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 (Việt) 1:

Ngày 3 tháng 1 năm 1961, 9 ngày sau khi Giáng sinh, Richard Legg, John Byrnes và Richard McKinley đã chết trong một sa mạc từ xa ở phía đông Idaho. Cái chết của họ xảy ra khi một lò phản ứng hạt nhân phát nổ tại một căn cứ tuyệt mật trong các quốc gia lò phản ứng thử nghiệm Station (NRTS). Nhà nước báo cáo chính thức vụ nổ và khủng hoảng tiếp theo lò phản ứng là kết quả rút que kiểm soát, không đúng cách. Khi được hỏi về những sự kiện xảy ra có, quan chức đã rất reticent. Các thương vụ toàn bộ, trong thực tế, đã không thảo luận nhiều, và dường như biến mất theo thời gian.Để nắm bắt thiên nhiên bí ẩn của thảm họa NRTS, nó giúp để biết một chút về cách hoạt động của lò phản ứng hạt nhân. Sau khi tất cả thế hệ năng lượng hạt nhân có thể tấn công nhiều như là một quá trình bí truyền. Tuy nhiên, được tương đối đơn giản, cách mà trong đó các chức năng lò phản ứng NRTS là rộng rãi comprehensible. Trong loại cụ thể của lò phản ứng, một cụm các thanh nhiên liệu chín-tấn urani được định vị chiều xung quanh một cây gậy điều khiển trung tâm. Phản ứng bắt đầu với việc loại bỏ thanh điều khiển, mà bắt đầu một phản ứng hạt nhân kiểm soát và bắt đầu để làm nóng nước trong lò phản ứng chậm. Nhiệt độ này tạo ra hơi nước áp suất bên trong chiếc xe tăng xây dựng. Khi áp lực xây dựng, hơi nước sẽ cho một nơi để trốn thoát. Hơi nước này là có thể thoát khỏi nơi duy nhất là thông qua các tuabin. Khi nó đi qua các tuabin trên đường ra khỏi bể, nó quay cánh quạt khổng lồ và tạo ra năng lượng.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