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OKIsItJustMe

(20,739 posts)
3. The tsunami scenario is not a problem, except for a loss of power to the grid
Thu Oct 24, 2024, 04:34 PM
Oct 24

A Fukushima-style fission reactor works by having a bunch of radioactive material, which reacts, splitting heavy atoms (like uranium or plutonium) into lighter atoms, hopefully in a controlled fashion, using “control rods” and a lot of water, to keep it from “running away” or “melting down” when the fuel literally melts down.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_chain_reaction#Nuclear_power_plants_and_control_of_chain_reactions

A fusion reaction is difficult to get running in the first place. It takes non-radioactive material, and squeezes it together, using high pressure and temperature, to make heavier atoms from lighter atoms (for example, “fusing” hydrogen atoms to make helium atoms.) When the tsunami hits, the reactor will stop dead in its tracks.

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