Chernobyl Episode 4 Scene | HBO | Cause Of The Nuclear Reactor's Explosion

[@EbonFang_92]

"Humiliate a country that is obsessed with not being humiliated" those words are very powerful

[@paulwartenberg8479]

and that hasn't changed. Look at how they humiliated themselves invading Ukraine with poor armor and untrained troops in Feb. 2022. Now they're scrambling to draft 300,000 to a million more men to overcompensate for that mistake instead of admit defeat and withdraw. The Russians suffer from a massive inferiority complex with the rest of Europe. It drives them to war and espionage in ways they shouldn't, leading to self-destruction.

[@Jukantos]

If only Vladimir Putin had seen this series. So many unnecessary atrocities could've been prevented. All that, just to annex natural gas found in the sea outside of crimea, to stop Ukraine from suddenly matching 50-60% of russia's gas production, stealing their european market and obviously humiliating them after decades of fighting over pipeline siphoning and fees.

[@siddhantdas1069]

Can you provide a timestamp?

[@EbonFang_92]

@@siddhantdas1069 @2:45

[@matthewriley7826]

Humiliation implies weakness, weakness the strong can exploit.

[@nickcanfield6038]

"It's notoriously unstable. Prone to swings in reactivity." Me as a teenager.

[@Kirillissimus]

But that is only under little to no load. When forced to do nominal amounts of work reactivity stabilizes.

[@dylandarnell3657]

@@Kirillissimus The metaphor is surprisingly apt.

[@ningen1980]

I was thinking just the same of my ex-wife.

[@HW.0029]

@@ningen1980exactly. Does nothing besides costing me money, and prone to swings in reactivity. Only a matter of time before she explodes and I end up in the infirmary. But as of now, not great not terrible.

[@DingleDarn]

The second he said "graphite", her soul sank because it all made sense why the reactor exploded.

[@thomashart5321]

When he said the word Graphite, it really hit hard

[@plotsky_]

Graphite moment

[@matthewriley7826]

And all because it was cheaper, should’ve spent the extra rubles.

[@OneJazzyBoi]

@@matthewriley7826 The show got it technically right in that "it was cheaper," but not in the simple way presented, like they could have just made the whole rod boron. They didn't really go into much detail on the RBMK control rods, but the graphite "tips" (really more like half the total rod's length) were a necessary design feature. If they were not there the reactor wouldn't function as designed. The purpose of the graphite was to, as Legasov briefly mentioned, displace water and steam in their channels; because otherwise, withdrawing the boron would replace it with a material (water) which would add neutron absorption, which throws off the reactivity/absorption balance. Essentially, it would have made the control rods less effective at doing their jobs. At the condition which Legasov is describing, when the control rods are fully withdrawn, those graphite sections (the "tips") are at the middle of the core, but a small length of water remains at the bottom of those channels. Pushing AZ-5, then, pushes the whole rod back down, which forces the graphite out of the core - displacing that small amount of water at the bottom and replacing it (a neutron absorber) with more graphite (the moderator), which causes the "positive SCRAM" specifically at the bottom of the core. At such low power as they were, the difference in power between the bottom and elsewhere in the core was extreme - thus the instability. They could have spent a few extra rubles...by completely redesigning the reactor such that this wouldn't be necessary.

[@samuellee9752]

​@@OneJazzyBoi good explanation! Thank you for clarifying!

[@GingerZombie29]

"A deal with the KGB. And I am naive." Truer words have never been spoken.

[@noobster4779]

Actually in a case like that i wouldnt agree. The KGB was still serving the national interest and had a very big interest in avoiding any second chernobyl because of the image damage the catastrophe did in the first place. The KGB would gladly have them fix the reactos and then have the evidence of there ever beeing a flaw "disappear". People always depict it as some kind of mass murderous genocide squad. There werent only idiots working in the KGB and like any security service it has the national interests (as long as they are not contradicting "higher" goals) in mind. Not embarassing the nation further would be very much in their interest. But there is a high chance Legaslow would have beeing killed of or shipped to a place were nobody remembers him anyway. This is the 80s soviet union and not the Stalin era. KGB was much more "civilized" in how they solved their problems.

[@Kontorotsui]

@@noobster4779 Agreed. The KGB would do that, in theory. But the point is, if they already know of the flaw, why put a secret on that instead of already fixin it? The most likely course of action is that after the testimony in Vienna, the blame is all on the operators, the security systems and proper procedure would cover (rightly) all but the really unlikely scenarios as the one that happened, and the KGB and Central Committe would do nothing.

[@jakeharpin5801]

@@Kontorotsui Well, it was also stated that no one thought it would actually cause an explosion. For something like to happen it would require staff to push the reactor to the limits. I would agree with Noobster in that they would do something to prevent the issue in the future. Perhaps they wouldn't do the right thing and fix them, maybe just a quick training video. Who knows lol.

[@Kontorotsui]

@@jakeharpin5801 Yeah, that is reasonable. They probably assumed that it is a small flaw and that it would never act as a detonator pushing the reaction up to be a prompt reaction and escalade the power to make the reactore explode.

[@matthewriley7826]

@@noobster4779 It’s possible. However it’s also possible that they could look at the resources and manpower needed to fix the problem and write it off as too much exposure. Too many questions might be asked and Western intelligence agencies might find a way to take advantage of that kind of weakness.

[@jjs1300000]

"You're saying Legasov should humiliate a country that's obsessed with not being humiliated with."

[@rogerwilco2]

Russia still is. And because of that, they hate this series.

[@mannyverse6158]

@@rogerwilco2 Pride and ego are a disease. They prevent growith

[@Chrinik]

@@rogerwilco2 Last I heard, Russia was planning to make their own series about Chernobyl, where a CIA agent sabotaged the plant

[@vanderdik7185]

​@@rogerwilco2 Actually we are not. There are some demonizing about some people (watch real Dyatlov interview for example, it's availiable in english), but mostly it's an extremely accurate show. And we do love it. And we do aware how moronic and arrognant soviet government sometimes was, thats one of the reasons why USSR collapsed during riots in Moscow in 1992. Stop fucking demonizing us, for God's sake, we ain't much different than any of you. And, actually, USA no less obsessed about own humiliation and hiding war crimes and economic/politic crimes, both now and then. That's not about country, that's about people, politics and powers.

[@t-rexkalita1379]

@@rogerwilco2 what about usa?? Nsa and cia is still after edward norton. I think all the superpowers are the same. Obsessed with not being humiliated.

[@Infammo]

Everyone talked about a core explosion like it was impossible, but back in episode 2 when Legasov was incredulously asked how an RBMK reactor could explode he didn't say "I don't know" he said "I'm not prepared to explain it at this time." He knew about the flaw and suspected this was the cause. He didn't send Ulana on a mission to find out what caused it he was hoping she'd confirm that his suspicious were unfounded. That's why when she brought the paper he didn't even bother to look at it.

[@feeblemonster8174]

Damn that's interesting

[@SapphireCrusader1988]

I can't imagine the anger people must have felt when they learned that the Kremlin was sitting on this vital piece of information for ten years because officials were afraid it would make the government look bad.

[@potatosnake3158]

Soviet's greatest strength is denial.

[@naughtyskywalker9292]

@@potatosnake3158 Not great, not terrible.

[@jonsonjavier7465]

They are always not informed about the truth since the government controls information. That's how communism works.

[@paulrasmussen8953]

​@@potatosnake3158and its greatest weakness

[@Canadianvoice]

Don't look into American history then. IE: Americans protecting Unit 731

[@tronrunner2498]

Legasov was a true hero. He spoke with his actions including his death. When a nation listens to the demagogues instead of listen it's teachers and scientists, bad things will follow.

[@u.v.s.5583]

Vladimir Volkov preceded Legasov by more than 10 years. He made a big mess at Kurchatov institute because of the graphite tip effect, he actually made a document forwarded to Chernobyl about the graphite tip effect in 1983, but it was 'for limited distribution only'. Volkov got quickly fired and dismissed. What Khomyuk is citing is Volkov's secret paper on the graphite tip effect and positive void coefficient. It was well known to Legasov long before the accident.

[@u.v.s.5583]

Legasov's tragedy was a tremendous deep fall from the heaven deep into depression and reality. The government and party didn't reward him for his honest attempts to follow instructions. When he turned against the party and the government, the old generation hated him for treason, and to the young generation he was an old stagnate. The majority of Kurchatov institute turned against Legasov (there was an actual voting in some weird election). The Academy of Sciences turned against Legasov. He had ruined his health. It all together was just too much.

[@u.v.s.5583]

Also Legasov lost a direct battle against his scientific nemesis Velekhov. Velekhov's models proved to outperform Legasov's theories, it was Velekhov who proposed the China Syndrome. It was Velekhov who made the big fuss about the water and groundwater and scared Gorbatchov. Legasov only found his mixture of lead, clay, dolomite and boron thrown 100 meters off the reactor core, the graphite burning completely and the pilots irradiated in vain. Velekhov made the race to the director's chair after Aleksandrov. Velekhov is still alive and leads Russian nuclear fusion program.

[@rexcorvorum4262]

I really wish this wasn’t happening in the present

[@F1fan4eva]

tron runner Meanwhile, last week in US, people like Dave ruebin are saying the notion that we should listen to scientists is funny (paraphrasing here). We are truly in dark times.

[@adamfitzgerald911]

"The baby lived for four hours. Not great but not horrifying."

[@josephstalin6549]

No the baby didn’t live because THERE WAS NO BABY

[@edwardcoomer5865]

@@josephstalin6549 THERE IS NO BABIES ON THE ROOF

[@lucasnascimento3901]

You're all delusional

[@spectre111]

I think Natasha was the most tragic death of the entire disaster. 😢

[@comradesoviet]

@@lucasnascimento3901 Well what are you waiting for then? Take them to the infirmary, already!

[@einsteinboricua]

Scherbina also touches on a point for anyone who thinks of themselves as a righteous person: say all you want; when you’re faced with the penalty of death and torture for yourself and your loved ones, it’s likely that your convictions will leave you. When you think about why ordinary Germans hired as SS guards or camp guards never spoke out, when you ask why is it that Soviet soldiers sometimes defected rather than make a change, when you wonder why is it that, to this day, there are countries where the people simply play along rather than speak out…THIS is why.

[@v0rteks644]

Fear is a powerful motivator. With time though, people grow sick of the ache in their bellies. The desire for justice. For truth. To create a world for their children, in which people can live free.

[@t.r.s.5129]

For some, it is true what you say. But even in the concentration camps there are countless testimonies of survivors who stuck to their convictions until the very end. Some testimonies honor those who died in the name of said convictions such as Janus Kortchak, and some show that it was the strength of their convictions which helped them survive and of those we have so many stories. I think it boils down to personality and the experiences a person lived which will determine how they react in extreme situations. It is very true, however, that unless you personally experience a harrowing experience, you never know how you'll react as much as you say "I'd do this" or "I'd never do this."

[@arzesen]

Here in Russia and other Russian speaking countries we have a word for tgat - "terpila". Means a person who keeps suffering and never does anything about it

[@fatman123526]

@@v0rteks644yes, but when it’s a state that has convinced the populace that (in this case) the KGB has spies everywhere and has no problems making someone disappear (innocent or not) just to prove a point, dealing with that ache at least means survival in some for. The citizens of the USSR knew no help was ever going to come.

[@v0rteks644]

@@fatman123526 That's exactly my point. Sooner or later, when you know that no one is coming to save you, you realize it's time to save yourselves.

[@AmericanBullet92]

This scene pretty much explains the beginning of the downfall of the Soviet Union. Chernobyl played a huge part in that.

[@rogerwilco2]

Yes, the cost of the clean up was a big contributor. In lives, in faith and in the economy.

[@jeramahia123]

The rest was due to the publication of the Gulag Archipelago - which details life in the Soviet labor prison camps and is now mandatory for high school students to read in Russia today.

[@badda_boom8017]

Yes. We saw the end credits too!

[@harmanjotsingh4230]

@@jeramahia123 yeah America should teach us more about slavery and native americans perhaps as well

[@themichael7400]

@@harmanjotsingh4230 American education system alredy does teach about it. Plus, there are literally tons of information available for free to those who wish to learn more about it. We don't need more government telling us what to learn and how to learn it.

[@ericscottstevens]

5 episodes of Chernobyl > 73 episodes of Game of Thrones.

[@MontyQueues]

Eric Stevens but not the first 40 anyone with a brain knows this

[@bored_potato]

Just season 8

[@Fatality599]

Agreed just season 8

[@ericscottstevens]

@@uleskiohio What? Game of Thrones is not real?

[@vibovitold]

@@bored_potato nah. 6, 7 and 8 were increasingly bad. not up to the standard set by the first ones. comparing Chernobyl to GoT (even the good parts) is apples and oranges though.

[@MrFarang10]

This entire scene is so powerful.

[@basilyang7777]

This is the analogy of an angel on one shoulder and the devil on the other shoulder. At 2:00 you can see the angel behind Ulana. At 2:39 Boris stood in front of a masked (silenced) mother.

[@guillaumelalonde7945]

Damn

[@kniter]

"A deal with the KGB? And I'm naive..?" Heh, love that

[@manuelsoto9134]

This scene on its own is a masterpiece. What a series!

[@simonroh4958]

"When your life is on the line for everyone you love, your moral conviction doesn't mean anything, it leaves you." "And all you want at that moment... is not to be shot." Sad thing about this is that... It's true.

[@einsteinboricua]

@@fpshobbs except at the end, it doesn’t matter, because such a powerful authority like the KGB would still go after that person’s loved ones. So not only did you potentially met your end, you jeopardized the lives of those close to you, in retaliation.

[@einsteinboricua]

This is why when people look at Nazi camp guards that, to this day, are still being found and charged, it’s all for show. You can look back and say “I would no have been a camp guard, subjecting innocent people to death”. But the problem is that to disobey an order or refuse it meant immediate termination, being labeled as a traitor, and if you weren’t put to death right there, you’d be sent to a camp with your family. It’s easy to look now and say “that’s wrong”, but back then, when it mean the difference between starving or having something to eat, the difference between life and death, people’s convictions mean nothing.

[@wackomagneto3009]

@@einsteinboricua So people that joined The Resistance in WW2 are what?! People who stood by their convictions, beliefs and were fighting for the right cause... Sure, it's always easy go down the path of least resistance but it takes massive balls to do the right thing. "To hell with your deal... To hell with our lives... Someone has to start telling the truth." ✊🤘

[@spazemfathemcazemmeleggymi272]

@@wackomagneto3009 the more you push an exception to a rule, the more you make the rule obvious. Just because a few people were crazy enough to do what most wouldn't be able to does not condemn all those who couldn't.

[@largecupenjoyer1459]

@@wackomagneto3009 then do it, fight for the right cause in the ukraine - russia war or any other issues in your nation. and do tell me your full name and nationality, and I'll wait for the news of your death.

[@spectre111]

"None of you knew what?" "That someone would literally shut off every single fail-safe device built into the reactor except that one..." The irony of Chernobyl is that even with the graphite rods the explosion still couldn't have happened if they hadn't kept pushing the reactor to keep it running.

[@gabrielcastillo9745]

That makes you notice how safe it was on paper. It was a horrible combination of bad circumstances, terrible management and a design flaw that led to the disaster. It pains to know how this could have been prevented in a million different ways.

[@spectre111]

@@gabrielcastillo9745 Chernobyl was one of those moments in history where everything comes together in just the *wrong* way. There was about a hundred ways it could have been prevented and every single one of them failed.

[@ashleighelizabeth5916]

@@spectre111 yes but that argument has been made about Titanic as well. The truth is that eventually one of those reactors was going to go up because of the design flaw and the flaw in management style. There is a reason why Western Reactors don't use graphite in this manner.

[@spectre111]

@@ashleighelizabeth5916 Flawed design, bad management and a general lack of training all contributed in different ways and if just a few of them had been addressed the results would have been quite different. The main reason the Three Mile Island incident was nothing like Chernobyl is that not all the wrong elements were in place.

[@ashleighelizabeth5916]

@@spectre111 funny you should mention Three Mile Island because I was just reading about it this morning. And you are correct that the design was less "flawed", management was not as "bad" and training was not "lacking" as much. But Three Mile Island was a lot closer to disaster than I believe most people realize. That it was not as bad at Three Mile Island in no way should diminish the risk associated with running these plants no matter who is in charge. They are highly complex systems that require a great deal of training, design expertise and care in construction. A failure anywhere in the chain needed to make them run safely can lead to a cascading series of events that end... poorly for everybody. And the chain can never be made completely perfect. Nor can all contingency be accounted for. Reading about the history of nuclear power and accidents in the industry is a an extremely sobering process to say the least.

[@irkhanbasc]

“We live in a country where children have to die to protect their mothers.” That line really stung. No wonder the Soviet Union collapsed.

[@kaydim5921]

Too bad that particular instance was made up by the writers. They didn't need to do that. There were plenty of other ways to make their point.

[@DvornyashkaDiaries]

It was pretty fucking cringe to be fair. Series is great, but it has some really stupid moments. With the fact that it is pretty far off from reality. US is a genius at creating great propaganda. US propaganda is so creatively perfect it really hard to see past that. I applaud. It's genius.

[@jasonm949]

Lol...The US has sent generations of men to die in far off lands for mom and apple pie. Grow up.

[@J_cup]

we found the russian bots

[@upland77]

All countries and civilizations eventually collapse. Read a history book.

[@darthveatay]

The central committee knew that the reactor was the most dangerous in the Soviet Union. There were at least three accidents before reactor 4 exploded, one of those accidents included a partial meltdown in reactor 1 and they did nothing.

[@terrypennington2519]

1:51 This honestly has some damn meme potential that has yet to be exploited.

[@clover4135]

How

[@IntoxicatedPuma]

@@clover4135 he could tell you, but the KGB classified it as a state secret.

[@Arthelos117]

@@IntoxicatedPuma perfect

[@ReaverLordTonus]

The thing is though, if there is one thing in this world that I've learned, it's that nothing is idiot proof, someone can and will find a way to screw it up. They couldn't expect AZ5 to be 100% capable of acting under anything other than normal or naturally occurring circumstances. The operators deliberately performed actions that would cause disaster, bypassing every fail-safe measure, rendering AZ5 not only ineffective but now in the only conditions that would lead to a cataclysm. The real flaw with the Soviet RBMK reactor was not that AZ5 could (with the right cinditions) blow up the reactor, but rather that it was the only fail-safe measure it came with. No other redundancies or safety features were available to the operators. They should never have been able to withdraw that many control rods, the system should not be designed to allow it in order to prevent exactly what happened.

[@nevinjohn]

I know khomyuk was a made up character but we need people in real life to be khomyuks. Respect to legasov!

[@lokisg3]

well partial true but you must know she represent as 100 of real scientist, is hard to add all the real people. So, they combine one and she is them.

[@kursk_kuku141]

Truth hurts, but we opened our eyes and learn from it. Yes, we need people like khomyuks and Legasov who needs to speak the truth.

[@Jamarkus_Delvonte]

She was added for the feminist movement. Why didn't they add any black characters?

[@panji375]

@@Jamarkus_Delvonte as if there was any black russian in 1986

[@u.v.s.5583]

@@Jamarkus_Delvonte They did. The coal miners were pretty black.

[@magentuspriest]

You're saying Legasov should humiliate a country that's obsessed with not being humiliated with."

[@rayray6490]

That sounds a lot like a nation in more recent years **cough**People’s Republic of China**cough**

[@noobster4779]

@@rayray6490 *cought* "Self titled Greatest Nation on Earth" *cought*

[@blackpowderuser373]

@@rayray6490 Ah who the fck cares *coughs**People's Republic of China**coughs*

[@stephenjenkins7971]

​@noobster4779 For all of the issues of the US, it really has no issue with so called humiliation lol. It endures them quite well, unlike Russia or China which sends diplomats screeching about a past slight every second.

[@paulrasmussen8953]

​@@stephenjenkins7971the fact china banned a game called Command and Conquer Generals because it depits china being desperate enough to blow the three gorges dam to stop a terrorist assult says ot all

[@dawood456789]

The director should be given an oscar for every episode of this series.

[@Afalstein]

A simple glitch report. In America, France, England, any place, they would note it down and add it to the long manual of "be careful when x happens not to do y." This is a "state secret" that I can't imagine westerners being remotely interested in. But for the USSR it was a government project, so the government wanted it to look perfect, and they couldn't tolerate even a report about a glitch that would heighten reactivity if not accounted for. Scherbina is absolutely right when he notes that the USSR was obsessed with not being humiliated. With the politicians at the top making all the decisions, their one and only priority was to look powerful and important. Even the most insignificant things could not be tolerated.

[@sonicmastersword8080]

The West would have redesigned it. Yes, we sometimes just write things down as foot notes, but for serious issues we would redesign it.

[@benquinney2]

Moral dilemma

[@MrChappy39]

One is left with the conclusion that the Soviet Union/Russia is in fact like the immature teenager with a driver's license, the keys to the family car, bent on impressing his girlfriend - ending up driving off a cliff.

[@bodieofci5418]

Some say Jeremy Clarkson is still stuck in Chernobyl...

[@newrad2007]

Honestly, it was seeing that episode that started my entire fascination with Cherbobyl in the first place. It's been a rabbit hole every since.

[@hankczinaski915]

The casting, the acting, the script. Perfect.

[@SuperBuildsInMC]

I love Shcherbina's reaction to it all "Ah, the KGB classified it as a state secret.." He's more than used to that apparently.

[@geodageo]

Ulana Khomyuk is a composite of real scientists and was created to represent the Soviet scientific community that investigated the cause of the incident at the time. This is how you create and write a powerful female character

[@FerreusVir]

This entire show was probably the scariest thing I've ever watched.

[@andrewh5136]

"Because when it's your life and the lives of everyone you love." Even Boris, a high ranking Soviet official, was afraid of what the Soviet government was capable of.

[@siddhantdas1069]

The operators may have stalled the reactor but they were not aware that the test was gonna happen ….they were merely following orders …and the az5 flaw was clearly hidden from them …

[@brodude7194]

during normal reactor operation the graphite tips, the flaw you mention, wouldn't have had the same effect since not as many and a different geometry of rods would have inserted simultaneously. Or in other words: They stupidly reconfigured the whole reactor to have the flaw cause the maximum imaginable impact.

[@oldgreg315]

Funny, I _also_ live in a country where children have to die to protect their parents, not from actual harm but from inconvenience and responsibility.

[@blakevirtonis8567]

1:29 Legasov: The control rods have graphite tips Khomyuk: *Khomyuk left the chat*

[@arjunv7767]

When 2 science students are talking me standing there like boris and understanding nothing scientifically but trying to understand practically 👁👄👁

[@RancidLimes89]

This scene reminds me of an RPG cinematic, like Valerie will have a dialogue box pop up making him choose the story path lol

[@marksurgeon3088]

The script writers of chernobyl deserve the highest rewards. Its simply brilliant

[@lock577]

5 episodes of Chernobyl > 3 years chemistry class

[@Nerwik]

I'd propably go with Shcherbina suggestion that we fix everything in quiet. KGB might be shady but its also in their best interest to prevent such distaters from happening in the future. It's not as unreasonable as Khomyuk says. Does she think KGB want to watch the whole continent engulfed in nuclear fire? shes almost suggesting it. I dont understand this persistence of Khomyuk in urging Legasov to throw away his life while she will be in her backseat observing in awe as her moral mission comes to fruition.

[@Afalstein]

That's the point, though. The KGB was already confronted with this decision when the study was first released. There was a danger--a slight fluke--and they absolutely buried it, even ripped out the pages. The KGB didn't want even the slightest hint that there was something wrong. In a fascistic dictatorship like this, the immediate concern is always always always what can YOU individually be blamed for, what is going to please YOUR immediate superiors. The KGB would never be blamed for reactors exploding, but they WOULD be blamed for secrets getting out. The continent being engulfed in nuclear fire isn't their problem, that's the fault of the operators. Their boss won't get mad at THEM if another Chernobyl happens, but he will if it gets out that there's a serious problem with the reactors themselves.

[@zaer-ezart]

Yeah but then what? You fix the reactors with the KGB's help and then you're just a loose end. Someone who knows too much and it would also be in their best interest to make you disappear. And then all of those people would've died for nothing. It's an interesting dilemma because there's no easy answer. No right or wrong choice

[@Puti880415]

Exactly. You point out the mistake to KGB, they authorise the fix, yet you will be marked as man who knows too much, therefore you will be expelled from society. Legasov did the unthinkable and made sure that he aint gonna be targetted by KGB. Thats why he did those tapes before taking his life.

[@alamjim6117]

The baby lived for four hours. Dyatlov : not great not terrible

[@wolfgang017]

I saw babies on the ground in the rubble

[@devinthierault]

​@@wolfgang017reminds me of that tragedy

[@Obi-Wanthepyromaniac]

@@wolfgang017NO YOU DIDN’T, BECAUSE ITS NOT POSSIBLE

[@plisskenetic]

I really found her character out of place in this grim story, so overly confident and heroic, almost too pure and perfect, always knows exactly what to do, not a shade of flaw throughout this otherwise realistic show. Kinda makes sense that she’s a fictional character.

[@TheRealGunWhisperer]

Demitriz she is fictional

[@dodge_r_r7894]

The point of her was to represent all of the other scientist that were involved in the clean up. They make that very clear in the credits of episode 5.

[@janetsminten8196]

Yea, they added her to make a strong, confident woman character who does what is right. Its bullshit of course.

[@TacNuke951]

@@janetsminten8196 do you just pointlessly add that to every comment in order to try and make people mad?

[@forestdenizen6497]

That's called a "Mary Sue" character. It's a feminism thing.

[@Browningate]

So this is why we don't have Aized-Five buttons anymore.

[@Tmb1112]

“A deal with the KGB. And I am naive?” If only Prigozhin watched this before stopping his march on Moscow. 😂

[@vibovitold]

He had no choice at that point, it was already a desperate move (or flex). He knew he already had a death sentence no matter what, he just miscalculated how long they would have considered him useful. It is also possible that Prigozhin got played e.g.. by China, which loves seeing Russia succumb into greater dependency on itself, and perhaps promised him some sort of extraction, never intending to uphold their part of the deal

[@Tmb1112]

​@@vibovitold Nah I'm not saying he shouldn't have done the march, I'm saying he shouldn't have "stopped" the march. The second he started the march, he signed his own death warrant. The only chance he actually had was to keep going and hope that his arrival sparked some kind of popular uprising in Moscow. The reactions in Rostov were promising. He half-assed it, and he got killed for that cowardice. The FSB probably offered him some great deal, letting him live and be rich and stop fighting, along with all his top commanders... and then they all got blown up in that plane a few months later. Prigozhin flexed his muscle and got the deal from the FBS that he was after, but the fool should've kept marching on Moscow. He was eiher dying fighting Putin or dying by assassination, or winning (however small the chance was), so why not go die in Moscow at least and make a point? Coward died a coward's death though. Just hope it wasn't quick.

[@vibovitold]

​@@Tmb1112 his troops didn't have a snowball's chance in hell to capture Moscow. that option would be a much more certain death than the alternative. and this has nothing to do with cowardice - all of it is a gamble, like always in history

[@RalphieMaysGhost]

Valery looks like a cross between Bubbles from Trailer Park Boys and Milton from Office Space.

[@redwolfgamevideo]

I understand it was all dramatized and that technically her character didn't exist, but Boris is right, it is easy for her to say all these self-righteous things when it isn't her who is actually going to testify before the world that her country and government are negligent. In the USA Edward Snowden blew the whistle on American spy technology and he ran like a coward, from what though? He would likely have been sent to prison for like 20 years, treated very well, and then been released and made millions on book deals and movies. In the Soviet Union it was normal for people like this to be sent to the Gulag or just shot, only reason Legasov wasn't is that it would have been obvious why and would have made the humiliation even worse.

[@letsgetlit2829]

She never even existed which makes the scene even more cringe. Her talking down to everyone the whole show almost ruins the series. And that’s saying something because the rest of the show is unbelievable.

[@TheSerpent21]

His wife was stupid enough to sneak into a highly quarantined area in the hospital...what did she think was gonna happen? And it had to be her unborn child that paid for her foolishness.

[@kh6437]

She was exposed to radiation just from living too close to the reactor. The harm was done before she violated quarantine.

[@ratclone]

This miniseries was a masterpiece

[@CalliChaotic]

They knew about the flaw and yet they didn't fix until the disaster happens

[@kh6437]

AKA normal business practice for Ford, Boeing, Tesla, GM...Every major corporation has accountants and actuaries. They calculate the cost of recalls/fixes and the cost of paying off the families of dead consumers, and if the former is greater than the latter, guess what they decide?

[@darvinist87]

Deal with the KGB... And I'm naive... - That burns more than roof top graphite!

[@StarryNightGazing]

Powerful scene but in fairness specialist doctors (exp. Hematologists) that worked with the victims of the accidents explicitly said that contact with the victims was not dangerous (they were not radioactive per se) and later evidence showed that the accident fortunately had no measurable effect on pregnant women. The poor Ludmylla had her baby die for natural causes.

[@katherineberger6329]

She had a number of strokes between the death of her first child and the birth of the second, that were probably partially attributable (as well as the death of her firstborn) to a milder form of accute radiation syndrome acquired during the days after the explosion.

[@patjustpat9892]

One guy had ingested so much radioactive material that he became "a dangerous source of radiation himself", according to the book "Midnight in Chernobyl", though.

[@ilertargenthorne4639]

Soviet experts?

[@Hilaire_Balrog]

This one scene with three legends.

[@simplic1000]

"The Russians used a pencil"

[@drhouse211]

So thats where john wick got his skills from.

[@ClementIV]

Civ VI

[@Summersong2262]

Commonly repeated, not actually true. In fact, the Russians bought pens from the same company for the same purpose. Pencils need to be sharpened. Pencils drop graphite if the tip breas. And in zero gravity, that means you have small little floating things inside the command module that can get anywhere. A tiny piece of graphite getting into a switch, for instance. Dangerous. And it was identified as such. Details. NASA was full of scientists and engineers that cared about details.

[@UltimaKeyMaster]

"A fucking. pencil."

[@DrThunder88]

I see this and think back to their first day together: "I'm going to get you 5000 tons of sand and boron!"

[@goranpavlovic4289]

Can someone tell me the full name of scientist Volkov that found this nuclear reaction in 1975? And possibly the name of the article?

[@Krish-jm6ve]

It’s classified, unless I I take a bullet.

[@ArshmanR]

Yes, it's *[R E D A C T E D]*

[@sapphirelight748]

Does anyone know if they hadn't tried to shut it down, if it still would've blown up? The core was already unstable and compromised, but the graphite accelerated reactivity; I'm honestly curious if there was anything else that could have been brought to the core to cool it down. They said that water would've become superheated steam, and I'm thinking that also would've accelerated a reaction, and boron and sand made the elephants foot, and that was also equally bad. Besides not having run the test so abysmally, once it got to that point, theoretically is there anything that could have been done to cool it down?

[@Infinite-void908]

No because the power was too high and accelerating very quickly to the point where nothing could be done to stop it

[@FutureRailProductions]

Had they lowered the control rods in maybe one at a time maybe? Instead of hitting the emergency button and doing all of them at once? I'm honestly not sure.

[@robincray116]

The reactor has a positive void coefficient. The more the reactor boiled off water, the less water is there to cool it down, the hotter it was going get. Other reactors uses water as both coolant and as an reaction increasing moderator, so it doesn't have this issue. RMBK used graphite as a moderator, which is more efficient but creates risks...

[@ashleighelizabeth5916]

From what I gather, once all those rods were pulled, the reactor was doomed. I think I read somewhere that it was already considered part of OP safety protocol that a minimum of 17 rods had to be left in the core to maintain it's stability. They were down to 12. That's part of what the argument in the control room that was shown was about. When the one guy refused to increase power to the reactor and was told to do it or else, and then wanted the order officially logged. The guy knew they were violating safe operating procedure by trying to increase power because the only way to do so at that point was to pull control rods from the core.

[@CarvaxIV]

Late to the party. They would need to first reactivate the water pumps to start cycling the steam out and cold water in. That will arrest the heat buildup, and get that high pressurized steam out of the core. Then its a careful, careful dance of slowly lowering one rod at a time. You'll see small spikes with each rod, but after the spike, the boron will take hold and further arrest the reaction. It may not be quick enough, but a meltdown would be better than the thermal explosion spewing the guts of the core into the atmosphere.

[@CMDR_Belisario]

What a masterpiece.

[@soldierloz]

(If you want answers to all this ... this is how you get it.) “Tell me how a nuclear reactor works ... or I’ll have one of these soldiers throw you out the helicopter! “ 😆😆

[@Kromsmitesyou]

Baby absorbed the radiation instead, that's ludicrous.

[@Besieged27]

I do wonder how most would react to this revelation. On one hand you know that there is a fatal flaw in AZ5, on the other hand the flaw only resulted in a disaster because the controllers violated the rules and safety procedures. Standing up to a flawed system is one of the series' themes but which choice would most people make?

[@libertyvilleguy2903]

Such an excellent series. So well written and well acted.

[@shalashaska9946]

They really didn't need to put in the fake part about the baby absorbing radiation. The truth is already horrific enough.

[@kefkapalazzo1]

3:18 very powerful shot and words

[@alanh1406]

Such great acting in this series.

[@shooter7a]

The "graphite tip" story was something HBO writers created so the audience could understand it. In reality, the reason that reactivity went up under SCRAM is more subtle and complex, and would be hard to communicate in the storyline.

[@Justanotherconsumer]

It’s not technically wrong, just “tip” is probably a weird description for something that long.

[@blaydeesy2005]

He is absolutely right, it’s easy to be brave when someone else is taking all the risk and will be the person who receives all the blowback. She’s literally Facebook experts before there was Facebook.

[@markusmuller6173]

Truth costs - lies collapse ... always !

[@abhcoat]

Interesting how the truth wasn't something usually welcomed in the Soviet Union. Sounds kind of familiar.

[@kh6437]

In any country, truth is welcomed by only a very tiny minority. Most people believe what they want to believe and will fight tooth and nail to hold their beliefs despite all evidence. Because accepting truth over what they believe means they would have to admit they're wrong, and most people would rather see everything go to hell than admit they made a mistake. That's why you still have people literally singing praises of Donald Trump during church services.

[@cust0mbuilder557]

Too bad this lady was not real and was added by HBO to give a storyline.

[@Afalstein]

If it helps, you can view her as an imagined form of Legasov's conscience. She individually did not exist--though there were female nuclear physicists in the Soviet Union--but the question she poses is the one that Legasov had to wrestle with. This argument is basically a picture of the internal argument going on in Legasov's mind. Or from another POV, she gives a face to what all the other scientists "in the know" at the time were thinking, the scientists who didn't have to face the KGB. We as the audience identify with her; we have the same belief she does, that if WE were in the hot seat, we'd act differently. She serves an important narrative purpose, without her it'd be an internal monologue with Legasov, or a montage of nameless scientists we didn't care about.

[@letsgetlit2829]

@@Afalsteinno, she’s a complete woke hack that they added to the script for diversity reasons. She talks down to everyone the whole movie. She’s insufferable.

[@JJ-zy3zv]

Masterpiece of a scene and show

[@letsgetlit2829]

She is genius. It’s amazing she never existed.

[@incarnateTheGreat]

"We live in a country where children have to die to save their mothers."

[@jamesedmerdelacruz2395]

One of the clear reason why the US had a better design of their Nuclear Reactors

[@paulrasmussen8953]

Hell the reactors at Fukushima were of american design and ten years older then reactor 4 and tanked both an earthquake and a tsunami. The only reason that incident happened was japans need to build to the letter. They placed the backup generators in the wrong spot because that is where the plans said to put them. They didn't take terrain amd location into effect.

[@sonicmastersword8080]

@@paulrasmussen8953They forgot to read the part that said "can be modified if necessary".

[@EmilioReyes_97]

"Make a deal with the KGB, don't speak a word about this in Vienna and they'll let us finish our work quality" As opposed to what?! NOT letting you two save the whole continent of Eurasia just because you started facts?

[@JoshSweetvale]

As opposed to every scientist and administrator getting their spouse made into dog food, their daughters raped and sons castrated. And Legasov's extended family.

[@ahmadsantoso9712]

Fun Fact: When Chernobyl nuclear reactor no. 4 exploded, it never threw jellies around the plant.

[@Kareszkoma]

I did not like how naive and propagandic she was. This whole fairy tail "truth" and whatever is just immersion breaking. It does not fit at all. I feel like you can find these lines a lot in media. Vague inspirational texts. It's very shallow.

[@tideatmilehigh2727]

Agree. Her character in this scene is meant to be the speaker of moral justice, but she comes off as naive, which for someone of her intelligence is a little bit unbelievable.

[@JasonX2]

Her character is the only flaw in the show

[@dr.techgamer9092]

I know this has nothing to do with your comment but in it you used the words Fairy tail when its actually Fairytale. Let me guess, you watched the anime and now either you or your phone's autocorrect are used to writing it like that and that's okay because it happens to me too sometimes, that's how I noticed.

[@Kareszkoma]

I watched the anime. Deep down I hope that someone would notice it. I really did. Nobody ever noticed it until now. You made me a very happy man. I felt like the guy who always makes jokes, but nobody gets it. Now, after.. after so many years. Someone did. I found an equal. Thank you.

[@dr.techgamer9092]

@@Kareszkoma Nah, don't mention it. I wasn't gonna make a big deal out of it but I guess the nerd in me couldn't resist.

[@chrisS19019]

Is that Bootstrap Bill?!

[@HoodlumMedia]

Yes, yes it is

[@ryanhogge8]

This is the moment when graphite became heisemov

[@TheSerpent21]

And that is why I never would go into politics other than my complete lack of interest in it. I would not be party to the corruption and lies that infect the government. I would do the right thing and tell the truth....even if it cost me my life because it is the right thing to do and because the people deserve to know the truth especially if it affects them directly. Way I was when was serving in the military, integrity first part of Air Force Core Values doing what is right even when others don't or are unable to.

[@zaer-ezart]

You wouldn't trust me. You would fall in line and do what's best for you and your family

[@panji375]

3.6 roentgen , its not great but its not terrible me: 1:51

[@TheGroundedAviator]

Stuck between a rock and a hard place.

[@justincase7848]

I dont know if her character is real or fictional but that was one brave woman.

[@vibovitold]

Fictional

[@OrbitalAstronaut]

“None of us knew…” “None of you knew what?”

[@colinhubble6667]

"a deal with the kgb, and I'm naive". Makes you wonder why on earth anyone worked with Putin

[@kh6437]

Jungle politics - they knew he would kill them if they didn't.

[@aramirez8427]

Wow......great Acting

[@mallinen0777]

I had no idea Bubbles was in Chernobyl lol

[@whatever2837]

Nothing has changed still the same lies after lies after lies

[@ZakimboBlue]

Your moral conviction means nothing. It leaves you. And all you want in that moment is not to be shot. Talk about a reality check. Like:damn.

[@davidpar2]

George VI’s second gig

[@smoluwu8676]

Your family, children, spouse, loved ones. Or the truth? Damn thats some powerful stuff. Its no longer just your own life, but also of those around you. Could your bravery let you kill off those around you that had nothing to do with it, for the sake of exposing the truth?

[@simunator]

that's the one beauty of anarchism, that there's no such thing as absolute loyalty. not bounded to the state, and certainly no family to cling to that can be used against you.

[@MM-iy7gz]

Funny that a country obsessed with not being humiliated always does the most humiliating to themselves.

[@letsgetlit2829]

She never even existed which makes the scene even more cringe. Her talking down to everyone the whole show almost ruins the series. And that’s saying something because the rest of the show is unbelievable.

[@Dragonfury3000]

A women cientist going to a radioactive area by her own will all by herself is ridiculous. I liked her character it made the series better in my opinion but the baby thing was cringe won't deny that.

[@HoodlumMedia]

I think the point is she's providing a vehicle to have that conversation, to show the conflicting morals at play here, just as would have been going on in their heads

[@KimTrails999]

Someone has to start telling the truth

[@aaaaaaaaaaaa808]

Women in Hollywood film these days are always strong, and to be honest, an a-hole. Back 15 years ago, there were plenty strong female characters but much more compeling.

[@kennethjakobsen7295]

Damn this is powerfull stuf.

[@prabhavvenkatesh9247]

the last story about ignatenko scared the hell out og me

[@psychoaztecs]

so if they did have stalled the reactor what they should've done? just leave the reactor still for hours till it "cools down"?

[@caspertheghost5289]

No. They would have had to very slowly raise the power back on in the course of about 24 hours to burn the xenon away and bring power back to normal

[@godbornplus]

The pregnancy scene was pretty dumb. Specially when thats not at all how Radiation works.

[@2Pains1Love]

That's literally what happened irl so

[@godbornplus]

@@2Pains1Love They explained it like that was why. When it was just pure chance.