Nov 24, 2024
Sorry to be the “um, actually” guy but the nuclear meltdown scene doesn’t make sense, for two reasons.
First of all, nuclear meltdowns are not explosions. A nuclear meltdown occurs when a chain reaction is allowed to go out of control, causing the fuel of the reactor to fission extremely quickly. This causes the heat of the system to rise past what the cooling system can handle, causing the fuel rods to melt and containment systems to fail. This allows radioactive elements and other toxic materials to breach containment and pose a hazard to the surrounding environment.
Second, “thorium reactors” (which is technically incorrect because they’re actually molten salt reactors, but that’s just me being picky) cannot meltdown. There are failsafes that abort the reaction if temperatures are exceeded. Thorium is a fertile element, not a fissile one, meaning it needs a small amount of plutonium or uranium to react. Simply by separating the thorium and uranium/plutonium, the reaction stops dead.
