiling points, which makes them good refrigerants, but would cause them to boil off very quickly and disperse more radiation into the air. It would probably delay a meltdown for a very short period.

Guided nitrogen missles

Originally posted by earthdude
An air drop of several hundred thousand cylinders of refrigerant would do the trick.

There is a helpful one. Because im sure there is refrigerant already stored somewhere and ready to be used. But I dont know how well it will react to radiation and the environment. It is another great idea!

Thanks earthdude

Originally posted by ljonesyuk
Im still amazed that in the year 2012 we dont have some kind or remote controlled helicopters that can be used in situations like this.

I think another member mentioned UAVs.

reply to post by OnceReturned


Thanks for supporting and commenting. Its appreciated

Originally posted by ljonesyuk
Im still amazed that in the year 2012 we dont have some kind or remote controlled helicopters that can be used in situations like this.

We do.

www.engadget.com...

www.tgdaily.com...

www.gizmag.com...

Originally posted by Homesick
Guided nitrogen missles

Do these exist????? And would they cause a miniture ice storm in the area that can be controlled? That would prevent human close contact and sounds like it would be effective.

Thanks for the out of box thinking Homesick!

Originally posted by Ophiuchus 13

Originally posted by ljonesyuk
Is Liquid Helium 3 or 4 explosive?

I dont know for sure but are you speaking as a freezing agent of some sort. Thanks for adding more data ljonesyuk!!

Yes , any brainy boffins out there know if this is even a possibility or would it go BANG?
Ive not heard it mentioned anywhere , not once , surely there must be a reason for this .

I just remember a science program last year that said it was stupidly cold.....like almost absolute zero cold.

I think Kaku was quoted the other day saying they need to encase and entomb the whole thing in concrete. Just pump it in and fill the whole structure with tons of concrete. Entomb it. This might work. I think they did a similar thing at Chernobyl.