Nuclear technologies are a guarantor of the stability of Russia's development. Nuclear Technologies Institute of Physics and Technology, Head of the Department of Nuclear Technologies, Igor Vladimirovich Shamanin. Nuclear technology
In this case, the binding energy of each nucleon with others depends on the total number of nucleons in the nucleus, as shown in the graph on the right. The graph shows that for light nuclei, as the number of nucleons increases, the binding energy increases, and for heavy nuclei it decreases. If you add nucleons to light nuclei or remove nucleons from heavy atoms, this difference in binding energy will be released as the kinetic energy of the particles released as a result of these actions. The kinetic energy (energy of motion) of particles transforms into thermal motion of atoms after the collision of particles with atoms. Thus nuclear energy manifests itself in the form of heat.
A change in the composition of a nucleus is called a nuclear transformation or nuclear reaction. A nuclear reaction with an increase in the number of nucleons in the nucleus is called a thermonuclear reaction or nuclear fusion. A nuclear reaction with a decrease in the number of nucleons in the nucleus is called nuclear decay or nuclear fission.
Nuclear fission
Nuclear fission can be spontaneous (spontaneous) or caused by external influences (induced).
Spontaneous fission
Modern science believes that all chemical elements heavier than hydrogen were synthesized as a result of thermonuclear reactions inside stars. Depending on the number of protons and neutrons, the nucleus can be stable or tend to spontaneously divide into several parts. After the end of the stars' lives, stable atoms formed the world we know, and unstable atoms gradually decayed before the formation of stable ones. On Earth to this day, only two such unstable substances have survived in industrial quantities ( radioactive) chemical elements - uranium and thorium. Other unstable elements are produced artificially in accelerators or reactors.
Chain reaction
Some heavy nuclei easily attach an external free neutron, become unstable and decay, emitting several new free neutrons. In turn, these released neutrons can enter neighboring nuclei and also cause their decay with the release of further free neutrons. This process is called a chain reaction. For a chain reaction to occur, it is necessary to create specific conditions: to concentrate in one place a sufficiently large amount of a substance capable of a chain reaction. The density and volume of this substance must be sufficient so that free neutrons do not have time to leave the substance, interacting with nuclei with a high probability. This probability is characterized neutron multiplication factor. When the volume, density and configuration of the substance allow the neutron multiplication factor to reach unity, a self-sustaining chain reaction will begin, and the mass of the fissile substance will be called critical mass. Naturally, each decay in this chain leads to the release of energy.
People have learned to carry out chain reactions in special structures. Depending on the required rate of chain reaction and its heat generation, these designs are called nuclear weapons or nuclear reactors. In nuclear weapons, an avalanche-like uncontrolled chain reaction is carried out with the maximum achievable neutron multiplication factor in order to achieve maximum energy release before thermal destruction of the structure occurs. In nuclear reactors, they try to achieve a stable neutron flux and heat release so that the reactor performs its tasks and does not collapse from excessive thermal loads. This process is called a controlled chain reaction.
Controlled chain reaction
In nuclear reactors, conditions are created for controlled chain reaction. As is clear from the meaning of a chain reaction, its rate can be controlled by changing the neutron multiplication factor. To do this, you can change various design parameters: the density of the fissile substance, the energy spectrum of neutrons, introduce substances that absorb neutrons, add neutrons from external sources, etc.
However, the chain reaction is a very fast avalanche-like process; it is almost impossible to reliably control it directly. Therefore, to control the chain reaction, delayed neutrons are of great importance - neutrons formed during the spontaneous decay of unstable isotopes formed as a result of the primary decays of fissile material. The time from primary decay to delayed neutrons varies from milliseconds to minutes, and the share of delayed neutrons in the neutron balance of the reactor reaches a few percent. Such time values already make it possible to regulate the process using mechanical methods. The neutron multiplication factor, taking into account delayed neutrons, is called the effective neutron multiplication factor, and instead of the critical mass, the concept of nuclear reactor reactivity was introduced.
The dynamics of a controlled chain reaction are also influenced by other fission products, some of which can effectively absorb neutrons (so-called neutron poisons). Once the chain reaction begins, they accumulate in the reactor, reducing the effective neutron multiplication factor and reactivity of the reactor. After some time, a balance occurs in the accumulation and decay of such isotopes and the reactor enters a stable mode. If the reactor is shut down, neutron poisons remain in the reactor for a long time, making it difficult to restart. The characteristic lifetime of neutron poisons in the decay chain of uranium is up to half a day. Neutron poisons prevent nuclear reactors from rapidly changing power.
Nuclear fusion
Neutron spectrum
The distribution of neutron energies in a neutron flux is usually called the neutron spectrum. The neutron energy determines the pattern of interaction of the neutron with the nucleus. It is customary to distinguish several neutron energy ranges, of which the following are significant for nuclear technologies:
- Thermal neutrons. They are named so because they are in energy equilibrium with the thermal vibrations of atoms and do not transfer their energy to them during elastic interactions.
- Resonant neutrons. They are named so because the cross section for the interaction of some isotopes with neutrons of these energies has pronounced irregularities.
- Fast neutrons. Neutrons of these energies are usually produced by nuclear reactions.
Prompt and delayed neutrons
The chain reaction is a very fast process. The lifetime of one generation of neutrons (that is, the average time from the appearance of a free neutron to its absorption by the next atom and the birth of the next free neutrons) is much less than a microsecond. Such neutrons are called prompt. In a chain reaction with a multiplication factor of 1.1, after 6 μs the number of prompt neutrons and the energy released will increase by 10 26 times. It is impossible to reliably manage such a fast process. Therefore, delayed neutrons are of great importance for a controlled chain reaction. Delayed neutrons arise from the spontaneous decay of fission fragments remaining after primary nuclear reactions.
Materials Science
Isotopes
In the surrounding nature, people usually encounter the properties of substances determined by the structure of the electronic shells of atoms. For example, it is the electron shells that are entirely responsible for the chemical properties of the atom. Therefore, before the nuclear era, science did not separate substances by the mass of the nucleus, but only by its electric charge. However, with the advent of nuclear technology, it became clear that all well-known simple chemical elements have many - sometimes dozens - of varieties with different numbers of neutrons in the nucleus and, accordingly, completely different nuclear properties. These varieties came to be called isotopes of chemical elements. Most naturally occurring chemical elements are mixtures of several different isotopes.
The vast majority of known isotopes are unstable and do not occur in nature. They are obtained artificially for study or use in nuclear technology. The separation of mixtures of isotopes of one chemical element, the artificial production of isotopes, and the study of the properties of these isotopes are some of the main tasks of nuclear technology.
Fissile materials
Some isotopes are unstable and decay. However, decay does not occur immediately after the synthesis of the isotope, but after some time characteristic of this isotope, called half-life. From the name it is obvious that this is the time during which half of the existing nuclei of an unstable isotope decay.
Unstable isotopes are almost never found in nature, since even the longest-lived ones managed to completely decay in the billions of years that have passed since the synthesis of the substances around us in the thermonuclear furnace of a long-extinct star. There are only three exceptions: these are two isotopes of uranium (uranium-235 and uranium-238) and one isotope of thorium - thorium-232. In addition to them, in nature you can find traces of other unstable isotopes formed as a result of natural nuclear reactions: the decay of these three exceptions and the impact of cosmic rays on the upper layers of the atmosphere.
Unstable isotopes are the basis of almost all nuclear technologies.
Supporting the chain reaction
Separately, there is a group of unstable isotopes that is very important for nuclear technology and capable of maintaining a nuclear chain reaction. To maintain a chain reaction, the isotope must absorb neutrons well, followed by decay, resulting in the formation of several new free neutrons. Humanity is incredibly lucky that among the unstable isotopes preserved in nature in industrial quantities there was one that supports a chain reaction: uranium-235. Two other naturally occurring isotopes (uranium-238 and thorium-232) can be relatively easily converted into chain-reaction isotopes (plutonium-239 and uranium-233, respectively). Technologies for involving uranium-238 in industrial energy are currently in trial operation as part of closing the nuclear fuel cycle. Technologies for involving thorium-232 are limited to research and development.
Construction materials
Neutron absorbers, moderators and reflectors
To obtain a chain reaction and control it, the features of the interaction of materials with neutrons are very important. There are three main neutron properties of materials: neutron moderation, neutron absorption and neutron reflection.
During elastic scattering, the neutron motion vector changes. If you surround the reactor core or nuclear charge with a substance with a large scattering cross section, then with some probability the neutron emitted from the chain reaction zone will be reflected back and will not be lost. Also, substances that react with neutrons to form new neutrons, for example uranium-235, are used as neutron reflectors. In this case, there is also a significant probability that the neutron emitted from the core will react with the core of the reflector substance and the newly formed free neutrons will return to the chain reaction zone. Reflectors are used to reduce neutron leakage from small nuclear reactors and increase the efficiency of nuclear charges.
A neutron can be absorbed by a nucleus without emitting new neutrons. From the point of view of a chain reaction, such a neutron is lost. Almost all isotopes of all substances can absorb neutrons, but the probability (cross section) of absorption is different for all isotopes. Materials with significant neutron absorption cross sections are sometimes used in nuclear reactors to control chain reactions. Such substances are called neutron absorbers. For example, boron-10 is used to regulate the chain reaction. Gadolinium-157 and erbium-167 are used as burnable neutron absorbers that compensate for the burnup of fissile material in nuclear reactors with long fuel campaigns.
Story
Opening
At the beginning of the 20th century, Rutherford made a huge contribution to the study of ionizing radiation and the structure of atoms. Ernest Walton and John Cockcroft were able to split the nucleus of an atom for the first time.
Nuclear weapons programs
At the end of the 30s of the 20th century, physicists realized the possibility of creating powerful weapons based on a nuclear chain reaction. This led to high government interest in nuclear technology. The first large-scale state atomic program appeared in Germany in 1939 (see German nuclear program). However, the war complicated the supply of the program and after the defeat of Germany in 1945, the program was closed without significant results. In 1943, a large-scale program codenamed the Manhattan Project began in the United States. In 1945, as part of this program, the world's first nuclear bomb was created and tested. Nuclear research in the USSR has been carried out since the 20s. In 1940, the first Soviet theoretical design for a nuclear bomb is being developed. Nuclear developments in the USSR have been classified since 1941. The first Soviet nuclear bomb was tested in 1949.
The main contribution to the energy release of the first nuclear weapons was made by the fission reaction. Nevertheless, the fusion reaction was used as an additional source of neutrons to increase the amount of reacted fissile material. In 1952 in the USA and 1953 in the USSR, designs were tested in which most of the energy release was created by the fusion reaction. Such a weapon was called thermonuclear. In thermonuclear ammunition, the fission reaction serves to “ignite” the thermonuclear reaction without making a significant contribution to the overall energy of the weapon.
Nuclear energy
The first nuclear reactors were either experimental or weapons-grade, that is, designed to produce weapons-grade plutonium from uranium. The heat they created was released into the environment. Low operating powers and small temperature differences made it difficult to effectively use such low-grade heat to operate traditional heat engines. In 1951, this heat was used for the first time for power generation: in the USA, a steam turbine with an electric generator was installed in the cooling circuit of an experimental reactor. In 1954, the first nuclear power plant was built in the USSR, originally designed for electric power purposes.
Technologies
Nuclear weapon
There are many ways to harm people using nuclear technology. But states adopted only explosive nuclear weapons based on a chain reaction. The principle of operation of such weapons is simple: it is necessary to maximize the neutron multiplication factor in the chain reaction, so that as many nuclei as possible react and release energy before the weapon’s structure is destroyed by the generated heat. To do this, it is necessary either to increase the mass of the fissile substance or to increase its density. Moreover, this must be done as quickly as possible, otherwise the slow increase in energy release will melt and evaporate the structure without an explosion. Accordingly, two approaches to building a nuclear explosive device have been developed:
- A scheme with increasing mass, the so-called cannon scheme. Two subcritical pieces of fissile material were installed in the barrel of an artillery gun. One piece was fixed at the end of the barrel, the other acted as a projectile. The shot brought the pieces together, a chain reaction began and an explosive release of energy occurred. The achievable approach speeds in such a scheme were limited to a couple of km/sec.
- A scheme with increasing density, the so-called implosive scheme. Based on the peculiarities of metallurgy of the artificial isotope of plutonium. Plutonium is capable of forming stable allotropic modifications that differ in density. A shock wave passing through the volume of the metal is capable of converting plutonium from an unstable low-density modification to a high-density one. This feature made it possible to transfer plutonium from a low-density subcritical state to a supercritical state with the speed of shock wave propagation in the metal. To create a shock wave, they used conventional chemical explosives, placing them around the plutonium assembly so that the explosion squeezed the spherical assembly from all sides.
Both schemes were created and tested almost simultaneously, but the implosion scheme turned out to be more efficient and more compact.
Neutron sources
Another limiter on energy release is the rate of increase in the number of neutrons in the chain reaction. In subcritical fissile material, spontaneous disintegration of atoms occurs. The neutrons from these decays become the first in an avalanche-like chain reaction. However, for maximum energy release, it is advantageous to first remove all neutrons from the substance, then transfer it to a supercritical state, and only then introduce ignition neutrons into the substance in the maximum amount. To achieve this, a fissile substance with minimal contamination by free neutrons from spontaneous decays is selected, and at the moment of transfer to the supercritical state, neutrons are added from external pulsed neutron sources.
Sources of additional neutrons are based on different physical principles. Initially, explosive sources based on mixing two substances became widespread. A radioactive isotope, usually polonium-210, was mixed with an isotope of beryllium. Alpha radiation from polonium caused a nuclear reaction of beryllium with the release of neutrons. Subsequently, they were replaced by sources based on miniature accelerators, on the targets of which a nuclear fusion reaction with a neutron yield was carried out.
In addition to ignition neutron sources, it turned out to be advantageous to introduce additional sources into the circuit that are triggered by the beginning of a chain reaction. Such sources were built on the basis of synthesis reactions of light elements. Ampules containing substances such as lithium-6 deuteride were installed in a cavity in the center of the plutonium nuclear assembly. Streams of neutrons and gamma rays from the developing chain reaction heated the ampoule to thermonuclear fusion temperatures, and the explosion plasma compressed the ampoule, helping the temperature with pressure. The fusion reaction began, supplying additional neutrons for the fission chain reaction.
Thermonuclear weapons
Neutron sources based on the fusion reaction were themselves a significant source of heat. However, the size of the cavity in the center of the plutonium assembly could not accommodate much material for synthesis, and if placed outside the plutonium fissile core, it would not be possible to obtain the temperature and pressure conditions required for synthesis. It was necessary to surround the substance for synthesis with an additional shell, which, perceiving the energy of a nuclear explosion, would provide shock compression. They made a large ampoule from uranium-235 and installed it next to the nuclear charge. Powerful neutron fluxes from the chain reaction will cause an avalanche of fission of uranium atoms in the ampoule. Despite the subcritical design of the uranium ampoule, the total effect of gamma rays and neutrons from the chain reaction of the pilot nuclear explosion and the own fission of the ampoule nuclei will create conditions for fusion inside the ampoule. Now the size of the ampoule with the substance for fusion turned out to be practically unlimited and the contribution of the energy release from nuclear fusion many times exceeded the energy release of the ignition nuclear explosion. Such weapons began to be called thermonuclear.
.Nuclear power plant
The heart of a nuclear power plant is a nuclear reactor - a device in which a controlled chain reaction of fission of heavy nuclei is carried out. The energy of nuclear reactions is released in the form of kinetic energy of fission fragments and is converted into heat due to elastic collisions of these fragments with other atoms.
Fuel cycle
Only one natural isotope is known that is capable of a chain reaction - uranium-235. Its industrial reserves are small. Therefore, today engineers are already looking for ways to produce cheap artificial isotopes that support the chain reaction. The most promising is plutonium, produced from the common isotope uranium-238 by capturing a neutron without fission. It is easy to produce in the same energy reactors as a by-product. Under certain conditions, a situation is possible when the production of artificial fissile material completely covers the needs of existing nuclear power plants. In this case, they speak of a closed fuel cycle, which does not require the supply of fissile material from a natural source.
Nuclear waste
Spent nuclear fuel (SNF) and reactor structural materials with induced radioactivity are powerful sources of dangerous ionizing radiation. Technologies for working with them are being intensively improved in the direction of minimizing the amount of landfilled waste and reducing the period of its danger. SNF is also a source of valuable radioactive isotopes for industry and medicine. SNF reprocessing is a necessary step in closing the fuel cycle.
For more than 70 years, the nuclear industry has been working for the Motherland. And today the moment has come to realize that nuclear technology is not only weapons and not only electricity, but it is new opportunities for solving a whole range of problems that affect people.
Of course, the nuclear industry of our country was successfully built by the generation of winners - the winners of the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945. And now Rosatom reliably supports Russia’s nuclear shield.
It is known that Igor Vasilyevich Kurchatov, even at the first stage of the implementation of the domestic atomic project, while working on weapons development, began to think about the widespread use of atomic energy for peaceful purposes. On the ground, underground, on the water, under the sea, in the air and in space - nuclear and radiation technologies are now working everywhere. Today, specialists in the domestic nuclear industry continue to work and benefit the country, thinking about how to implement their new developments in modern conditions of import substitution.
And it is important to talk about exactly this - the peaceful direction of work of domestic nuclear scientists, about which quite little is known.
Over the past decades, our physicists, our industry and our doctors have accumulated the necessary potential to make breakthroughs in the effective use of nuclear technology in the most important areas of human life.
Technologies and developments created by our nuclear scientists are widely used in various fields and areas. These are medicine, agriculture, food industry. For example, to increase productivity, there is a special pre-sowing treatment of seeds, and grain processing technologies are used to increase the shelf life of wheat. All this is created by our specialists and is based on domestic developments.
Or, for example, allspice and other spices, products that are often susceptible to various infections, are brought to us from abroad, from southern countries. Nuclear technology makes it possible to destroy all such bacteria and food diseases. But, unfortunately, they are not used here.
Radiation therapy is considered one of the most effective in the treatment of oncology. But our scientists are constantly moving forward and the latest technologies have now been developed to increase the cure rate for patients. However, it is worth noting that, despite the presence of advanced technologies, such centers operate only in a few cities in the country.
It would seem that scientists have the potential, there are developments, but today the process of introducing unique nuclear technologies is still quite slow.
Previously, we were among those catching up, focusing primarily on Western countries, buying isotopes and equipment from them. Over the past decade, the situation has changed dramatically. We already have sufficient capacity to implement these developments.
But if there are achievements on paper, what is stopping us from putting them into practice today?
Here, perhaps, we can point to the complex bureaucratic mechanism for implementing such decisions. Indeed, in fact, we are now ready to provide a completely new high-quality format for the use of nuclear technologies in many areas. But, unfortunately, this is happening extremely slowly.
It is safe to say that legislators, developers, representatives of regional and federal authorities are ready to work in this direction at their level. But in practice it turns out that there is no consensus, no common decision and program for the introduction and implementation of nuclear technologies.
An example is the city of Obninsk, the first science city, where a modern proton therapy center recently began operating. There is a second one in Moscow. But what about all of Russia? Here it is important to urge regional authorities to actively join the dialogue between developers and the federal center.
Again, we can state that the industry is developing, technologies are in demand, but so far there is not enough consolidation of efforts to implement these developments in life.
Our main task now is to gather representatives of all levels of government, scientists, developers for a unified and productive dialogue. Obviously, there is a need to create modern nuclear technology centers in various industries, open a broad discussion and learn how to organize interdepartmental interaction for the benefit of our citizens.
Gennady Sklyar, member of the State Duma Committee on Energy.
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Subtitles
Physics
Atomic nuclei are made up of two types of nucleons - protons and neutrons. They are held together by the so-called strong interaction. In this case, the binding energy of each nucleon with others depends on the total number of nucleons in the nucleus, as shown in the graph on the right. The graph shows that for light nuclei, as the number of nucleons increases, the binding energy increases, and for heavy nuclei it decreases. If you add nucleons to light nuclei or remove nucleons from heavy atoms, this difference in binding energy will be released as the kinetic energy of the particles released as a result of these actions. The kinetic energy (energy of motion) of particles transforms into thermal motion of atoms after the collision of particles with atoms. Thus nuclear energy manifests itself in the form of heat.
A change in the composition of the nucleus is called a nuclear transformation or nuclear reaction. A nuclear reaction with an increase in the number of nucleons in the nucleus is called a thermonuclear reaction or nuclear fusion. A nuclear reaction with a decrease in the number of nucleons in the nucleus is called nuclear decay or nuclear fission.
Nuclear fission
Nuclear fission can be spontaneous (spontaneous) or caused by external influences (induced).
Spontaneous fission
Modern science believes that all chemical elements heavier than hydrogen were synthesized as a result of thermonuclear reactions inside stars. Depending on the number of protons and neutrons, the nucleus can be stable or tend to spontaneously divide into several parts. After the end of the stars' lives, stable atoms formed the world we know, and unstable atoms gradually decayed before the formation of stable ones. On Earth to this day, only two such unstable substances have survived in industrial quantities ( radioactive) chemical elements - uranium and thorium. Other unstable elements are produced artificially in accelerators or reactors.
Chain reaction
Some heavy nuclei easily attach an external free neutron, become unstable and decay, emitting several new free neutrons. In turn, these released neutrons can enter neighboring nuclei and also cause their decay with the release of further free neutrons. This process is called a chain reaction. For a chain reaction to occur, it is necessary to create specific conditions: to concentrate in one place a sufficiently large amount of a substance capable of a chain reaction. The density and volume of this substance must be sufficient so that free neutrons do not have time to leave the substance, interacting with nuclei with a high probability. This probability is characterized neutron multiplication factor. When the volume, density and configuration of the substance allow the neutron multiplication factor to reach unity, a self-sustaining chain reaction will begin, and the mass of the fissile substance will be called critical mass. Naturally, each decay in this chain leads to the release of energy.
People have learned to carry out chain reactions in special structures. Depending on the required rate of chain reaction and its heat generation, these structures are called nuclear weapons or nuclear reactors. In nuclear weapons, an avalanche-like uncontrolled chain reaction is carried out with the maximum achievable neutron multiplication factor in order to achieve maximum energy release before thermal destruction of the structure occurs. In nuclear reactors, they try to achieve a stable neutron flux and heat release so that the reactor performs its tasks and does not collapse from excessive thermal loads. This process is called a controlled chain reaction.
Controlled chain reaction
In nuclear reactors, conditions are created for controlled chain reaction. As is clear from the meaning of a chain reaction, its rate can be controlled by changing the neutron multiplication factor. To do this, you can change various design parameters: the density of the fissile substance, the energy spectrum of neutrons, introduce substances that absorb neutrons, add neutrons from external sources, etc.
However, the chain reaction is a very fast avalanche-like process; it is almost impossible to reliably control it directly. Therefore, to control the chain reaction, delayed neutrons are of great importance - neutrons formed during the spontaneous decay of unstable isotopes formed as a result of the primary decays of fissile material. The time from primary decay to delayed neutrons varies from milliseconds to minutes, and the share of delayed neutrons in the neutron balance of the reactor reaches a few percent. Such time values already make it possible to regulate the process using mechanical methods. The neutron multiplication factor, taking into account delayed neutrons, is called the effective neutron multiplication factor, and instead of the critical mass, the concept of reactivity of a nuclear reactor was introduced.
The dynamics of a controlled chain reaction are also influenced by other fission products, some of which can effectively absorb neutrons (so-called neutron poisons). Once the chain reaction begins, they accumulate in the reactor, reducing the effective neutron multiplication factor and reactivity of the reactor. After some time, a balance occurs in the accumulation and decay of such isotopes and the reactor enters a stable mode. If the reactor is shut down, neutron poisons remain in the reactor for a long time, making it difficult to restart. The characteristic lifetime of neutron poisons in the decay chain of uranium is up to half a day. Neutron poisons prevent nuclear reactors from rapidly changing power.
Nuclear fusion
Neutron spectrum
The distribution of neutron energies in a neutron flux is usually called the neutron spectrum. The neutron energy determines the pattern of interaction of the neutron with the nucleus. It is customary to distinguish several neutron energy ranges, of which the following are significant for nuclear technologies:
- Thermal neutrons. They are named so because they are in energy equilibrium with the thermal vibrations of atoms and do not transfer their energy to them during elastic interactions.
- Resonant neutrons. They are named so because the cross section for the interaction of some isotopes with neutrons of these energies has pronounced irregularities.
- Fast neutrons. Neutrons of these energies are usually produced by nuclear reactions.
Prompt and delayed neutrons
The chain reaction is a very fast process. The lifetime of one generation of neutrons (that is, the average time from the appearance of a free neutron to its absorption by the next atom and the birth of the next free neutrons) is much less than a microsecond. Such neutrons are called prompt. In a chain reaction with a multiplication factor of 1.1, after 6 μs the number of prompt neutrons and the energy released will increase by 10 26 times. It is impossible to reliably manage such a fast process. Therefore, delayed neutrons are of great importance for a controlled chain reaction. Delayed neutrons arise from the spontaneous decay of fission fragments remaining after primary nuclear reactions.
Materials Science
Isotopes
In the surrounding nature, people usually encounter the properties of substances determined by the structure of the electronic shells of atoms. For example, it is the electron shells that are entirely responsible for the chemical properties of the atom. Therefore, before the nuclear era, science did not separate substances by the mass of the nucleus, but only by its electric charge. However, with the advent of nuclear technology, it became clear that all well-known simple chemical elements have many - sometimes dozens - of varieties with different numbers of neutrons in the nucleus and, accordingly, completely different nuclear properties. These varieties came to be called isotopes of chemical elements. Most naturally occurring chemical elements are mixtures of several different isotopes.
The vast majority of known isotopes are unstable and do not occur in nature. They are obtained artificially for study or use in nuclear technology. The separation of mixtures of isotopes of one chemical element, the artificial production of isotopes, and the study of the properties of these isotopes are some of the main tasks of nuclear technology.
Fissile materials
Some isotopes are unstable and decay. However, decay does not occur immediately after the synthesis of the isotope, but after some time characteristic of this isotope, called half-life. From the name it is obvious that this is the time during which half of the existing nuclei of an unstable isotope decay.
Unstable isotopes are almost never found in nature, since even the longest-lived ones managed to completely decay in the billions of years that have passed since the synthesis of the substances around us in the thermonuclear furnace of a long-extinct star. There are only three exceptions: these are two isotopes of uranium (uranium-235 and uranium-238) and one isotope of thorium - thorium-232. In addition to them, in nature one can find traces of other unstable isotopes formed as a result of natural nuclear reactions: the decay of these three exceptions and the impact of cosmic rays on the upper layers of the atmosphere.
Unstable isotopes are the basis of almost all nuclear technologies.
Supporting the chain reaction
Separately, there is a group of unstable isotopes that is very important for nuclear technology and capable of maintaining a nuclear chain reaction. To maintain a chain reaction, the isotope must absorb neutrons well, followed by decay, resulting in the formation of several new free neutrons. Humanity is incredibly lucky that among the unstable isotopes preserved in nature in industrial quantities there was one that supports a chain reaction: uranium-235.
Construction materials
Story
Opening
At the beginning of the twentieth century, Rutherford made a huge contribution to the study of ionizing radiation and the structure of atoms. Ernest Walton and John Cockroft were able to split the nucleus of an atom for the first time.
Nuclear weapons programs
In the late 30s of the twentieth century, physicists realized the possibility of creating powerful weapons based on a nuclear chain reaction. This led to high government interest in nuclear technology. The first large-scale state atomic program appeared in Germany in 1939 (see German nuclear program). However, the war complicated the supply of the program and after the defeat of Germany in 1945, the program was closed without significant results. In 1943, a large-scale program codenamed the Manhattan Project began in the United States. In 1945, as part of this program, the world's first nuclear bomb was created and tested. Nuclear research in the USSR has been carried out since the 20s. In 1940, the first Soviet theoretical design for a nuclear bomb was developed. Nuclear developments in the USSR have been classified since 1941. The first Soviet nuclear bomb was tested in 1949.
The main contribution to the energy release of the first nuclear weapons was made by the fission reaction. Nevertheless, the fusion reaction was used as an additional source of neutrons to increase the amount of reacted fissile material. In 1952 in the USA and 1953 in the USSR, designs were tested in which most of the energy release was created by the fusion reaction. Such a weapon was called thermonuclear. In thermonuclear ammunition, the fission reaction serves to “ignite” the thermonuclear reaction without making a significant contribution to the overall energy of the weapon.
Nuclear energy
The first nuclear reactors were either experimental or weapons-grade, that is, designed to produce weapons-grade plutonium from uranium. The heat they created was released into the environment. Low operating powers and small temperature differences made it difficult to effectively use such low-grade heat to operate traditional heat engines. In 1951, this heat was used for the first time for power generation: in the USA, a steam turbine with an electric generator was installed in the cooling circuit of an experimental reactor. In 1954, the first nuclear power plant was built in the USSR, originally designed for electric power purposes.
Technologies
Nuclear weapon
There are many ways to harm people using nuclear technology. But states adopted only explosive nuclear weapons based on a chain reaction. The principle of operation of such weapons is simple: it is necessary to maximize the neutron multiplication factor in the chain reaction, so that as many nuclei as possible react and release energy before the weapon’s structure is destroyed by the generated heat. To do this, it is necessary either to increase the mass of the fissile substance or to increase its density. Moreover, this must be done as quickly as possible, otherwise the slow increase in energy release will melt and evaporate the structure without an explosion. Accordingly, two approaches to building a nuclear explosive device have been developed:
- A scheme with increasing mass, the so-called cannon scheme. Two subcritical pieces of fissile material were installed in the barrel of an artillery gun. One piece was fixed at the end of the barrel, the other acted as a projectile. The shot brought the pieces together, a chain reaction began and an explosive release of energy occurred. The achievable approach speeds in such a scheme were limited to a couple of km/sec.
- A scheme with increasing density, the so-called implosive scheme. Based on the peculiarities of metallurgy of the artificial isotope of plutonium. Plutonium is capable of forming stable allotropic modifications that differ in density. A shock wave passing through the volume of the metal is capable of converting plutonium from an unstable low-density modification to a high-density one. This feature made it possible to transfer plutonium from a low-density subcritical state to a supercritical state with the speed of shock wave propagation in the metal. To create a shock wave, they used conventional chemical explosives, placing them around the plutonium assembly so that the explosion squeezed the spherical assembly from all sides.
Both schemes were created and tested almost simultaneously, but the implosion scheme turned out to be more efficient and more compact.
Neutron sources
Another limiter on energy release is the rate of increase in the number of neutrons in the chain reaction. In subcritical fissile material, spontaneous disintegration of atoms occurs. The neutrons from these decays become the first in an avalanche-like chain reaction. However, for maximum energy release, it is advantageous to first remove all neutrons from the substance, then transfer it to a supercritical state, and only then introduce ignition neutrons into the substance in the maximum amount. To achieve this, a fissile substance with minimal contamination by free neutrons from spontaneous decays is selected, and at the moment of transfer to the supercritical state, neutrons are added from external pulsed neutron sources.
Sources of additional neutrons are based on different physical principles. Initially, explosive sources based on mixing two substances became widespread. A radioactive isotope, usually polonium-210, was mixed with an isotope of beryllium. Alpha radiation from polonium caused a nuclear reaction of beryllium with the release of neutrons. Subsequently, they were replaced by sources based on miniature accelerators, on the targets of which a nuclear fusion reaction with a neutron yield was carried out.
In addition to ignition neutron sources, it turned out to be advantageous to introduce additional sources into the circuit that are triggered by the beginning of a chain reaction. Such sources were built on the basis of synthesis reactions of light elements. Ampules containing substances such as lithium-6 deuteride were installed in a cavity in the center of the plutonium nuclear assembly. Streams of neutrons and gamma rays from the developing chain reaction heated the ampoule to thermonuclear fusion temperatures, and the explosion plasma compressed the ampoule, helping the temperature with pressure. The fusion reaction began, supplying additional neutrons for the fission chain reaction.
Thermonuclear weapons
Neutron sources based on the fusion reaction were themselves a significant source of heat. However, the size of the cavity in the center of the plutonium assembly could not accommodate much material for synthesis, and if placed outside the plutonium fissile core, it would not be possible to obtain the temperature and pressure conditions required for synthesis. It was necessary to surround the substance for synthesis with an additional shell, which, perceiving the energy of a nuclear explosion, would provide shock compression. They made a large ampoule from uranium-235 and installed it next to the nuclear charge. Powerful neutron fluxes from the chain reaction will cause an avalanche of fission of uranium atoms in the ampoule. Despite the subcritical design of the uranium ampoule, the total effect of gamma rays and neutrons from the chain reaction of the pilot nuclear explosion and the own fission of the ampoule nuclei will create conditions for fusion inside the ampoule. Now the size of the ampoule with the substance for fusion turned out to be practically unlimited and the contribution of the energy release from nuclear fusion many times exceeded the energy release of the ignition nuclear explosion. Such weapons began to be called thermonuclear.
.Nuclear power plant
The heart of a nuclear power plant is a nuclear reactor - a device in which a controlled chain reaction of fission of heavy nuclei is carried out. The energy of nuclear reactions is released in the form of kinetic energy of fission fragments and is converted into heat due to elastic collisions of these fragments with other atoms.
Fuel cycle
Only one natural isotope is known that is capable of a chain reaction - uranium-235. Its industrial reserves are small. Therefore, today engineers are already looking for ways to produce cheap artificial isotopes that support the chain reaction. The most promising is plutonium, produced from the common isotope uranium-238 by capturing a neutron without fission. It is easy to produce in the same energy reactors as a by-product. Under certain conditions, a situation is possible when the production of artificial fissile material completely covers the needs of existing nuclear power plants. In this case, they speak of a closed fuel cycle, which does not require the supply of fissile material from a natural source.
Nuclear waste
Spent nuclear fuel (SNF) and reactor structural materials with induced radioactivity are powerful sources of dangerous ionizing radiation. Technologies for working with them are being intensively improved in the direction of minimizing the amount of landfilled waste and reducing the period of its danger. SNF is also a source of valuable radioactive isotopes for industry and medicine. SNF reprocessing is a necessary step in closing the fuel cycle.
Nuclear safety
Use in medicine
In medicine, various unstable elements are commonly used for research or therapy.
Basic nuclear technologies Nuclear technologies are technologies based on the occurrence of nuclear reactions, as well as technologies aimed at changing the properties and processing of materials containing radioactive elements or elements on which nuclear reactions occur Nuclear energy technologies: - Technologies of nuclear reactors using thermal neutrons -Technologies of fast neutron nuclear reactors -Technologies of high- and ultra-high-temperature nuclear reactors
Nuclear chemical technologies: - Technologies of nuclear raw materials and nuclear fuel - Technologies of materials of nuclear technology Nuclear technologies of isotope enrichment and production of monoisotopic and high-purity substances: - Gas diffusion technologies - Centrifuge technologies - Laser technologies Nuclear medical technologies
The growth of population and global energy consumption in the world, an acute shortage of energy, which will only increase as natural resources are depleted and the demand for it grows faster; Increasing competition for limited and unevenly distributed fossil fuel resources; aggravation of a complex of environmental problems and increasing environmental restrictions; increasing dependence on the unstable situation in the regions of oil-exporting countries and the progressive increase in hydrocarbon prices; Provisions that are immutable for making forecasts in the field of future scenarios:
The growing difference in the level of energy consumption of the richest and poorest countries, the difference in the levels of energy consumption of different countries, creating the potential for social conflict; fierce competition between technology suppliers for nuclear power plants; the need to expand the scope of application of nuclear technologies and large-scale energy technology use of nuclear reactors for production areas; the need to carry out structural changes and reforms in the harsh conditions of a market economy, etc. Provisions that are unshakable for making forecasts in the field of future scenarios:
Shares of countries in global CO 2 emissions USA - 24.6% China - 13% Russia - 6.4% Japan - 5% India - 4% Germany - 3.8%. A nuclear power plant with an electrical capacity of 1 GW saves 7 million tons of CO 2 emissions per year compared to coal-fired thermal power plants, and 3.2 million tons of CO 2 emissions compared to gas-fired thermal power plants.
Nuclear evolution There are about 440 commercial nuclear reactors operating around the world. Most of them are located in Europe and the USA, Japan, Russia, South Korea, Canada, India, Ukraine and China. The IAEA estimates that at least 60 more reactors will come online within 15 years. Despite the variety of types and sizes, there are only four main categories of reactors: Generation 1 - reactors of this generation were developed in the 1950s and 1960s, and are modified and enlarged nuclear reactors for military purposes, intended for the propulsion of submarines or for production plutonium Generation 2 – the vast majority of reactors in commercial operation belong to this classification. Generation 3 – reactors of this category are currently being commissioned in some countries, mainly in Japan. Generation 4 – this includes reactors that are at the development stage and which are planned to be introduced in a few years.
Nuclear evolution Generation 3 reactors are called "advanced reactors". Three such reactors are already operating in Japan, and more are under development or construction. There are about twenty different types of reactors of this generation under development. Most of them are “evolutionary” models, developed on the basis of second generation reactors, with changes made based on innovative approaches. According to the World Nuclear Association, Generation 3 is characterized by the following points: A standardized design for each type of reactor allows speeding up the licensing procedure, reducing the cost of fixed assets and the duration of construction work. Simplified and more robust design, making them easier to handle and less susceptible to failures during operation. High availability and longer service life - approximately sixty years. Reducing the possibility of accidents with core melting. Minimal impact on the environment. Deep fuel burnout to reduce fuel consumption and production waste. Generation 3
Third Generation Nuclear Reactors European Pressurized Water Reactor (EPR) The EPR is a model developed from the French N4 and the German KONVOI, second generation designs commissioned in France and Germany. Ball Bed Modular Reactor (PBMR) PBMR is a high temperature gas cooled reactor (HTGR). Pressurized water reactor The following types of large reactor designs are available: APWR (developed by Mitsubishi and Westinghouse), APWR+ (Japanese Mitsubishi), EPR (French Framatome ANP), AP-1000 (American Westinghouse), KSNP+ and APR- 1400 (Korean companies) and CNP-1000 (China National Nuclear Corporation). In Russia, the companies Atomenergoproekt and Gidropress have developed an improved VVER-1200.
Reactor concepts selected for Generation 4 GFR - Gas-cooled fast reactor LFRLead-cooled fast reactor MSR - Molten salt reactor: Uranium fuel is melted in sodium fluoride salt circulating through the graphite channels of the core. The heat generated in the molten salt is removed to the secondary circuit Sodium-cooled fast reactor VHTR - Ultra-high temperature reactor: Reactor power 600 MW, core cooled with helium, graphite moderator. It is considered as the most promising and promising system aimed at producing hydrogen. VHTR power generation is expected to become highly efficient.
Scientific research is the basis for the activity and development of the nuclear industry All practical activities of nuclear energy are based on the results of fundamental and applied research into the properties of matter Fundamental research: fundamental properties and structure of matter, new energy sources at the level of fundamental interactions Research and control of material properties - Radiation materials science, creation of structural corrosion-resistant, heat-resistant, radiation-resistant steels, alloys and composite materials
Scientific research is the basis for the activity and development of the nuclear industry. Design, design, technology. Creation of devices, equipment, automation, diagnostics, control (general, medium and precision engineering, instrument making) Process modeling. Development of mathematical models, calculation methods and algorithms. Development of parallel computing methods for conducting neutronics, thermodynamic, mechanical, chemical and other computational studies using supercomputers
AE in the medium term The world is expected to double nuclear power capacity by 2030. The expected increase in nuclear power capacity can be achieved based on further development of thermal neutron reactor technologies and open-loop nuclear fuel cycle. The main problems of modern nuclear power plant are related to the accumulation of spent nuclear fuel (this is not radioactive waste!) and the risk of proliferation in world of sensitive technologies of nuclear fuel cycle and nuclear materials
Tasks for creating a technological base for large-scale nuclear power plants Development and implementation of fast neutron breeder reactors in nuclear power plants Complete closure of the nuclear fuel cycle in nuclear power plants for all fissile materials Organization of a network of international nuclear fuel and energy centers to provide a range of services in the field of nuclear fuel cycle Development and implementation of reactors in nuclear power plants for industrial heat supply, hydrogen production, water desalination and other purposes Implementation of an optimal scheme for recycling highly radiotoxic minor actinides in nuclear power plants
PRODUCTION AND APPLICATION OF HYDROGEN During the oxidation of methane on a nickel catalyst, the following main reactions are possible: CH 4 + H 2 O CO + ZH 2 – 206 kJ CH 4 + CO 2 2 CO + 2H 2 – 248 kJ CH 4 + 0.5 O 2 CO + 2H kJ CO + H 2 O CO 2 + N kJ High-temperature conversion is carried out in the absence of catalysts at temperatures °C and pressures up to 3035 kgf/cm 2, or 33.5 Mn/m 2; in this case, almost complete oxidation of methane and other hydrocarbons with oxygen to CO and H 2 occurs. CO and H 2 are easily separated.
PRODUCTION AND APPLICATION OF HYDROGEN Reduction of iron from ore: 3CO + Fe 2 O 3 2Fe + 3CO 2 Hydrogen is capable of reducing many metals from their oxides (such as iron (Fe), nickel (Ni), lead (Pb), tungsten (W) , copper (Cu), etc.). So, when heated to a temperature of °C and above, iron (Fe) is reduced with hydrogen from any of its oxides, for example: Fe 2 O 3 + 3H 2 = 2Fe + 3H 2 O
Conclusion Despite all its problems, Russia remains a great “nuclear” power, both in terms of military power and in terms of economic development potential (nuclear technology in the Russian economy). The nuclear shield is a guarantor of Russia’s independent economic policy and stability throughout the world. The choice of the nuclear industry as the engine of the economy will first allow mechanical engineering, instrument making, automation and electronics, etc. to be brought up to a decent level, during which there will be a natural transition from quantity to quality.
A.B. Koldobsky
A nuclear explosion is a unique physical phenomenon, the only method mastered by mankind for instantly releasing colossal, truly cosmic amounts of energy in relation to the mass and volume of the device itself. It would be illogical to assume that such a phenomenon will remain unnoticed by scientists and engineers.
The first scientific and technical publications on this problem appeared in the USA and USSR in the mid-50s. In 1957, the US Atomic Energy Commission adopted the “Plowshare” scientific and technical program for the peaceful use of nuclear explosive technologies (NET). The first peaceful nuclear explosion under this program - "Gnome", with a yield of 3.4 kt - was carried out at the Nevada Test Site in 1961, and on January 15, 1965, a soil ejection explosion with a yield of about 140 kt, carried out in the riverbed. Chagan, on the territory of the Semipalatinsk test site, opened the Soviet “Program N 7”.
The last Soviet peaceful nuclear explosion, Rubin-1, was carried out in the Arkhangelsk region on September 6, 1988. During this time, 115 similar explosions were carried out in the USSR (RF - 81, Kazakhstan - 29, Uzbekistan and Ukraine - 2 each, Turkmenistan - 1 ). The average power of the devices used in this case was 14.3 kt, and excluding the two most powerful explosions (140 and 103 kt) - 12.5 kt.
Why, exactly, were peaceful nuclear explosions carried out? Despite all the “exoticism” of this question, it has to be answered on its merits; the idea of them as almost amateur “fun” of nuclear scientists, useless, but rather everything, and very harmful to nature and society.
So, out of 115 peaceful nuclear explosions, 39 were carried out for the purpose of deep seismic sounding of the earth's crust to search for minerals, 25 - for the intensification of oil and gas fields, 22 - for the creation of underground tanks for storing gas and condensate, 5 - for extinguishing emergency gas fountains, 4 - for the creation of artificial canals and reservoirs, 2 each - for crushing ore in quarry deposits, for creating underground reservoirs - collectors for the removal of toxic waste from chemical production and for the construction of bulk dams, 1 - for preventing rock bursts and gas emissions in underground coal mines, 13 - to study the processes of self-burial of radioactive substances in the central zone of the explosion. The most significant customers were the USSR Ministry of Geology (51 explosions), Mingazprom (26), and the Ministry of Oil and Gas Industry (13). Actually, 19 peaceful nuclear explosions were carried out by order of the Ministry of Medium Machine Building.
Without discussing here the industrial and economic efficiency of explosions for various purposes (we will partially return to this below), based on what has been said, we should draw an obvious conclusion: we are dealing with a technology that is certainly dangerous, but in many cases very effective, and sometimes, as we will see , which has no technical alternatives. And therefore, nuclear explosive technologies should be discussed precisely as such, but not at all as some attribute of Satan, as integral as the smell of sulfur, a tail and a pitchfork.
As for the danger... There is no reliable data on the damage caused to the life and health of at least one person as a result of the explosion, and not a single participant in the work or resident has had a reliably recorded cause-and-effect relationship between age-related deterioration in health and the fact of the explosion. To speak in these conditions about the “special danger” of nuclear explosive technologies, knowing about Bhopal (1500 dead at once), Seveso and Minamata, about the terrible numbers of deaths in coal mines, car accidents, etc. somehow awkward. At the same time, the author does not at all want to appear as an opponent of the chemical industry or motor transport, he would only like to draw the reader’s attention to the simple, but, alas, sometimes eluding the attention of “conservationists” fact that there are no safe technologies, that technological risk is an inevitable price for the achieved level of civilizational development and that a complete rejection of this risk is tantamount to a rejection of the technologies themselves, which will immediately return humanity to skins, caves and stone axes. If the “special danger” of nuclear explosive technologies in the representation of some media is due only to the fact that they are nuclear explosive, then the conversation moves to a different plane that lies beyond the scope of this article - there is little competence and real concern for the well-being of the external environment, but usually a lot of partisan politics.
Essentially, a reasonable discussion of all technologies should be conducted (if we keep in mind only the technical, economic and environmental aspects of the matter) in the target quadrangle “effect-damage-cost-alternative”. In the case of nuclear war, this, however, is not enough, since the “quadrangle” turns, figuratively speaking, into a “cube”, if we keep in mind the extraordinary significance of the political and, first of all, legal aspects of the problem.
This means that, of course, it is pointless to discuss nuclear weapons, abstracting from the fact of the existence of the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty, paragraph 1 of Art. 1 of which directly prohibits a participating state (including Russia) from producing any nuclear weapons, regardless of their purpose and purpose. Taking this into account, the author would like to clearly define his position: he in no way calls for a revision of the Treaty, or even less for its violation. The point in the approach he proposes is to, by impartially and reasonably analyzing the capabilities of nuclear weapons, answer the question of the advisability of their use in certain cases; namely, in those cases when such use from an economic, environmental, social point of view is objectively the best solution to some important problem and therefore has the right to count on international understanding and consent (of course, even hints at the possibility of obtaining any military benefits). And if the answer to the formulated question is positive in essence, then make efforts to impeccably legalize such a conclusion within the framework provided for this by the mentioned Treaty - which is discussed below.
Returning to the discussion of nuclear weapons as such, we note that from the very beginning of the implementation of “Program No. 7” it was based on the principle that a prerequisite for the use of nuclear weapons is either the absence of “traditional” technology, or the economic and/or environmental inexpediency of its use. Subsequently, these requirements became even more stringent:
"1. Under no circumstances should nuclear explosions that could release measurable amounts of radioactive products into human-accessible environmental areas be even contemplated. These are all types of so-called external explosions that entail visible changes on the earth's surface - the construction of reservoirs (Chagan), canals (Taiga facility, Perm region), embankment dams (Kristall, Sakha-Yakutia) , failure craters (“Galit”, Kazakhstan). It should be borne in mind that in these cases there is almost always a technological alternative (a dam, canal or reservoir can be constructed using traditional methods).
"2. Nuclear explosions should not be used, as a result of which radioactive products, although not directly entering the human environment (internal explosions, or camouflage explosions), will be in contact with products used by humans (formation of gas and condensate storage facilities, ore crushing, intensification oil and gas fields). Although there is often no technological alternative to such explosions, there is usually a targeted alternative (instead of intensifying depleted fields, efforts can be focused on the exploration and development of new ones). In addition, practice has revealed undesirable radiation consequences: contamination of industrial sites during drilling (“puncture”) of such cavities, loss of their working volume and pressing of radioactive brines to the surface during the operation of gas storage facilities created in rock salt layers, etc.).
"3. Any nuclear camouflage explosions should be “frozen” if they are not the only - quick and effective - solution commensurate with the scale of the problem (for example, emergency gas fountains).
The first suppression was carried out at the Urta-Bulak gas field in Uzbekistan, where a gas reservoir with a pressure above 300 atm was discovered at a depth of 2450 m. On December 11, 1963, a gas release occurred, causing an emergency fountain with an average daily flow rate of 12 million m3 - this would be enough to supply a city like St. Petersburg. In addition to economic losses, the environmental damage was truly colossal - the gas contained a significant amount of highly toxic hydrogen sulfide, the long-term impact of which on wildlife could lead to unpredictable consequences, and the resulting fire added carbon oxides to this. The author, himself a participant in later works of this kind, will never forget the stinking hydrogen sulfide breath of the emergency gas fountain.
Attempts to cope with this disaster using traditional methods, which continued for almost three years, were unsuccessful; during this time, about 15.5 billion m3 of gas were lost. Nuclear scientists got down to business. Under the leadership of the then Minister of MSM E.P. Slavsky, an original method for eliminating the release was developed, based on drilling an inclined well from the surface of the Earth to the trunk of the emergency well and detonating a special nuclear charge (with a power of 30 kt) at a depth of over 1500 m and at a distance of about 40 m from the trunk. The idea was that the enormous - tens of thousands of atmospheres - pressure in the compression zone would cut the trunk of the emergency well, like scissors.
After the explosion (September 30, 1966), the release of gas from the emergency well stopped after 25 seconds (!). There was no release of radioactive products to the surface, and there were no complications in the further exploitation of the field.
Four more emergency gas fountains (in Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Ukraine and Russia) were tamed in a similar way. In this case, devices with a power of 4 to 47 kt were used, detonated at depths from 1510 to 2480 m. Neither early post-detonation nor late release of radioactive products onto the earth's surface was observed. It should be noted that at two fields the use of traditional methods of eliminating the blowout was completely impossible, because in the absence of a pronounced mouth of the emergency well, intense pressure distribution of gas occurred along the upper permeable geological horizons with the formation of gas griffins over a large area (within a radius of up to a kilometer from the mouth).