Hey guys! I’m back and more ready than ever for more exciting content! Thank you all for the great suggestion of future video ideas and we’ll get into as many as possible! Let me know what you think of this video! Thanks for watching!☢️👩🏽‍🔬🧪🥼

"Unrequested fission surplus" sounds a lot like a rapid unscheduled disassembly (that's when your rocket blows up).

There was another episode where Homer became legally disabled via obesity so he could work from home. It resulted in him ultimately delegating responsibilities to a toy that led to another meltdown scenario.

I was taught "critical mass" referred to the minimum amount of fissile material needed to sustain a nuclear reaction. It's an important consideration in nuclear weapons design. Basically, they're trying to say the power plant's fuel rods are about to undergo a nuclear detonation, even though there are often differences in the processing of nuclear fuel for reactors and nuclear material for atomic weapons.

You should have watched the part at the end where Homer saves another nuclear power plant the same way while the plant owner watches.

i've been in a german powerplant as part of my work field. My company constructed radiation measurement equipment for them. First thing we noticed wasn't nuclear radiation , it was thermal radiation. We were there between autumn and winter , i think. Snow and morning frost had covered the vast majority of the surroundings, but an extreemely large plot around the power plant was free of white due to the large amount of heat the place was giving off. It makes sense , i suppose. All that water from the tertiary (?) cooling cycle of water getting vented raised the surrounding heat by about ... 3-4 degrees c° on the parking lot. Inside, we had to listen to an hour long security video from the 90ies about how nuclear power plants work, stewing in the heat. That was in the building adjacent to the actual powerplant, mind you. We were reminded several times over not to touch our face with our hands, because the trace presence of radioactive particles in dust resting on handrails etc. is not enough to harm a person through their skin, but things change really quickly once you ingest them. Passing the first security checkpoint after confirming our identity to a camera, the inside got another bit warmer. So warm in fact, that all male workers were chilling comfortably in their underwear in the break room.( all they had was underwear under the onesies one has to wear deeper inside anyway). Peeking into the control room left quite an impression, because it reflected Homer's workplace ethics quite well. It was way larger, with lots of monitoring screens and measuring equipment , but because the powerplants are fully automated, all those guys had to do after years of training for this job was... sit and observe. They basicly were there, because their presence is mandated by law as a fail safe. Just sitting there , reading their newspapers, taking naps and twiddling their thumbs. And no , it was not break time at that point. There were no photographs around though , because you are not meant to personalize those work spaces. The area was large enough to host 20 people, but at the time it ran with four. No food or drinks for obvious reasons. Going deeper into the next security area, we got measured for radiation a couple times and had to strip down, slip into a onesie with gloves and new shoes. Can't recall if we had to wear safety helmets and goggles... i think we did. There was a MASSIVE wall seperating the outer from the inner area of the powerplant , you'd struggle to wrap both hands around it. And a similiarly massive steel safe door, as you've probably seen a couple times in heist movies. And inside.. well, we were in our underwear, wearing paper thin onesies in winter, and after 10 minutes inside you started sweating. Breathing without a mask was fine. Touching things and getting them close to your face was not. That must have been said to us half a dozen times. We've also seen the water pool, where expired nuclear fuel rods rest. Radiation above the pool surface was heightened, but safe. Beneath the surface, it was deadly. You fall in, that's it. It didn't glow and it wasn't green. just regular ol' transparent water :P A small side-note: those guys had free electricity for their cars and they had their own fitness center for training on the premises. A Biiiiiig one. The pay from what we heard was also nothing to scoff at. Same for the food. All in all , a pretty decent job... in europe. Heaven only knows how they treat their employees in america. i also think they had a lot of external labor, which they rotated out every few months to keep their exposure to radioactivity within acceptable levels? That goes for people who have to perform physical labor within the highest security area, not the ones outside the concrete egg. PS: I believe i remember being told , that nuclear pellets within the fuel rods are safe to handle by hand before they have been activated, but correct me if i am wrong.

This episode aired only 5 years after Chernobyl, and I've always wondered if it was intended as a parody of the incompetence that lead to Chernobyl happening. This is the first video I've seen of yours and it wa spretty good. I'll be watching more!

One would think that button would be clearly labeled if it was that important.

Mr. Burns would have fit right in with pr people of Chernobyl.

Critical mass means the amount of fissile materal required to create a chain reaction. If you core doesn't have critical mass it's not much of a core, at least not enough to be a valid reactor core. I liked that you actually showed a picture of a SCRAM button, if people knew more about the safety systems designed into a reactor, they'd be much less frightened of them.

"Somewhere there's a thingy that tells you how to work this stuff." I love that line, especially how he says "thingy".

Not gonna lie, but The Simpsons sometimes make me had a heart attack watching Homer operating the nuclear plant.

The "critical mass" reference reveals the level of public understanding about nuclear energy, conflation with nuclear weaponry, and how satire like The Simpsons plays with that misunderstanding. Although in this case, the humor depends on knowing that billionaire power plant owner Burns cuts corners wherever he can (until it directly affects him) to the extent of hiring bumbling, uneducated staff into safety-critical positions like our hero Homer. Interesting to see how an isolated episode looks as a "first" or "near first" introduction to the show. The creepy interplay between Burns and Smithers is one of countless established character relationships; this one comes across much more funny than creepy when you have seen the characters' prior development.

Glad your back. Good reaction. Lawrence Huff wrote a book called Dome. It's about a nuclear reactor failing. It's a good read for a novice. As a professional you might like it.

I must say I'm impressed with how much the writers of this sequence actually got right. Thank you very much for this reaction. 🙂

Classic episode! Also loved the commentary, very informative 🙂

“Unrequested fission surplus” 🤣

I love these! Please do more of these.

The episode is from 1991 (Season 3, episode 5), and there are two meltdowns in the episode. The part you reacted to is basically a parody of the actual TMI incident, particularly with the "kill zone" map at 7:00

Homer Simpson as the safety officer at a nuclear power plant. Nuff said !

Your smile just letting me to afterlife 😇 every time I see

Simpsons writers are pretty geeky, I'm not surprised that the diagram of the nuclear reactor was accurate

And in the end the town of Springfield was saved by, oh let's say, Mo.

"You don't call a core meltdown minor." ... Unless you're in the Soviet Union and it would make the government look bad. In that case, just send more firefighters to clean up the graphite and claim there were no deaths.

7:08 if anyone's curious why they're under the desks, it's cuz during the cold War in the 80s that's what they taught kids to do if there was a nuclear attack, I wasn't alive but I've seen it referenced by South Park and other comedies

Lol. I liked the poise with which you present the ridiculous (The Simpsons).

Love your videos!!

Its been a moment since you've uploaded good to see you back :). I guess he pressed reactor SCRAM (AZ-5, EPIS) Great episode though!

Thanks for explaining it, Elina! I always was curious how accurate this episode is to real life. I know the writers on Futurama (many of which worked on The Simpsons) were well-researched, befitting its science-fiction premise.

Hiya Elina love your channel keep up the work with the awesome videos =)

This is the content I came for. Love it!

When the rats leave you know it's bad. 😳

Here in Switzerland there is a power plant (Gösgen) that is located within 200 meters of inhabited area.

I haven’t seen this one in a long time. I was wondering how come the automated systems (which controlled the shutters) didn’t automatically initiate a scram! Even the early RBMK reactors had some auto-scram situations! I guess it’s just one of those concessions to tension - who knows why it started or why it had to be manually stopped. Or why Homer was the only one who could do anything - he’s in 7G so there should be at least 7 if not 49 other safety inspectors besides him on the payroll. Unless perhaps the automatic shutters cut off the cables for the rest of it, and everyone else was locked in the lunch room… probably best not to think about that too hard though. Burns’ reactors are unreliable and held together with chewing gum, so for all we know one of the rats might’ve dislodged some control surface or another!

"...Praying? As if thats gonna help" savage

When Homer reads the manual, it states that the reactor is from 1952 - which might explain why the safety system didn't kick in automatically.

As for how anyone would happen to live in the red zone... that can be chalked up to cityplanning having been done shoddily, and as you will see, the plant is questionably managed as well. It is Springfield :D And one would assume the countdown is less to the literal meltdown and more to the point of no return or when it can still be prevented? One neat detail is that we didn't see exactly which button it was, whether to save the animators the trouble of going deeply into the functions of such hardware or to put the viewers in Homer's shoes, having no clue still which button it was :D Besides "Moe".

I'm quite impressed at how accurate the whole thing was. They must have done a lot of research. When I first saw this episode, I thought it was all guesswork and BS. Simpsons used to be so funny. Now if I get two laughs per episode, I'm happy.

2:19 I think they were praying that they'd be in heaven after the plant blows up knowing it was too late for them to do anything else. It was still a miracle that Homer resolved the issue though (lol)

3 miles Island was just about 10 years old at the time of this episode. This is a parody of the incident, the media coverage and the corporate reactions.

Elinimou your video was so amazing we miss your video you should upload your videos often I am Mogimou and I do not know about nuclear physics but you are so funny

Homer Simpson = Extremely lucky in Simpsons' Dictionary. 😂 🤣

Excellent and funny!

007(seconds). This is an homage to Goldfinger(1964).

I think critical mass was used to describe what happened when the screwdriver slipped on the demon core. If you don't know what the demon core was, it was the unused insides of the third bomb meant for Japan. The man holding the screwdriver when it's slipped died, the other men in the room suffered from radiation poisoning. DISCLAIMER I only had 6 months of physics in high school. So basically I have no right to leave a comment on your Channel. Thank you for the time and effort you put into this video, thumbs up.

In cartoons, there doesn't have to be a 'real' reason for things to happen but there is something called 'The Plausible Impossible' (bit like poetic licence.) I remember learning about it years ago. They used Wile-E Coyote and Roadrunner cartoons as examples. e.g., cartoon character runs off a cliff and is suspended in mid air, turns around and runs back , or, has time to realise whats happened before falling. Another was where a 'tunnel' was painted on a wall, cliff, etc and a truck or train comes out (or Roadrunner runs in)

The 'minor malfunction' was a release of a 'minuscule' amount of radioactive gas at San Onofrey nuclear power plant in California, USA.

@3:38 maybe its the worker in the back reading a book or their hats but this actually looks like the set of a comedy.

so he pressed AZ-5 lol

Look up Pickering Ontario sometime. One of the few towns that live dangerously close to a nuclear power plant.

“AHHHHH, IT’S MY PROBLEM!! WE’RE DOOMED!!!!!!” 🤣

7:38 "007" is a direct reference to the movie Goldfinger, where James Bond stops the nuclear bomb inside Fort Knox from exploding just 7 seconds to go, which itself was a joke about Bond's agent number being 007.

The near meltdown took place because there was bubblegum covering the core temperature indicator. It was gradually creeping up because Homer was sleeping. I assume whatever was keeping the core hot was an unstable process that got out of hand because of inattention.

In the MSR, the reactor acts, by design, to cut off the reaction by fluid transfer to a safe vessel by a melting plug from the reaction core to a "drain tank" without further human intervention. "Walk-away" safe.

I think you are the most beautiful nuclear physicist I've seen ☺️

from the golden era of the Simpsons!

Please do more simpsons reactions

Yeah Homer!!! 😶

lit ep.

4:40 Now Marge on the other hand, Marge is prayin uselessly heh

7:49 Why isn't one of the definitions of lucky: *Homer Simpson?*

the meltdown happened likely because its homers job as the safety manager to monitor the reactor conditions and as a result something was going on while he was sleeping that could have easily been corrected or fixed but was allowed to continue until it resulted in a core meltdown scenario.

I love Barney in this: "ah, I could've lived a richer life." Dismissing death seemingly easier than Moe 🤣😆😂

2:25 Prty sure the prayin is them quickly absolvin their sins before they die actually xD

Yeees welcome baaaack❤️❤️❤️i was waiting for another videooooo❤️❤️❤️

In Tennessee off of Interstate I40 there is a power plant 1 mile off the busy highway.. good thing Nuclear is the safest and most reliable way to produce energy!

2:25-2:29 “We’re there actually people praying inside the power plant? As if that’s going to help.” You have a lot to learn about American culture

Oh after really long time 😅😅

If you think this had substandard safety protocols, I dread to think what you'd make of the kind of nuclear emergencies that occur in Thunderbirds (1965).

Shows like the Simpsons are the reason that we don’t trust nuclear energy, and we’re all the more blind for it.

I am pretty sure you have diluted some of the radioactive stuff with your charming eyes only 😊.

We just gonna ignore the 2 guys trying to steal soda during this meltdown. What is the endgame for that soda heist? 😂😂😂😂

Prayer does help. Peace be with you.

I have to admit that you are lovely, and articulate. My goodness…

you have a very cool accent where are you from? if i had to guess i’d say greece or like romania mainly because your last name looks orthodox however i’m not great at guessing accents lol

Scramming the reactor for those who don't know simply means a quick and full insertion of the control rods between the fuel rods. Control rods are usually made of graphite because pure carbon tends to absord free neutrons like a dry sponge absorbs water.

The rats made me wonder how clean these plants are usually kept.

There's an episode where Bart travels across the country and ends up being stuck. Lisa gives Homer an idea to pour soda on top of the Fissionator 1952 to get a replacement. You should react to that.

I know Homer Jay Simpson he's saved the nuclear power plant crisis

Great Reaction! How about "The Devils Core" or perhaps should have been called "The world's most stupid smart people" 🤔

My fictional company called bloxy incorporated had hundreds of meltdowns and failed stalls leading to unintentional black hole formations

Question if a nuclear power plant meltdown and press the wrong button what could happen like you took out the nuclear fuel rods

Monty Python's "In Search of the Holy Grail"... then Chernobyl happened some years later. Go figure. Cause & effect?

There are people who live right beside nuclear power plants. I heard there were sometimes extremely loud bangs without any warning, like at least weekly. First time you hear it you think you're at ground zero of nuclear devastation.

The Simpsons has done a lot to perpetuate the idea that a nuclear power plant is just a nuclear bomb waiting to go off.

Maybe something on reactors in space like RTG's on probes or new class of reactors being studied for the moon and mars maybe even nuclear engines for space travel

You must know about critical mass. Tell me if I'm wrong, please. The two types of reactive fuel over heat to the point of not being able to be re-cooled. Critical mass is the point on no return, you then have a self sustained, uncontrollable reaction...aka, elephants foot!

Thank you and welcome back 😍 I think they’re using critical mass as one of those word salads that they use in “science scenes” Like how everything with “Quantum” or “Nanotechnology” makes futuristic tach possible

Hi Elina love your reaction video, do the people in charge get tested all the time for mental illness brain tumours or strokes, you wouldent want people to randomly press buttons through illness, or even worse how would you stop a guy from deliberately starting a meltdown, through mental illness.

Good thing the Springfield nuclear power plant didn’t use graphite tipped control rods.

I always call the scram button “Moe”

Its a shame she dident show the follow up scenes when the inspectors came to find out how Homer managed to stop the meltdown. And yes he did the eeny meeny miny moe lyrics in front of them.

just wait till you watch the episode where he purposefully gains weight to get on disability, then has to use well something to keep it from exploding.

😍

@1.17 bet elina fantasise's about that often ;)

Please do a reaction to the procedures taken in the HBO show Chernobyl

10km Come to Ontario we don’t get earthquake training we get radioactive training and an iodine pills loool

Lol. She said its been a while hehe.

Did you already reacted to the episode with extra extra extra Large (fat) Homero at the Nuclear Plant?

You do you obviously, nuclear stuff is quite serious, but would love to see you let yourself laugh more. The Simpsons is a comedy after all :P