Massive earthquake hits Japan

[Christantle]

Damn, that is too much.

it will be in the thousands and continue for a long time

I think a few more hundred. I mean for god sake, it shift Japan's coast 8 feet and affected Earth's axis by 4 inches.

[Sibirsky]

But, aren't the reactors in Japan safer then the reactors in Chernobyl were when the Russian reactors had a meltdown?

Much safer. Then again, Chernobyl wasn't hit by a tsunami.

The aftermath remains to be seen.

It was hit by a corrupt, authoritarian regime. That's far worse.

[Unilisia]

They'll be fine. I haven't heard of any aftershocks, and if you think about it, Japan has been through much worse and come out stronger.

Over 200 aftershocks.

I didn't hear about it until this thread, after I had posted that comment. So your post is moot, because the situation has changed.

[Christantle]

Much safer. Then again, Chernobyl wasn't hit by a tsunami.

The aftermath remains to be seen.

It was hit by a corrupt, authoritarian regime. That's far worse.

Soviet Russia.....*Balls up Fist*

[New Korongo]

I think a few more hundred. I mean for god sake, it shift Japan's coast 8 feet and affected Earth's axis by 4 inches.

christchurch so far has had 5469 since september
http://www.christchurchquakemap.co.nz/

EDIT: although they are no where near as big as the japanese aftershocks

[Keronians]

Much safer. Then again, Chernobyl wasn't hit by a tsunami.

The aftermath remains to be seen.

It was hit by a corrupt, authoritarian regime. That's far worse.

Ah, Russian rage...

[Sibirsky]

Wans't the largest one somewhere on the lines of 6.3?

Looking at the list of quakes on the map, there's a 7.1 not long after the main quake, and several 6.0+ ones.

Their aftershocks are so massive.

And the main quake was so long in duration.

[Fartsniffage]

It was hit by a corrupt, authoritarian regime. That's far worse.

A few million tons of salt water moving at high speed versus a government. We should have a cage fight, I call the odds about even.

[The Corparation]

Looking at the list of quakes on the map, there's a 7.1 not long after the main quake, and several 6.0+ ones.

Their aftershocks are so massive.

And the main quake was so long in duration.

This^ Five freaking minutes. That's insane. Even the really big ones don't usually last more then 30 seconds to a minute.

[Christantle]

Looking at the list of quakes on the map, there's a 7.1 not long after the main quake, and several 6.0+ ones.

Their aftershocks are so massive.

And the main quake was so long in duration.

How long was the main quake? I never caught it.

[Sibirsky]

Is there any doubt? The question is not "if". The questions are "when?" and "at what cost?"

There is a doubt. The Japanese economy has been shit for a good while now and this really isn't going to help.

We need to define recovery then. Recovery from the quake/tsunami as in, they will rebuild. No doubt about it.

And obviously, this will not help, economically. It will hurt. But there is no alternative.

[Christantle]

There is a doubt. The Japanese economy has been shit for a good while now and this really isn't going to help.

We need to define recovery then. Recovery from the quake/tsunami as in, they will rebuild. No doubt about it.

And obviously, this will not help, economically. It will hurt. But there is no alternative.

But the world will aid.

[Sibirsky]

There is a doubt. The Japanese economy has been shit for a good while now and this really isn't going to help.

They still have the third or fourth largest economy in the world though.

Supposed to be 3rd. Although I suspect it's still 2nd, because China is fudging it's numbers like crazy.

[The Corparation]

Their aftershocks are so massive.

And the main quake was so long in duration.

How long was the main quake? I never caught it.

Five minutes.

[Christantle]

How long was the main quake? I never caught it.

Five minutes.

Wow. I was thinking a few seconds.

[Fartsniffage]

We need to define recovery then. Recovery from the quake/tsunami as in, they will rebuild. No doubt about it.

And obviously, this will not help, economically. It will hurt. But there is no alternative.

But the world will aid.

The world is hurting economically as it is. The recovery will be hard for everyone.

As you pointed out earlier, Japan is the 3rd biggest economy in the world.

[Neu Leonstein]

A good explanation of what happened with that explosion, and where the risks are from here:

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/A/ ... TE=DEFAULT

[...]

It turned out that officials were aware that the steam contained hydrogen, acknowledged Shinji Kinjo, spokesman for the government Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency. More importantly, they also were aware they were risking an explosion by deciding to vent the steam.

The significance of the hydrogen began to come clear late Saturday:

-Officials decided to reduce rising pressure inside the reactor vessel, so they vented some of the steam buildup. They needed to do that to prevent the entire structure from exploding, and thus starting down the road to a meltdown.

-At the same time, in order to keep the reactor fuel cool, and also prevent a meltdown, operators needed to keep circulating more and more cool water on the fuel rods.

-Temperature in the reactor vessel apparently kept rising, heating the zirconium cladding that makes up the fuel rod casings. Once the zirconium reached 2,200 degrees Fahrenheit (1,200 Celsius), it reacted with the water, becoming zirconium oxide and hydrogen.

-When the hydrogen-filled steam was vented from the reactor vessel, the hydrogen reacted with oxygen, either in the air or water outside the vessel, and exploded.

A similar "hydrogen bubble" had concerned officials at the 1979 Three Mile Island nuclear disaster in Pennsylvania until it dissipated.

If the temperature inside the Fukushima reactor vessel continued to rise even more - to roughly 4,000 degrees Fahrenheit (2,200 Celsius) - then the uranium fuel pellets would start to melt.

According to experts interviewed by The Associated Press, any melted fuel would eat through the bottom of the reactor vessel. Next, it would eat through the floor of the already-damaged containment building. At that point, the uranium and dangerous byproducts would start escaping into the environment.

At some point in the process, the walls of the reactor vessel - 6 inches (15 centimeters) of stainless steel - would melt into a lava-like pile, slump into any remaining water on the floor, and potentially cause an explosion much bigger than the one caused by the hydrogen. Such an explosion would enhance the spread of radioactive contaminants.

If the reactor core became exposed to the external environment, officials would likely began pouring cement and sand over the entire facility, as was done at the 1986 Chernobyl nuclear accident in the Ukraine, Peter Bradford, a former commissioner of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, said in a briefing for reporters.

[...]

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/A/ ... TE=DEFAULT

[Sibirsky]

Don't worr, he/she got a 3 day ban for that.

Yeah, I'm slowly catching up.

[The Corparation]

A good explanation of what happened with that explosion, and where the risks are from here:

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/A/ ... TE=DEFAULT

snip

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/A/ ... TE=DEFAULT

Hydrogen and hot water. The two most dangerous things at a nuclear plant. This confirms what my dad told me. He however is somewhat clueless on most of this as he works only with pressurized water reactors.

[Sibirsky]

So they've pretty much lost one reactor and now it looks like they're set to lose another. Another meltdown

[Christantle]

But the world will aid.

The world is hurting economically as it is. The recovery will be hard for everyone.

As you pointed out earlier, Japan is the 3rd biggest economy in the world.

With the richest city in the world....Tokyo
Well the recession hurt us all.

[Sibirsky]

Over 200 aftershocks.

I didn't hear about it until this thread, after I had posted that comment. So your post is moot, because the situation has changed.

The government repealed the aftershocks?

[Sibirsky]

It was hit by a corrupt, authoritarian regime. That's far worse.

A few million tons of salt water moving at high speed versus a government. We should have a cage fight, I call the odds about even.

We should!

[Aurum and Argentum]

Any update on the nuclear situation in japan? Is the threat increasing...... on the minute news on this is slow.

[Sibirsky]

Their aftershocks are so massive.

And the main quake was so long in duration.

This^ Five freaking minutes. That's insane. Even the really big ones don't usually last more then 30 seconds to a minute.

Yep. My 1990 one that I remember lasted about 40 seconds.