On January 3, 1961, nine days after

On January 3, 1961, nine days after Christmas, Richard Legg, John Byrnes, and Richard McKinley were killed in a remote desert in eastern Idaho. Their deaths occurred when a nuclear reactor exploded at a top-secret base in the National Reactor Testing Station (NRTS). Official reports state that the explosion and subsequent reactor meltdown resulted from the improper retraction of the control rod. When questioned about the events that occurred there, officials were very reticent. The whole affair, in fact, was not discussed much, and seemed to disappear with time.


In order to grasp the mysterious nature of the NRTS catastrophe, it helps to know a bit about how nuclear reactors work. After all, the generation of nuclear energy may strike many as an esoteric process. However, given its relative simplicity, the way in which the NRTS reactor functions is widely comprehensible. In this particular kind of reactor, a cluster of nine-ton uranium fuel rods are positioned lengthwise around a central control rod. The reaction begins with the slow removal of the control rod, which starts a controlled nuclear reaction and begins to heat the water in the reactor. This heat generates steam, which builds pressure inside the tank. As pressure builds, the steam looks for a place to escape. The only place this steam is able to escape is through the turbine. As it passes through the turbine on its way out of the tank, it turns the giant fan blades and produces energy.


On the morning of January 3, after the machine had been shut down for the holidays, the three men arrived at the station to restart the reactor. The control rod needed to be pulled out only four inches to be reconnected to the automated driver. However, records indicate that Byrnes yanked it out 23 inches, over five times the distance necessary. In milliseconds the reactor exploded. Legg was impaled on the ceiling; he would be discovered last. It took one week and a lead-shielded crane to remove his body. Even in full protective gear, workers were only able to work a minute at a time. The three men are buried in lead-lined coffins under concrete in New York, Michigan, and Arlington Cemetery, Virginia.


The investigation took nearly two years to complete. Did Byrnes have a dark motive? Or was it simply an accident? Did he know how precarious the procedure was? Other operators were questioned as to whether they knew the consequences of pulling the control rod out so far. They responded, “Of course! We often talked about what we would do if we were at a radar station and the Russians came. We’d yank it out.”


Official reports are oddly ambiguous, but what they do not explain, gossip does. Rumors had it that there was tension between the men because Byrnes suspected the other two of being involved with his young wife. There is little doubt that he, like the other operators, knew exactly what would happen when he yanked the control rod

Kết quả (Java) 1:

Ing 3 Januari 1961, sangang dina sawisé Natal, Richard Legg, John Byrnes, lan Richard McKinley padha matèni ing ara-ara samun remot ing Idaho wétan. An dumadi nalika reaktor nuklir mbledhos ing basa ndhuwur rahasia ing Station Testing reaktor Nasional (NRTS). Laporan resmi negara sing bledosan lan meltdown reaktor sakteruse ngasilaken saka retraction samesthine saka rod kontrol. Nalika ditakokake bab acara sing dumadi ana, pejabat padha banget reticent. Kabèh hubungan, ing kasunyatan, iki ora rembugan akeh, lan ketoke ilang karo wektu. Supaya kanggo nangkep alam aneh saka memala NRTS, iku mbantu ngerti dicokot babagan carane reaktor nuklir bisa. Sawise kabeh, generasi energi nuklir bisa kedadéyan akeh minangka proses esoterik. Nanging, diwenehi gamblang relatif, cara kang fungsi reaktor NRTS digunakake comprehensible. Ing jenis tartamtu saka reaktor, klompok saka sangang-ton kesatuan bahan bakar uranium dipanggonke lengthwise watara rod kontrol sentral. Reaksi wiwit nganggo aman alon saka rod kontrol, kang diwiwiti reaksi nuklir kontrol lan wiwit panas banyu ing reaktor. Iki panas njedulake uap, kang di bangun meksa nang tank. Minangka meksa di bangun, uap katon kanggo papan kanggo uwal. Panggonan mung uap iki bisa uwal liwat turbin. Kang liwat liwat turbin ing sawijining cara metu saka tank, iku dadi glathi penggemar buta lan mrodhuksi energi. Ing esuk Januari 3, sawise mesin wis mati kanggo preian, wong telu teka ing stasiun kanggo miwiti reaktor. Kontrol rod perlu kanggo bakal ditarik metu mung papat inci bakal reconnected kanggo driver otomatis. Ananging cathetan nunjukaké sing Byrnes yanked metu 23 inci, liwat limang kaping kadohan perlu. Ing milliseconds reaktor mbledhos. Legg iki impaled ing langit-langit; piyambakipun badhe katutup pungkasan. Sampeyan njupuk siji minggu lan timbal-shielded crane kanggo mbusak awak. Malah ing pindah protèktif lengkap, buruh padha mung bisa menit ing wektu. Wong telu sing disarèkaké ing Coffins timbal-diantrekake ing beton ing New York, Michigan, lan Langkawi Cemetery, Virginia. diselidiki njupuk saklawasé rong taun kanggo ngrampungake. Apa Byrnes duwe alasan peteng? Utawa ana iku mung Laka? Wong kang ngerti carane precarious prosedur iki? Operator liyane padha ditakokake minangka kanggo apa padha sumurup jalaran saka narik ing rod kontrol metu supaya adoh. Padha nanggapi, "Temtu! Kita asring ngedika bab apa kang bakal kita apa yen kita padha ing stasiun radar lan Rusia teka. Kita ngene Nenekku Pahlawanku metu. " laporan Official sing oddly ambigu, nanging apa padha ora nerangake, gossip ora. Gosip wis sing ana kategangan wong amarga Byrnes seng di tuduh loro liyane kang melu karo bojoné enom kang. Ana sethitik mangu bilih piyambakipun, kaya operator liyane, sumurup persis apa kang bakal kelakon nalika piyambakipun yanked ing rod kontrol