Coolant flow stopped and they pushed the rods in rather than out, compounding the heat buildup. It was a pressure cooker explosion, followed by fissile material melting. It didn’t melt down on its own, it was guided.
Was not a nuclear explosion, sure, reactors can’t really explode in the same way as bombs, but it absolutely was a meltdown. Meltdown really just means that the fuel melted, which did happen shortly after the power peak flashed the coolant to steam and blew open the core.
Yep, just to add, it’s entirely possible to have a melt down without any explosion at all. As you said, It just means the fuel melted through the reactor vessel. It can even happen without the fuel going prompt-critical.
If I recall, Chernobyl wasn’t actually a nuclear meltdown or explosion. It was a pressure vessel explosion.
You are correct, it was a rapid increase in heat that blew the lid and spread radioactive material everywhere, but the was no nuclear detonation.
It was absolutely a meltdown
Coolant flow stopped and they pushed the rods in rather than out, compounding the heat buildup. It was a pressure cooker explosion, followed by fissile material melting. It didn’t melt down on its own, it was guided.
Was not a nuclear explosion, sure, reactors can’t really explode in the same way as bombs, but it absolutely was a meltdown. Meltdown really just means that the fuel melted, which did happen shortly after the power peak flashed the coolant to steam and blew open the core.
Yep, just to add, it’s entirely possible to have a melt down without any explosion at all. As you said, It just means the fuel melted through the reactor vessel. It can even happen without the fuel going prompt-critical.