While channel surfing (or, rather, streaming-service surfing) recently, I came across a documentary on the Chernobyl disaster, Chernobyl: Secrets, Lies, and Untold Stories. Though I watched it on HBO Max, it seemed like typical History Channel fodder--and the writing, research, and editing of this particular documentary left a lot to be desired.
I'm going to focus on one particularly-egregious statement made during the program:
"Some scientists feared that if the nuclear fuel burned through the concrete floor to reach water tanks below, then a nuclear explosion would occur. One estimate said the blast could equal five million tons of TNT."
There are simply so many things wrong with that statement that it's difficult to tease them all apart!
But before I dig into them, I need to cover a few of the basics of nuclear physics (don't be scared; I'll keep it very high level).
