Chernobyl Buchzusammenfassung - das Wichtigste aus Chernobyl

Einleitung anhören

00:00

Zusammenfassung von Chernobyl

Name: Chernobyl
Rating: 4.6 (196 reviews)
Author: Serhii Plokhy

Serhii Plokhy

The History of a Nuclear Catastrophe

4.6 (196 Bewertungen)

27 Min.

Themen

General Knowledge The Cold War

Inhaltsübersicht

Chernobyl
in 8 Kernaussagen verstehen

Audio & Text in der Blinkist App

Kernaussage 1 von 8

What’s in it for me? Come to grips with the Chernobyl catastrophe and its fallout.

Few events in modern history are as momentous as the explosion at Unit 4 of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant on April 26, 1986. But even as flames engulfed the building and the damaged reactor spewed incredible levels of radiation across the countryside, few knew the magnitude of the calamity. The response was, as a result, belated. The Soviets did not immediately realize that they were dealing with the worst nuclear disaster in human history.

Why did it take so long for decisive action to arrive? What caused the meltdown in the first place? In these blinks, you’ll discover the answers. Here, you’ll get inside the control room as the metaphorical doomsday clock ticked down to midnight, find out about the efforts to prevent further tragedy and learn about the heroic souls who sacrificed their safety to clean up the contamination.

There’s also a political facet to the debacle, with the Soviet Union – already in a tailspin – being dealt a crushing blow to its legitimacy. Other reactors at Chernobyl might’ve been back up and running after the accident – they were finally decommissioned in 2000 – but the USSR itself couldn’t recover from the effects of 1986.

In these blinks, you'll find out:

who and what were responsible for the explosions;
how the Soviet Union decontaminated the affected area; and
why ex-Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev blames Chernobyl for the USSR's collapse.

Just before the explosion, Chernobyl workers were conducting a safety test.

In 1986, the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant in Soviet Ukraine was the third most powerful on Earth.

To accommodate its army of workers, authorities constructed the city of Prypiat two kilometers from the plant. Bustling with a population of 45,000, life in this “nuclear town” was luxurious by Soviet standards: meat and dairy were available in shops, and it boasted two swimming pools and an ice rink. This idyllic scene was shattered after April 26, when a series of explosions tore through Chernobyl’s Unit 4 – home to its fourth nuclear reactor.

To really grasp the scope of this disaster, it’s helpful to understand how nuclear reactors work. First of all, they exist to create heat. This heat vaporizes water into steam, powering turbines to produce electricity. They create heat through a process called fission.

Fission is when the nucleus of an atom splits into smaller components. When fission occurs, energy and tiny subatomic particles called neutrons are released. We can induce fission by forcing a neutron to collide with another atom’s nucleus – but we can’t do this without a supply of neutrons that have already been freed from their original atom.

The nuclei of some atoms – like uranium-235 – are extremely unstable. They naturally want to undergo fission to allow them to split into smaller, more stable parts. This natural fission can start a chain reaction, with freed neutrons colliding with other atoms, splitting them and releasing more neutrons. Packing uranium-235 atoms close together in fuel rods creates just this kind of chain reaction.

But there’s a problem: neutrons travel so fast that they’re unlikely to hit other uranium atoms. To slow them down and thus increase reactivity, nuclear plants use substances like water and graphite.

To control the power of the reaction, nuclear plants also have control rods, made of materials like boron, which absorb neutrons. These are inserted into the reactor’s core and adjusting the depth of the control rods regulates the power of the reaction. Meanwhile, cooling fluid circulates through the reactor itself, moderating its overall temperature.

So, what happened inside Unit 4 on April 26? Well, unbelievably, operators were conducting a safety test on this very system.

If Chernobyl ever experienced a power loss, electricity was still required to pump the cooling fluid into the reactor to stop it from overheating. Diesel generators were on hand for this, but they took 45 seconds to kick in – a dangerous delay. But Chernobyl’s steam turbines didn’t immediately stop after a power loss, so it was possible that their dying rotations would produce enough electricity to bridge the 45-second gap before power was restored. The test aimed to confirm this.

Mismanagement and incompetence pushed Unit 4’s reactor to the brink of catastrophe.

Unit 4’s turbine test was a deadly medley of blunders and misfortune.

At 04:00 p.m. on Friday, April 24, the evening shift, led by Yuri Tregub, took over. Tregub wasn’t familiar with the procedure for the test, so he called his superior, who dispatched the strict deputy chief engineer, Anatolii Dyatlov.

Soviet-made RBMK reactors contained a fatal design flaw.

So, the immediate trigger for the Chernobyl explosions was the activation of the AZ-5 emergency safety measure, which should’ve immediately killed the reaction. But why?

Well, Chernobyl isn’t just a story of human error. There was another factor: a design flaw.

Ignorance and denial characterized the initial aftermath of the explosion.

Immediately after the explosions, the Specialized Military Fire Department was called in. What they found shocked them: pockets of fire everywhere and Unit 4’s reactor hall in ruins.

Blazes on the roof were the initial problem. Dressed in nothing but standard protective gear, the firefighters’ boots started melting from the extreme radioactive heat. On the roof, they saw silvery chunks of rock that spontaneously burst into flames; to prevent the fire spreading, they kicked them to the ground. Nobody had told the firefighters, but these rocks were pieces of graphite from Unit 4’s reactor core, emitting an unthinkable amount of deadly radiation.

Finally realizing the disaster’s magnitude, officials and scientists worked on damage limitation.

Radiation sickness is a cruel killer. One type of radiation, ionizing radiation, separates electrons from their atoms. This kills living cells or causes them to malfunction. People exposed to high doses of ionizing radiation will develop acute radiation syndrome (ARS) – in severe cases, patients experience diarrhea, skin burns and nervous system failure.

Authorities couldn’t deny or downplay the disaster when firefighters and plant workers arrived at Prypiat hospital displaying ARS symptoms; the reactor had been damaged, and this was a catastrophe. But even so, Prypiat wasn’t evacuated. The day after the disaster, with radioactive ash spewing into the sky, Prypiat residents knew nothing.

Further danger averted, the Soviet government began a gargantuan cleanup operation.

With the worst seemingly over, Shcherbina’s commission organized perhaps the largest cleanup operation in history. Chernobyl and its surrounding area were unimaginably contaminated and winds were carrying radioactive particles far further – a nuclear power station in Sweden, 1,200 km away, detected Chernobyl’s radiation.

Finally aware of the situation’s magnitude, Soviet high officials called upon their vast reserve of human resources, summoning over 600,000 soldiers, scientists, engineers and skilled workers to Chernobyl. These people, known as liquidators, decontaminated thousands of square kilometers of territory. They were given scant information and almost no protective clothing.

The social and environmental costs of Chernobyl were massive.

It’s hard to grasp the enormous consequences of Chernobyl, but two immediate categories can help us wrap our heads around it all: the environmental impact and the human cost.

Regarding fatalities, the official Soviet death toll of 31 is still recognized in Russia today. But this figure only counts those killed by the blast or from ARS in the months after and is widely contested. Some scholars estimate that 50 people died of ARS, and many more may still die of radiation exposure in the future.

The Chernobyl disaster contributed to the downfall of the Soviet system.

It’s easy to fixate on the human and environmental impacts of Chernobyl because of their vast scope and terrible nature. That’d be a mistake, though, because the disaster also played a key role in one of the twentieth century’s most momentous political ruptures: Chernobyl catalyzed the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991.

Once out of office, Mikhail Gorbachev even wrote that the meltdown was the “real cause” of the USSR’s demise. Chernobyl fatally undermined the public’s already wavering trust in the Soviet government. This was especially true for the Soviet republics of Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania.

Du möchtest die gesamte Zusammenfassung von Chernobyl sehen?

Kernaussagen in Chernobyl

Mehr Wissen in weniger Zeit

Sachbücher auf den Punkt gebracht

Kernaussagen aus Sachbüchern in ca. 15 Minuten pro Titel lesen & anhören mit den „Blinks”

Zeitsparende Empfehlungen

Titel, die dein Leben bereichern, passend zu deinen Interessen und Zielen

Podcasts in Kurzform ^Neu

Kernaussagen wichtiger Podcasts im Kurzformat mit den neuen „Shortcasts”

Worum geht es in Chernobyl?

Chernobyl (2018) documents the 1986 nuclear meltdown that shook the Soviet Union. It is an insightful and meticulously researched work of history, drawing from newly opened archives to shed fresh light on the disaster. Piecing together the entire episode, Plokhy takes us from the fateful minutes before the disaster to the cleanup operation and, finally, the disintegration of the USSR.

Wer Chernobyl lesen sollte

Fans of the HBO miniseries who want to dig deeper
Those born after the disaster, trying to make sense of its consequences
Nuclear power plant operators

Über den Autor

Serhii Plokhy is a Ukranian-American historian, author and expert on the history of Ukraine, Eastern Europe and the Cold War. He is a professor of Ukranian history at Harvard University and has published over twelve books, including The Last Empire: The Final Days of the Soviet Union (2014) and The Gates of Europe: A History of Ukraine (2015).

Kategorien mit Chernobyl

Nature & the Environment History

Ähnlich wie Chernobyl

Fukushima

David Lochbaum

The Story of a Nuclear Disaster

Nicholas A. Christakis

The Profound and Enduring Impact of Coronavirus on the Way We Live

26 min

3.6

The Romanovs

Simon Sebag Montefiore

The Last of the Soviets

17 min

4.2

A Short History of Nearly Everything

Bill Bryson

A journey into the most intriguing and intractable questions that science seeks to answer

38 min

4.5

The Communist Manifesto

Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels

Workers of the world unite!

15 min

4.2

The Future Is History

Masha Gessen

How Totalitarianism Reclaimed Russia

25 min

4.2

American Prometheus

Kai Bird & Martin J Sherwin

The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer

One Man’s Obsession With Revenge Turns Into Self-Destruction

A History of Nuclear Meltdowns and Disasters from the Ozark Mountains to Fukushima

14 min

4.1

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn

Mark Twain

Freedom, Civilization, and Prejudice in the Pre-Civil War South

A Philosophical Tale About the Failures of Government Coercion

Toussaint L’Ouverture and the San Domingo Revolution

28 min

4.6

The Porn Trap

Wendy Maltz & Larry Maltz

The Essential Guide to Overcoming Problems Caused by Pornography

20 min

4.3

The Gulag Archipelago 1918-1956

Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn

An Experiment in Literary Investigation

24 min

4.6

A Brief History of Time

Stephen Hawking

From the Big Bang to Black Holes

A Common Sense Guide to the Economy

Nuclear Weapons, the Damascus Accident, and the Illusion of Safety

27 min

4.8

The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck

Mark Manson

A Counterintuitive Approach to Living a Good Life

101 Simple Truths for a Better Life

What It Means for the West

"The Story of Radiation – How the New Science of the Human Body Is Changing the Way We Live"

Real Lives in North Korea

23 min

4.3

Questions I Am Asked About The Holocaust

Hédi Fried

A survivor’s account of Auschwitz

25 min

4.6

A People’s History of the United States

Howard Zinn

A brilliant and moving history of the American people

35 min

4.0

Thinking, Fast and Slow

Daniel Kahneman

Intuition or deliberation? Where you can (and can't) trust your brain

28 min

4.5

The Road to Unfreedom

Timothy Snyder

Russia, Europe, America

Timeless Tales of Gods and Heroes

Confessions of a Nuclear War Planner

Say Less to Get More from Any Pitch or Presentation

Six Studies in World Strategy

20 min

4.3

The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People

Stephen R. Covey

Powerful Lessons in Personal Change

An honest account from a prime minister who truly altered his country’s course

Christopher Hitchens’ essays on dying

An Essential Guide to Life

21 min

4.2

The Hundred Years' War on Palestine

Rashid Khalidi

A History of Settler Colonialism and Resistance, 1917–2017

A Violent Satire on Modern Capitalism and Corporate Greed

The Science of Creating Heaven on Earth

20 min

2.9

Where Good Ideas Come From

Steven Johnson

The Natural History of Innovation

18 min

4.2

Mindfulness

Mark Williams and Danny Penman

An Eight-Week Plan for Finding Peace in a Frantic World

An uncommon guide to rapid fat-loss, incredible sex and becoming superhuman

19 min

3.3

7 Strategies for Wealth & Happiness

Jim Rohn

Power Ideas from America's Foremost Business Philosopher

20 min

4.4

How to Talk to Anyone

Leil Lowndes

92 Little Tricks for Big Success in Relationships

25 min

4.2

The Nazi Conspiracy

Brad Meltzer and Josh Mensch

The Secret Plot to Kill Roosevelt, Stalin, and Churchill

What It Is, Why It's Scarce, and How to Get More

24 min

4.2

Bedtime Biography: Napoleon The Great

Andrew Roberts

How Napoleon Conquered Europe and Changed the World

14 Management Principles from the World's Greatest Manufacturer

The Jaw-dropping Tragedy That Shocked Ancient Greece

Redefine Everything. Find Yourself First

20 min

4.2

❤️ für Blinkist️️️

Ines S.

Ich bin begeistert. Ich liebe Bücher aber durch zwei kleine Kinder komme ich einfach nicht zum Lesen. Und ja, viele Bücher haben viel bla bla und die Quintessenz ist eigentlich ein Bruchteil.

Genau dafür ist Blinkist total genial! Es wird auf das Wesentliche reduziert, die Blinks sind gut verständlich, gut zusammengefasst und auch hörbar! Das ist super. 80 Euro für ein ganzes Jahr klingt viel, aber dafür unbegrenzt Zugriff auf 3000 Bücher. Und dieses Wissen und die Zeitersparnis ist unbezahlbar.

Ekaterina S.

Extrem empfehlenswert. Statt sinnlos im Facebook zu scrollen höre ich jetzt täglich zwischen 3-4 "Bücher". Bei manchen wird schnelle klar, dass der Kauf unnötig ist, da schon das wichtigste zusammen gefasst wurde..bei anderen macht es Lust doch das Buch selbständig zu lesen. Wirklich toll

Nils S.

Einer der besten, bequemsten und sinnvollsten Apps die auf ein Handy gehören. Jeden morgen 15-20 Minuten für die eigene Weiterbildung/Entwicklung oder Wissen.

Julia P.

Viele tolle Bücher, auf deren Kernaussagen reduziert- präzise und ansprechend zusammengefasst. Endlich habe ich das Gefühl, Zeit für Bücher zu finden, für die ich sonst keine Zeit habe.