#nuclear science
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Love how many nuclear science papers in the period between 1986 and 1995 carry the general message of "well this is fucking awful, it should never have happened and Christ we hope it never happens again, but on the other hand this is fascinating"
#chernobyl#chernobyl disaster#nuclear physics#nuclear science#man made disasters#man made horrors#science#scientists
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#i probably come off sounding pretentious when i get excited about radiation incidents#like. uhm actually hiroshima was an airburst explosion so the fallout is minimal. chernobyl however exploded on the ground and included...#hot particles which blah blah blah
I Would Like To Hear More
@chasm-connected
Okay gosh uhm
I am not an expert in any way, but basically what I was referencing is how the different types of explosions (Hiroshima atom bomb air burst vs Chernobyl reactor meltdown) had drastically different levels of fallout
Let me preface by saying that this in no way is meant to minimize the real destruction, pain and suffering caused by the Hiroshima bombing - that is unspeakably heinous, but that is another post. This is specifically about the science of nuclear fallout
When the Hiroshima bomb exploded, it had not yet reached the ground. The heat and shockwave it produced were extreme and deadly, but the radiation did not stick around as long as one may expect. When that kind of explosion goes off in the air, radioactive particles disperse in the atmosphere and die out relatively quickly. Hiroshima today is a thriving metropolis - forever changed by its nuclear history but safe and livable!
Chernobyl, however, is another story entirely. The exclusion zone is still considered uninhabitable. One could visit and even spend a day or two in the area, but living there every day (as some people do, but again, that's another post) could have serious health effects. The ambient radiation levels are unsafe, even miles from ground zero.
Why?
Well. When the reactor exploded, it sent actual pieces of radioactive fuel into the atmosphere, which rained down all over the immediate area. Not particles that would disperse in the air, whole pieces of active fuel rods just... everywhere. There are still tiny bits of these rods and similarly radioactive materials from the explosion just... hanging out on and in the ground in Chernobyl, continuing to put out radiation. This is in addition to the core of the reactor that actually melted down, but that has been largely enclosed and shielded (though as it continues to slowly degrade there is a risk of further contamination to the ground/groundwater - another post!) The little hot particles everywhere? How do you shield or enclose them? How do you even find them all without putting people in danger? If you could, how long would it take?
There's more to it, of course, and if you want to learn more I highly recommend the Half Life Histories series of videos on YouTube by Kyle Hill. He's an actual scientist who can explain this stuff SO much better than I ever could.
#nuclear science#chernobyl#hiroshima#i can't believe anyone wanta to see me babble about this but uh hi here it is thank you#nuclear disaster#radiation incident#ask to tag#kyle hill#also the chernobyl reactor stayed on fire for a long time and all that smoke coming out of it carried more radioactive particles...#in a meltdown the nuclear material is fueling itself uncontrollably and producing immense heat and radiation and just. man. i can't explain#it's so much worse than a single explosion. fallout-wise
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science side of tumblr i have a hypothetical question. what would happen if you put rufus, the demon core, in a rock tumbler?
#science side of tumblr#demon core#nuclear science#nuclear engineering#rock tumbling#how do i tag this#word project
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So a thing about me is that I’m an absolute nerd for stuff to do with nuclear disasters, science and history. It’s so amazing. Everything about it is. From the mere notion that chain reactions that create energy can just be made by placing radioactive isotopes near each other and the fact we can utilise that for our own benefit is so cool to me. It can deliver power to homes, towns and cities. It can provide power on a lesser scale too, but in much more remote areas in the form of RTGs. The possibilities are nearly endless and is best step we have for energy going into the future.
But if treated carelessly, it can destroy so much.
Talking to the Future
One of the things I learnt about while just going through videos and articles on anything to do with nuclear was a place called the W.I.P.P (Waste Isolation Pilot Plant) in the New Mexico desert. This place is a giant underground storage facility that will be used to store high level nuclear waste that is incredibly radioactive, will cause significant harm and lasts for a very long time. This means that the area that all this waste will be stored in will be dangerous if dug into, etc. This, for the most part is fine. We know today that we shouldn’t dig down and uncover the waste that is in there because we know what it is and how dangerous it is.
The problem is that this waste is planned to be stored for 10,000 years.
(Thanks, Plutonium-239 and your long ass half-life)
So then arises the problem of communicating with people of the future. Think about how much culture changes in 100, 200 years. Where were we as humans 10,000 years ago compared to now? Our languages now are nothing like the ones we had even 1,000 years ago. So how do we warn far future generations, other civilisations of the danger the WIPP holds without words or significant use of current language?
Simple symbols wouldn’t be enough because they face a similar issue. Meanings of symbols can changed, warped or entirely unrecognised. Who’s to say the the meaning of the trefoil sign, the symbol that warns against ionizing radiation, couldn't be lost so many years down the line?
We have to consider, what could this symbol possibly mean to someone who’s never even seen it before?
So a programme was put together to try and form a marking system for the WIPP that would be enough to last 10,000 years to effectively warn the future of the danger that the site held. There were are variety of ideas pitched and devised by different people and here are some of them:
General warning messages with images of horrified faces, comic-like depictions of people becoming contaminated by radiation and the consequences of digging at the site.
A written message giving a background and warning, I imagine this wouldn’t be very efficient at all the further we get into the future but it is still interesting to read. Here it is as follows:
“This place is a message...and part of a system of messages...pay attention to it!
Sending this message was impotant to us. We considered ourselves to be a powerful culture.
This place is not a place of honor...no highly esteemed deed is commemorated here...nothing valued is here.
What is here is dangerous and repulsive to us. This message is a warning about danger.
The danger is in a particular location...it increases toward a center...the center of danger is here...of a particular size and shape, and below us.
The danger is still present, in your time, as it was in ours.
The danger is to the body, and it can kill.
The form of the danger is an emanation of energy.
The danger is unleashed only if you substantially disturb this place physically. This place is best shunned and left uninhabited.”
Below I’m linking an artistic representation of the message I found on YouTube, which is also how I initially found out about the WIPP, it activated my fight or flight like crazy and was pretty unnerving:
youtube
Hostile and threatening looking infrastructure was also an idea that was raised to ward people away from the site, if anything, these are probably the images you've seen before whether or not you had prior knowledge of the WIPP:
“Spike Field” view 1 and 2:
“Spikes Bursting Through Grid” view 1 and 2:
“Landscape of Thorns”:
“Menacing Earthworks” view 1 and 2:
I believe this one in particular pertained to the idea of not having anything significant at the "centre" as humans throughout many cultures have placed a sense of holiness or importance on the centre of places, "the middle". This is a place that is meant to be shunned, so to have nothing of significance in the centre, the largest point of danger, would work to deter people from investigating as there is seemingly nothing there of interest:
“Forbidding Blocks” view 1 and 2:
There are more infrastructure ideas than these but I will link the WIPP info website, a website created to summarise the Sandia Report titled "Expert Judgement on Markers to Deter Inadvertent Human Intrusion into the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant" written in 1993, and leave you to read about them if you so wish. All screenshots in this segment were also obtained from there also.
Some other more out-there ideas were also put forward, one being an "Atomic Priesthood." Which sounds metal as fuck. According to their website, The Atomic Priesthood Project : "The Atomic Priesthood was a proposed system of communicating the history, infrastructures, and science of nuclear waste materials on geologic timescales through the use of ritual, allegory, and superstition."
As insane as it sounds, I do believe this would be a good option the only problem is is that we can't be for certain whether this priesthood would last. After all, infrastructure would last a lot longer than humans.
Another proposal was to genetically modify cats so that they glowed whilst near radiation, create a legend that would be passed between generations which would then mean once people saw this actually happening they would know to get out immediately. I really like this one, I think it's silly.
I'm interested to see if these plans develop at all within my lifetime. I do personally believe that nuclear power is the next step and there are already ways we can reduce and even reuse a large amount of the waste but, thanks to public concerns and fears, these avenues aren't being invested into. That being said we do need a way to store this waste we have created and cannot recycle.
I feel like I should have something clever and poignant to say about this, but my brain is going flat, so I'll quote section 5.3 (c) of the 1993 Sandia Report:
"The very exercise of designing, building, and viewing the markers creates a powerful testimony addressed to today's society about the full environmental, social, and economic costs of using nuclear materials. We can never know if we indeed have successfully communicated with our descendants 400 generations removed, but we can, in any case, perhaps convey an important message to ourselves."
#thank you WIPP for stopping future generations from ending up like Gabriela from SAW X#sorry for such a long random ass post about nuclear stuff that absolutely nobody asked for#i just think the whole thing is incredibly interesting#and the art of the ideas is really something else#maybe ill make this a thing where i just make long ass posts about stuff I'm interested in#Youtube#WIPP#Waste Isolation Pilot Plant#Nuclear#nuclear science#nuclear waste#science#femmemortes things
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The Infinite Divide: A Study on Horcruxes and Souls in the Harry Potter Universe
This is a meta on the nature of the soul in the Harry Potter universe. You can read below or on AO3. Any and all feedback most welcome! Meta below, or again, read on AO3.
Introduction
The integrity of the soul is one of the cornerstones of the Harry Potter universe (henceforth HPU). Harry’s intact soul is able to resist total possession by Voldemort during the Battle of the Department of Mysteries; Voldemort’s fractured soul leads to his downfall. This work centers on the magic of Horcruxes as presented in the HPU. It necessarily delves into the nature of the soul, its integrity, and how the creation of the Horcrux destabilizes - but does not diminish - the integrity of the soul.
That is, I propose a theory of the soul that cannot be reduced numerically, but rather an infinite soul, that, when divided through the creation of a Horcrux (or several, in the case of Lord Voldemort), becomes less stable but is not reduced in its capacity. Instead, the soul’s essentialnature - that of animating a human person and imbuing that person with the capacity for meaning and relationships - is weakened. This weakening - the reduction of functional humanity - is what renders the Horcrux-creator unstable. Terms will be discussed next.
Preliminary Terms
We begin with the soul itself. What do we mean by the soul? Within the context of the HPU, the soul seems to serve two purposes: first, it animates the physical, human body,[i] such that the human body can engage in a life filled with meaning, and second, it is the vehicle for engaging in interpersonal relationships. Without a soul, the human body is but a mechanical shell. The soul imbues the human body with the capacity to pursue or enjoy meaningful activities: even in the case of the Longbottoms, who were tortured to insanity, it is assumed their souls are intact and capable of engaging with the world around them (though not without limitations).[ii]
The soul allows one to dream, desire, and engage in the world. Thus, I propose that the soulless, physical human body is incapable of functioning without the essential animation required for a) pursuing a life filled with meaning and b) interpersonal interaction. This leads us to the next point: the soul allows one to engage in mutual interpersonal relationships, particularly familial, fraternal, and/or romantic ones.[iii]
The importance of relationships is another crucial part of the HPU: Harry’s relationship with his friends brings him ‘back’ from the limbo of King’s Cross. It is his relationships that allow him to fight Voldemort off. His relationships continue to save him; Voldemort’s relationships with others are neither familial nor friendly, and this lack of mutually giving relationships further alienates him from functional humanity.[iv]
These personal relationships are independent of life or death. A ghost is an imprint of a body, animated by a soul left behind, who engages with living beings and other ghosts. A soul that has gone onto the afterlife appears to engage in relationships with others in the afterlife and can, when circumstances are sufficient, interact with the living. The soul that animates a living human body is capable of interaction with the living and the dead, but the relationship with the dead is rare. The ‘typical’ human person in the HPU has their body animated by their soul, and when the soul leaves the body, it enters a plane to which we as readers can only imagine.[v]
Because the soul is capable of interaction between the living and the dead, I suggest it is infinite, or, at the very least unending upon its creation. Canon gives no indication as to whether a soul pre-exists before birth. Given the work’s religious themes, borne out of a largely Christian tradition, I propose the simple explanation: the body is imbued with a soul at some point between conception and birth, and, once imbued, has either a finite end at death or an infinite fate beyond death. I suggest the latter, given canon’s tentative exploration of the afterlife, as given by the scene at the cemetery in Little Hangleton, the presence of ghosts, and Harry’s experience at King’s Cross in The Deathly Hallows.
For this work, we will define the soul as the animating force required for living human beings to participate in mutual interpersonal relationships and engage in a life filled with meaning. When the soul is healthy and intact, it is able to engage in both planes of meaning and relationship. This, then, is what I term as functional humanity. When one is wholly unable to engage in a life filled with meaning and participate in interpersonal relationships, their functional humanity suffers. The person becomes less human and therefore more unstable.
Let us move onto the Horcrux. The Horcrux, in the HPU, is an object in which a magical person has concealed a part of their soul for safekeeping. The Horcrux presents a slew of concerns: first, it is considered highly unnatural, ’Dark’ magic to split the soul. The intact soul is meant to stay this way. Second, it’s crucial to recall that in the HPU, Horcrux creation is made possible through murder, or the intentional act of taking the life of an innocent person.[vi]
Canon suggests that the committing of a crime distorts one’s soul; through murder, it becomes possible to distort the soul further by splitting it. The person who chooses to create a Horcrux - or several, in the case of Lord Voldemort - knowingly or unknowingly destabilizes their soul. As the soul is meant to be intact and whole, as a single entity, a person becomes unstable. This instability - and its relation to the soul - will be the subject of the next part of this work.
The ‘Infinite’ Soul and Limited Scientific Analogies
Canon asserts that the soul becomes unstable as a result of Horcrux creation. Instability is the consequence of Dark, unnatural magic and actions. This raises one of the central questions of this work: what makes Voldemort’s soul unstable after creating multiple Horcruxes? Is the instability a result of the soul’s reduction in potency or strength, as with dilution or numerical decreasing, or is it instability brought about through reduced functionality (meaning, do we get a smaller percentage of Voldemort with each horcrux creation, or do we get the same ‘proportion’ of Voldemort)?
I argue for the latter - the soul’s instability is a consequence of the willful, malicious, and methodical destruction of human functionality. We get the same infinite ‘amount’ of Voldemort’s soul per Horcrux, but with each split, the soul becomes more volatile in one sense without reducing its magical capacity or potency. This is the question we answer next: how does the splitting of the soul result in reduced functionality without reducing potency?
Put in simpler terms, why is Voldemort still 100% Voldemort, no matter where and how his soul is split? Moreover, why is his soul increasingly unstable without affecting his magical ability?
Analogies will be helpful in our understanding.[vii]
Mathematics
We move onto our first analogy: mathematics. How many numbers are there between one and three? On its face, one or two. But consider decimals now – 1.01, 1.0001, 1.00001, and so on. It results that between one and three there are, in fact, an infinite number of numbers. Yet, if I ask you what three minus one is, you’ll tell me it’s simply two. If there is an infinity of numbers between zero and one, one and two, and two and three, but I take one away from three, there is still an infinite amount of numbers between zero and one and one and two. The infiniteness has not disappeared; it has been reduced but it remains infinite.
So it is with the infinite soul. The soul remains infinite while intact. When the soul is split, the soul is still infinite – like the gap of numbers between zero and one or one and two – but the infiniteness remains. I take one away from three, and the sum is two. Yet, because of decimals, there is still an infinite number between each integer.
Under this model, each Horcrux is still an infinite ‘piece’ of soul, albeit reduced from the whole, yet retaining its infinitude. The ‘infinitude,’ or the magic, is what is not lost or reduced when the soul is split. The total functionality is reduced, as the difference between one integer and another.
Particle Physics
We continue with particle physics, or more specifically, a carbon-12 atom. Carbon-12 is the most common isotope or ‘flavor’ of carbon available. Carbon-12 is also remarkably stable – and wants to stay that way. Stable atoms do not like to be split (and in the case of carbon-12, there’s no human way to split it without changing it first, which will be described shortly).
Carbon-12 contains six neutrons, six protons, and six electrons. What makes the atom carbon is the number of protons within it; it is the neutrons that determines the isotope. Thus carbon-14 has eight neutrons and six protons and carbon-12 has six neutrons and six protons.
When outside the atom, the neutrons, protons, and electrons are heavier than within the atom itself. The reason for this discrepancy: energy is required to bind the neutrons and protons together to create the atom’s nucleus. Mass from the neutrons and protons is converted to energy, which binds the nucleus. (For those unaware or have forgotten, matter and energy can be neither created nor destroyed, but can be transferred from one state to the other; see Einstein’s theory of relativity [e.g. E=mc^2].)
The atom is held together by both its smaller components and the energy that binds it. The neutrons and protons are bound together in a nucleus and electrons move around it, as they are drawn to the nucleus. The forces uniting these components are stable and want to stay together; thus, carbon-12 is extremely resistant to splitting, and it is what we will liken the soul to.
Consider, for a moment, any atom being split. It is possible—and indeed common—for atoms to split and splinter. Elements that are radioactive, and therefore unstable, want to split to become stable. Elements that are stable want to stay stable, such as carbon-12.
Certain atoms are more difficult (if not impossible, in human hands) to split; when they do split, the consequences are variable.
For the purposes of this work, we will not consider a soul splitting as an everyday occurrence (again, remember these are imperfect analogies). Instead, we will focus our attention on the soul splitting as an intentional, directed splitting of an atom that ought not to split under unnatural circumstances, such as a stable carbon-12 atom.[viii]
A carbon-12 atom can be split in one of two ways. The first way is humanly possible: to break apart the carbon-12 atom, it must be changed to an unstable isotope, such as carbon-14. That isotope is unstable and will want to split to become stable. The other way is not humanly possible (that we are aware of): to break apart a carbon-12 atom, which would change it to other elements, the carbon atom would have to be ‘struck’ in a particle accelerator at the right angle, with the right amount of energy, and with the right material to break it apart. To my knowledge this is theoretical only; carbon-12 is very stable and changing it to another carbon isotope is the best (and only) means to break it apart.
Let us return to the horcrux and the soul. Suppose that the soul is a carbon-12 atom, stable and content as it is. To change it, we must add two neutrons to make it carbon-14. It is then radioactive, willing to change to become stable. In the process of splitting, it decays, leaving evidence of radioactive decay.
We know little of the process of creating a horcrux, outside a requisite murder, which is considered evil and unnatural. Murder enables the creation of the horcrux. Let us then liken murder to adding two neutrons to the carbon-12 atom, making it carbon-14. The murder makes the soul unstable, and perhaps, like naturally occurring carbon-14, the atom will change on its own to become stable.
However, we can assume that the process of creating a horcrux is more involved and intentional than simple, cold-blooded murder. This is where we add the element of magic—the spell, curse, or force that the wizard casts to conceal a part of their soul within another object.
Recall that for carbon to be carbon, it requires six protons. Imagine the murder as the element that adds the two neutrons to the carbon-12 (stable soul). Now imagine the spell or curse that the wizard casts as the process of splitting the soul. For both the original piece of soul (Voldemort) and the piece of soul in the horcrux to be stable carbon-12 atoms, splitting the carbon-14 perfectly into two carbon-12 atoms is impossible – not without taking more protons and neutrons to the ‘unfinished’ piece.
Let me rephrase this. Suppose you have a carbon-12 atom (the intact soul) and add two neutrons to it (the evil act of murder). You have a carbon-14 atom and wish to split it because it is unstable. You hit the carbon-14 atom with energy in a particular way (the spell or curse of horcrux creation), and the carbon-14 atom splits.
It does not split evenly. Perhaps, for the purposes of our discussion, three protons go in one direction and three in the other. Three protons means you have lithium, not carbon. What are you to do to get more protons to ensure you have carbon?
This is what I suggest as another part of the process of horcrux creation—the protons must be cannibalized from another source. I suggest not literal cannibalism on behalf of the wizard creating a horcrux (although, as repulsive as the thought is, I do not put it past the wizard who willingly murders for their own self-interest), but perhaps spiritual cannibalism.
That is, when the wizard murders and casts the curse to create a horcrux, it takes away part of the life of the innocent person to “seal” the wizard’s soul to the object. This is but a theory, of course, but it does give some credence to Voldemort’s insistence that he kill Harry to make his final horcrux.
In the process of this cannibalism—or vampirism, if you will—the ‘protons’ or life/spirit force of another ‘restabilizes’ the carbon-14/carbon-12 that was split.
However, this does not solve the matter of the unstable soul. Why, if the horcrux and Voldemort both have ‘carbon-12’ or intact souls, would there be instability?
Remember that for a carbon atom to be carbon, it requires six protons. When the carbon-14 atom splits and Voldemort ‘finds’ protons to keep his soul stable, there is the possibility that what was originally in the carbon-14 (or his soul) is unevenly split. The number of neutrons may be unequal and results in two different carbon isotopes.
It is still carbon (a soul), but no longer carbon-12 (a stable soul). This unstable soul, while functionally carbon, is not stable. An unstable atom is radioactive: this means instability both for the atom and the atoms around it.
In short, when Voldemort creates a horcrux and splits his soul, the ‘essence’ of the soul remains the same, while its stability is in danger. This instability goes beyond itself and affects others.
We shall explore this further in the following section.
Electricity and Magnetism
Let us consider a third analogy: electricity and magnetism. As with previous sections, we must define terms before we can continue.
Imagine a charged particle in motion (CPM). Think of it as a single dot that is thrown across an empty room. When the charged particle moves, it creates both an electric field and a magnetic field around it. We will continue with our example of carbon-12; though a carbon-12 atom is not itself charged, the nucleus is. Consider the nucleus of the carbon-12 atom as the dot or CPM that is thrown across an empty room and creates an electro-magnetic field.
The CPM creates two planes: electric and magnetic. Where there is a CPM, there is both an electric field and a magnetic field. Let us suppose that the electric field is the physical plane in which the soul operates, in which the body is animated and interacts in a world of meaning, dreams, and desires. Let us then suppose that the magnetic field is the relational plane in which the soul operates, in which the soul is capable of interpersonal relationships, both with the living and the dead.
Suppose that we have our soul (the stable carbon-12 atom), add neutrons to it (a murder, changing it to carbon-14), and split it (the curse of horcrux creation). We take the life of another (protons) and ‘stabilize’ our soul in two pieces (two carbon atoms with uneven numbers of neutrons), with radioactivity (the carbon atoms are no longer stable carbon-12).
In the process of splitting the atom or soul, we release energy (this is a very simple, rudimentary understanding of what nuclear fission is). Suppose, for the purposes of our study, that the energy sends the two atoms or soul pieces in opposite directions. Consider these pieces as CPMs; they go off in their own trajectory and create their own electromagnetic fields.
Because they are radioactive, their electromagnetic fields are dangerous. Radioactive particles (think neutrons, for our purposes) seek new homes/atoms in an effort for radioactive, unstable atoms to become stable. But remember – when neutrons are added to atoms’ nuclei, they create unstable isotopes. In the process of decay, or the process of trying to become stable, the isotopes can replace healthy isotopes in a healthy body to radioactive, cancer-causing ones.[ix]
Unsurprisingly, CPMs do not move in empty rooms or vacuums. CPMs can interact with each other, thus bringing together their electromagnetic fields with varying results.[x]
We will return to horcruxes, as enough has been said on CPMs and their fields. Imagine the pieces of soul, or radioactive CPMs, going in different directions (the physical body versus the object in which a piece of the soul has been concealed). While these CPMs are going in two different directions, there are other CPMs or souls coming and going alongside them.
Imagine all these charged particles in motion as souls engaging with each other. Our inner hopes and dreams intersect with our meaningful relationships. When we are stable (and this is an imperfect analogy, but bear with me), our fields ebb and flow accordingly.
Take the unstable soul of Voldemort, like an atom struggling for stability and undergoing radioactive decay. As the pieces of his soul struggle for stability, releasing radioactive material around him, that radioactivity affects those around him.
The radioactivity poisons others, affects their functionality, both in terms of self-determination and engaging in meaningful interpersonal relationships. This is rather evident in the case of the horcruxes; the diary possesses Ginny and isolates her from friends and family. The locket drives Harry, Ron, and Hermione into their own versions of despair and loneliness.
The darkness and evil that Lord Voldemort has brought into the world is parasitic, vampiric, cannibalistic. It feeds off others, incapable of returning anything but evil while yearning for stability. This is due not only to the soul being fundamentally built to be intact, but to be animating a living human being, rather than an inanimate object.
What might this mean for the long-term stability of the horcrux? If we imagine the horcrux – and Voldemort himself – as unstable pieces of soul, yearning for stability, it might be hundreds, if not thousands of years until stability is reached, if ever. (This is not unlike the length of time it takes for radioactivity to cease-as an example, the Chernobyl exclusion zone, after the catastrophe in 1986, will not be fit for human habitation for upwards to 20,000 years).[xi]
In my estimation, the healthy, stable soul is meant to engage in life-giving human function: pursuit of dreams and meaningful activity and mutual interpersonal relationships, with relationships as perhaps the more important of these two facets.
This leads us to our conclusion.
Conclusion
If the soul is unable to properly live or die, as pieces of metal cannot engage in genuine human relationships, the soul continues to be unstable. It is a full soul, infinite and reduced; it is a full soul, like carbon with too many neutrons; it is a full soul, capable of affecting others, but it is a dysfunctional soul, a broken soul, separated from its place of belonging.
In the HPU, the human soul belongs in the human body until death, the next great adventure. Without being able to truly live or die, with repeated broken relationships and evil, it is unsurprising that Voldemort is described as having an unstable soul by the time he reaches Harry Potter.
And, when the Killing Curse backfires on Voldemort, the fragmented soul, seeking stability, latches onto the most stable entity: the orphaned infant, who grows up to have love and relationships that save him from total destruction.
This is the magic of Harry Potter: the power of love that returns good for evil and safeguards one’s humanity.
[i] Allow me a moment to digress to discuss Animagi, Maledicti, and werewolves (among other magical creatures). Animagi are human beings who, through magical means, have the ability to transform into a particular animal form at will. In essence they are human beings with a magical ability. Thus, an Animagus does not lose their soul when they transform. A Maledictus, meanwhile, is a human being who, through a blood curse, becomes prisoner to their animal form and ‘forgets’ their humanity (see Nagini). It is possible that a Maledictus loses their soul when the process is complete, or the soul remains intact but ‘hidden,’ making it impossible for the human within the Maledictus body to engage in meaningful interpersonal relationships and pursue a life filled with meaning. In the case of Voldemort and Nagini-as-horcrux, it is unknown if there are two souls dwelling within one physical body, or if the soul of Nagini, once-fully-human, is no longer animating the snake’s body. As in the Fantastic Beasts franchise (FB) Nagini is able to transform at will and retain her sensibilities, I suggest the Maledictus does retain their soul until death, though limited due to the nature they have assumed for the rest of their days. As for werewolves and other magical creatures, though outside the scope of this work, we can extrapolate that the more ‘human’ the creature, the likelier it is that they have souls identical to full human persons; as an example, Remus Lupin’s soul is intact and what prevents him from assuming its full human capability at the full moon is the curse of lycanthropy. Wolfsbane Potion allows him to retain control of his human mind (and the soul that animates it).
[ii] The case of the Longbottoms, and later, Gilderoy Lockhart, suggests that there is a concept of wizards with intellectual disabilities, whether caused by magical accidents or perhaps, magical neurodivergence. Like many points in this work, it is outside the aim to develop these ideas further. I add this point to not only suggest, but emphatically assert, that persons with severe intellectual disabilities are included in my understanding of what it means to live a life filled with meaning, even if it is not within their capabilities to easily communicate what brings them meaning. Comments and questions on this particular issue are more than welcome.
[iii] Without the soul, this animating force, the human person cannot participate in social behavior. The need for meaningful social interaction is hardly unusual, given modern psychology; a person without a soul or animation cannot be in relationship with others. A life without relationships, particularly in early childhood, is emotionally and developmentally devastating.
[iv] We must address Harry Potter and the Cursed Child. This work, which is considered canonical by the author of the original series, poses a curious problem for Voldemort and relationships. In short, the original author claims that Voldemort has a child, Delphini, with Bellatrix Lestrange, which suggests a sexual relationship with Lestrange and a paternal relationship with Delphini. It is possible (and in my opinion, highly likely) that if such relationships existed, they were not filled with genuine human emotion. Bellatrix was the means to an end - a child - and the child itself was a means to an end as well. In the ‘other’ future that CC presents, Delphini is at Voldemort’s right-hand side, ruling over the wizarding world. I suggest that even in this context, for Voldemort’s character to remain consistent with his upbringing, Delphini remains a tool. I believe Voldemort is capable of certain fondness for his most devoted followers, such as Bellatrix (he exhibits some reaction upon her death in DH), but I believe it is a step too far to consider this a loving relationship, or even a relationship that is life-fulfilling or life-sustaining. Delphini and Bellatrix represent the lengths to which Voldemort will go for unquestioning devotion and loyalty, but they are certainly not his loved ones, or relations in the sense that bring out his humanity in its fullness.
[v] My fledgling series “The Death of” explores some possibilities within the wizarding afterlife. It is one interpretation of many; I recommend FloreatCastellum’s Vetus Amicus as another interpretation, told from the perspective of the character ‘Death.’ There is an indication in canon that the afterlife is a place, state of mind, or plane of existence, though as with many concepts in canon, it is underdeveloped and merits further consideration. It is outside the scope of this work to investigate the wizarding afterlife; recommendations for works that do explore this aspect of the HPU are most welcome in comments.
[vi] Though we are not privy to the details beyond the requisite murder, it is possible other Dark magic is involved in horcrux creation.
[vii] Bear in mind that analogies are imperfect, especially when considering an infinite entity. The human brain is literally incapable of processing infinites and thus any attempt at reducing the infinite to the finite will result in imperfections and error. Blame language and the finiteness of the human mind.
[viii] When I initially formulated this idea, I considered an electron or proton. A proton can be split into quarks, which doesn’t quite solve the issue of intentional splitting. An electron cannot be split into further elements (as far as we are aware), and as the results of such a split cannot be observed out of supposed impossibility, I must work with the original idea of a split atom.
[ix] Consider the use of iodine pills in reducing the risk of developing thyroid cancer. Iodine is a necessary element in the function of the healthy thyroid. Without iodine, the thyroid ceases to function normally. Imagine a nuclear disaster (such as the Chernobyl explosion of 1986), in which radioactive isotopes of iodine are released into the air. These radioactive isotopes can replace the isotopes that are supposed to be inside the human body. This distortion will destroy the function of the thyroid (and DNA), which can lead to cancer. Iodine pills can be taken to reduce the risk by flooding the body with the necessary kind of iodine for healthy thyroid function. For further reading, see this article.
[x] NASA has excellent graphics to understand how these fields/waves are formed. I strongly recommend reading this article for further learning.
[xi] For an explanation of this figure, please see this article.
#hp meta#meta#horcrux#tom riddle#voldemort#lord voldemort#science#particle physics#physics#nuclear science#atoms#i tried my best
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My Favorite Books on Nuclear / Radiation Topics
Throughout posting, I have discussed different sources to learn more about my favorite, complicated, topic. But I also love to encourage people to read. I have 31 books surrounding these subjects; some I have read and some I have not. But from this pile, I want to give you guys my top 5.
5. The original IAEA report on Chernobyl: Admittedly, I have not finished this one yet, mainly because I want to give it my full, undivided attention. This 150+ page document cannot be found on the IAEA website, I had to do some digging to actually find it. Essentially, it is the governing body of nuclear sciences buying the Soviet propaganda hook, line, and sinker. If you can find it, give it a once over. But I have no idea where it is ;)
4. Command and Control by Eric Schlosser: Not a quick read by any means. However, I found it interesting. Broken Arrow Incidents are when the United States loses an atomic bomb. It has happened more than once. Talk about an orphan source…
3. Atomic Women by Roseanne Montillo: The role of women within the history of nuclear science cannot be overstated. Starting with Marie Curie, this story recounts the women who worked within studies for radioactive material, as well as the Manhattan Project.
2. Hiroshima by John Hersey: This book is incredible. It is so well-known for a reason. Packed within this small book are some of the most harrowing descriptions of the results of the atomic bomb. I could not put it down.
1. Midnight in Chernobyl by Adam Higginbotham: The pinnacle of literature. I remember laying in bed, reading as Higginbotham recounted the harrowing final minutes before the explosion. It was like I could feel it in my bones. This is definitely in my top 5 books of all time, so it comes as no surprise it is number 1 here. If you take anything from my blog, it should be to read this book.
#nuclear breakdown#nuclear science#nuclear radiation#nuclear#radioactivity#radiation#hiroshima#atomic bomb#atomic#atomic age#chernobyl#broken arrow#nuclear bomb#IAEA
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Ms. Nuclear Energy is winning over nuclear skeptics
Kaylee Cunningham recognizes that her training as a PhD student in nuclear science and engineering could be for naught if myths continue to plague the industry. The activist is committed to helping — one TikTok at a time.
Poornima Apte | Department of Nuclear Science and Engineering
First-year MIT nuclear science and engineering (NSE) doctoral student Kaylee Cunningham is not the first person to notice that nuclear energy has a public relations problem. But her commitment to dispel myths about the alternative power source has earned her the moniker “Ms. Nuclear Energy” on TikTok and a devoted fan base on the social media platform.
Cunningham’s activism kicked into place shortly after a week-long trip to Iceland to study geothermal energy. During a discussion about how the country was going to achieve its net zero energy goals, a representative from the University of Reykjavik balked at Cunnigham’s suggestion of including a nuclear option in the alternative energy mix. “The response I got was that we’re a peace-loving nation, we don’t do that,” Cunningham remembers. “I was appalled by the reaction, I mean we’re talking energy not weapons here, right?” she asks. Incredulous, Cunningham made a TikTok that targeted misinformation. Overnight she garnered 10,000 followers and “Ms. Nuclear Energy” was off to the races. Ms. Nuclear Energy is now Cunningham’s TikTok handle.
A theater and science nerd
TikTok is a fitting platform for a theater nerd like Cunningham. Born in Melrose, Massachusetts, Cunningham’s childhood was punctuated by moves to places where her roofer father’s work took the family. She moved to North Carolina shortly after fifth grade and fell in love with theater. “I was doing theater classes, the spring musical, it was my entire world,” Cunningham remembers. When she moved again, this time to Florida halfway through her first year of high school, she found the spring musical had already been cast. But she could help behind the scenes. Through that work, Cunningham gained her first real exposure to hands-on tech. She was hooked.
Soon Cunningham was part of a team that represented her high school at the student Astronaut Challenge, an aerospace competition run by Florida State University. Statewide winners got to fly a space shuttle simulator at the Kennedy Space Center and participate in additional engineering challenges. Cunningham’s team was involved in creating a proposal to help NASA’s Asteroid Redirect Mission, designed to help the agency gather a large boulder from a near-earth asteroid. The task was Cunningham’s induction into an understanding of radiation and “anything nuclear.” Her high school engineering teacher, Nirmala Arunachalam, encouraged Cunningham’s interest in the subject.
The Astronaut Challenge might just have been the end of Cunningham’s path in nuclear engineering had it not been for her mother. In high school, Cunningham had also enrolled in computer science classes and her love of the subject earned her a scholarship at Norwich University in Vermont where she had pursued a camp in cybersecurity. Cunningham had already laid down the college deposit for Norwich.
But Cunningham’s mother persuaded her daughter to pay another visit to the University of Florida, where she had expressed interest in pursuing nuclear engineering. To her pleasant surprise, the department chair, Professor James Baciak, pulled out all the stops, bringing mother and daughter on a tour of the on-campus nuclear reactor and promising Cunningham a paid research position. Cunningham was sold and Backiak has been a mentor throughout her research career.
Keep reading.
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i don’t know why i downloaded tumblr but funfact did you know that the first instance ever of a hydroelectric power plant producing heavy water/D20 (which is a thing used in the making of nuclear weapons) was located in rjukan, norway?
it’s called vemork! it was active under world war too, but taken down under three operations, two of which actually failed. i’ve been there - it’s a museum now!
i wanted to make an intro post but that’s kinda dumb n no one’s gonna see this anyway so
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The Library of a Nuclear Physicist | Part 1 - Meet Jerry
Bonus: my cat is watching you.
A couple of years ago I lucked into a collection of books, scientific papers and journals, and college notebooks all belonging to the same nuclear engineer, Jerry Silverman. Ever since, I've wanted to share it with the world to help expand the understanding of nuclear science and nuclear and cold war history. This is the first video in a series touring the collection.
#nuclear science#nuclear physics#physics#nuclear engineering#cold war history#science and technology#Youtube
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I could look it up, but that’s no fun…
Is there a point on the periodic table where everything has a half life? Like “natural” occurring elements that will decay and anything beyond them too, or are there still outliners that are relatively stable?
Help me science side of Tumblr you’re my only hope.
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Reflections on the Paradox of Existence
Confessions of the twisted endeavors of youth's uncorrupted innocence, All becomest heresy, malediction and entropic discordance. The further we are from conception the larger our faults become.
It takes a sick atheist to reject all the entropy that comes with prosperity, it takes god to create a devil for us to realize we are not meant to be as we are.
We are a convoy of death spirals waiting to meet our final maker, we find the god in every demise and hope in every devil.
No fictive result of ours is the result of our suffering, rather our dependent relations converge us to bound incarceration.
This piece is meant to make you think about your ambitions, goals and dreams.
You can't escape the irony of your making, be careful what you wish for.
You'll need more than love, happiness and honesty to simply survive let alone thrive, let's make that a reality.
The image of the person is John von Neumann
Directly from the wiki article:
John von Neumann (/vɒn ˈnɔɪmən/ von NOY-mən; Hungarian: Neumann János Lajos [ˈnɒjmɒn ˈjaːnoʃ ˈlɒjoʃ]; December 28, 1903 – February 8, 1957) was a Hungarian-American mathematician, physicist, computer scientist, engineer and polymath. He had perhaps the widest coverage of any mathematician of his time,[9] integrating pure and applied sciences and making major contributions to many fields, including mathematics, physics, economics, computing, and statistics. He was a pioneer of the application of operator theory to quantum mechanics in the development of functional analysis, the development of game theory and the concepts of cellular automata, the universal constructor and the digital computer. His analysis of the structure of self-replication preceded the discovery of the structure of DNA.
During World War II, von Neumann worked on the Manhattan Project on nuclear physics involved in thermonuclear reactions and the hydrogen bomb. He developed the mathematical models behind the explosive lenses used in the implosion-type nuclear weapon.[10] Before and after the war, he consulted for many organizations including the Office of Scientific Research and Development, the Army's Ballistic Research Laboratory, the Armed Forces Special Weapons Project and the Oak Ridge National Laboratory.[11] At the peak of his influence in the 1950s, he chaired a number of Defense Department committees including the Strategic Missile Evaluation Committee and the ICBM Scientific Advisory Committee. He was also a member of the influential Atomic Energy Commission in charge of all atomic energy development in the country. He played a key role alongside Bernard Schriever and Trevor Gardner in the design and development of the United States' first ICBM programs.[12] At that time he was considered the nation's foremost expert on nuclear weaponry and the leading defense scientist at the Pentagon. He designed and promoted the policy of mutually assured destruction to limit the arms race.[13]
Von Neumann's contributions and intellectual ability drew praise from colleagues in physics, mathematics, and beyond. Accolades he received range from the Medal of Freedom to a crater on the Moon named in his honor.
#John von Neumann#Quantum Physics#Philosophy#Nihilism#Existentialism#Optimism#Pessismism#Reflection on the paradox of existence#Nuclear Science#Atomic bomb#World war 2#Religion#Atheism#Perspective#Criticism#Responsibility#History#Tradition#Mathematics#Prison complex#Irony#Thought provoking
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There's a lot going on in the world of fusion right now.
A lot of people are missing why ITER is so expensive and why fusion research is just now getting to the point where it seems feasible for a lot of other companies that aren't ITER. Like, surely we could have just waited a few more years for the technology to mature before diving headlong into this stuff right? Well, no. That's not how anything works, actually.
The ITER project is the Apollo program of fusion. NASA's Apollo project was fucking expensive okay? Tens of billions of dollars, in the sixties! ITER is $22 billion now, which is peanuts compared to Apollo which had a similar effect on industry. The whole point of Apollo, and the reason it was so expensive, is because all the technology it used was new.
Integrated circuit assembly was slow and expensive at the time, but after Apollo everyone saw how well they performed, so an entire new manufacturing process was invented to mass produce them. Fuel cells and solar panels were never going to be a thing without satellites; they were too damn expensive so no one bothered making them. New stitching methods were developed to make the spacesuits, which just so happened to have similar requirements as medical-grade machinery. Each of these industries already existed at the time, but the push to make more of them faster also led to their mass-production and reduced their cost and complexity.
So too with ITER today. Superconducting tape has been a thing, but the amount of tape ITER needs for its huge magnets is currently resulting in the development of new manufacturing methods for it. Superconductors that would have been prohibitively expensive just 10 years ago are in the realm of possibility today. And new superconductors that don't need fucking liquid helium are just starting to become available in the large quantity one needs to be useful.
Also, ITER is designed to react to fusion plasma as it changes, because when it was designed computers weren't fast enough to predict how it would act. While developing the systems needed to do this, much has been learned in terms of how plasma acts when there is fusion happening inside it. This in turn has led to better equations that predict the behavior of plasma, that can run on computers, which will likely lead to better systems for everything that handles plasma.
Basically, now that ITER has done most of the hard expensive research for fusion, smaller organizations are cropping up which will try to do each piece better. This leads to competition which, in the scientific world at least, is going to lead to a wave of rapidly-accelerating technological progress.
In short, a lot of cool stuff is about to happen in the world of fusion research in the next 5 years or so.
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Did you know: On 2 December 1942, the first human-made self-sustaining nuclear chain reaction was initiated in CP-1, during an experiment led by Enrico Fermi.
#nuclear science#nuclear reactions#nuclear chain reaction#enrico fermi#science#science history#on this day#on this day in science history
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nuclear scientists be like: MILF (Man I Love Fission)
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re: my nuclear units of measurement post from last week
yes. yes, it’s true. bananas are radioactive (so are brazil nuts and coffee beans, apparently). they contain potassium-40.
it’s ever so slight, though, like you would have to eat 10 million bananas simultaneously to sustain 1 gray of radiation: hell, you’d have to eat 250+ bananas a day in order to sustain 0.1 gray of radiation (although i think you would make yourself sick to your stomach eating more than two as they’re rich af).
for every 10-20k atoms of potassium, you have one that’s unstable and shoots out beta particles. it’s completely negligible—you get more radiation walking around outside in the sun for about 15 minutes than you do eating a yummy little banana with a sandwich. and yes, our bodies contain this isotope of potassium as well, along with carbon-14: and again, it’s completely negligible (if anything, we kinda need it as potassium keeps our hearts healthy and our immune systems up to par).
if anything, you would be hard pressed to find something on planet earth that isn’t at least ever so slightly radioactive, given our spot in space and the nature of earth itself.
side note about beta particles: you have alpha, beta, and gamma radiation (you also have delta and epsilon, but they aren’t as used as much).
alpha is completely harmless, like it fizzles out through a few inches of air, but you don’t want to breathe it in or ingest it: when that happens, it can do some serious damage and can be deadly. otherwise, it can be stopped by a piece of paper.
beta is also harmless, to an extent: enough beta can do some damage to your lungs or your thyroid or cause burns. when i held that piece of uranium ore in my earth science class in high school, it was enveloped in tin foil and my teacher’s geiger counter was silent (i can still say that i held something that was radioactive in my bare hands, though, because… it was).
gamma is the one that can kill you, and you need a few inches of concrete or lead to stop it.
basically, alpha is a solid block of wood, gamma is that unhinged person who lives up the street the house always smells like an ashtray and you can see the taxidermy and the guns on the wall through the window, and beta is the one person in your friend group who’s just a little bit off, like you might talk to them but you wouldn’t dream of sharing your deepest secrets with them because they might tell everyone.
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Chernobyl
It was April 26, 1986, and Anatoly Dyatlov was in charge. Tasked with running a test for Reactor No. 4 at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant, it began much later than planned, and with an entirely different crew. Beginning just after 1 AM, the maintenance program immediately went array.
Under Dyatlov was shift supervisor Aleksandr Akimov and senior reactor control chief Lenoid Toptunov. They had access to a guide that was meant to give step-by-step instructions on how to run the tests. However, many of the steps had been crossed out or written over. The previous shift had told them to ignore the alterations.
The power levels in the reactor core began to fluctuate at inappropriate levels. The shift personnel on scene were becoming nervous over the state of the reactor. Akimov was alleged to have voiced his wishes for the test to be halted, but Dyatlov was insistent on it being carried out to completion. But the worrying numbers became too much for 25-year-old Toptunov. At 1:23.4 AM, he pressed the A-Z5 button, meant to immediately stop any activity in the reactor by inserting all control rods into the core. Instead, two explosions rocked the building.
The control rods are meant to halt fission activity in a reactor core, to stop any radioactive power generation halt. But, unknowing to the crew, Soviet RBMK reactors, the type used at Chernobyl, had a horrible flaw. The tips of the control rods were covered in graphite. Graphite, instead of stopping nuclear fission, makes it increase many times over. With all rods being inserted at once, the power level rose to an unknown number. First, the upper shield of the reactor was blown clean off, smashing through the ceiling of Reactor No. 4. Pipes and wires were destroyed upon the blast. Without water being able to run into the core, another explosion occurred, flinging radioactive debris everywhere.
Radioactive isotopes were flung out into the open air. Firemen arrived to put out what they thought was a burning roof fire. Instead, they came face-to-face with the glow of Cherenkov radiation. That is when the air becomes so radioactive that the oxygen atoms ionize in real time. Those who have seen the unearthly blue glow up close do not often live to tell the tale.
Unaware of exactly what had happened, but knowing that something must be done, both firefighters and reactor personnel worked as hard as they physically could to get the ruined reactor under control. Attempts were made to put water into the core, as it would hypothetically help moderate any reactions occurring there. But, at this point, the core did not exist anymore.
Soon, many firefighters and plant personnel began to fall ill. Vomiting, burns, and confusion began to sweep through the men. These are the initial symptoms of Acute Radiation Syndrome (ARS). Those suffering from ill symptoms were taken to Prypiat Hospital. But the institute was not equipped for even a small-scale radiation incident, not to mention the dire situation that Chernobyl was in at this point. The critical patients were quickly sent to Moscow Hospital No. 6, the top Soviet hospital for radiation injuries. However, even with treatment, it was not enough for many of those exposed. Officially, there are 31 deaths attributed to the Chernobyl disaster, consisting of firefighters and plant personnel. But this number does not take into account those who came in to clean up the destroyed reactor.
The roof was covered in radioactive debris. At first, robots were to be used to move the material back into the blown out hole into the roof. But the radiation was so high that the machinery was quickly shorted out. Thus, it was decided that humans must be used to clean. Those sent to the roof were known as Biorobots. One person should have only been on the roof for 90 seconds, doing as much as possible before leaving with a very large dose of radiation. But it would hopefully not be enough that it would cause damage. But many liquidators, both on the roof and decontaminating the 30 meter exclusion zone, were never given ways to track their exposure. Many were simply working until they were told to leave. It is unknown the death toll of Chernobyl liquidators, as the Soviet Union never attributed any of the increased cancer rates to radiation exposure. The increase in childhood cancer is also not considered. The true number of fatalities due to the Chernobyl disaster is unknown.
There is so much more to the Chernobyl story. From the scientists who handled the unprecedented disaster, to the shady practices of the Soviet government; there are many factors and consequences which can be studied about the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant. More sources of information are included in the description.
#nuclear breakdown#nuclear science#nuclear radiation#nuclear physics#nuclear#radioactivity#radiation#chernobyl#CNPP#science
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