ayou
中年互联网混子，现居苏州，曾经技术型宅男一个，
爱好吃，爱好睡，体制外，爱岗敬业，
遵纪守法，头发短，见识短，伪Geek，毫无城府。
-
-
港行iPad2或4月11日开卖 最低3300元起 苹果iPad2 自问世以来火得一塌糊涂，不仅在世界各地出现供应不足，甚至大规模缺货的情况，而且很多用户需要数周才能拿到订购的iPad2。不过，随着香港版本 iPad2的即将开卖，或许这样的状况会得到一些改变。根据香港网站Unwire.hk收到的消息称，香港行货版iPad2将会在4月11日正式开卖，并 且在价格上也十分的便宜。 全球最低价 根 据香港网站Unwire.hk收到的消息称，苹果iPad2已定于4月11日正式在香港发售。据悉，此次登陆香港市场的行货iPad2将会黑色及白色版同 时发售，并同时提供3G及Wi-Fi版的16GB、32GB及64GB版本等选择。届时消费者不仅可以通过苹果在线商店购买，而且也可以到电脑商场店铺或 大型连锁店购买。 至于人们更关心的市场价格方面，此次即将开卖的香港行货版本 iPad2的售价与iPad一代发售时相同，Wi-Fi版为3888-5488港元（约合人民币3300-4600元左右），而3G版为 4888-6488港元（约合人民币4100-5460元左右）。因此，有媒体也称iPad2将以全球最低价登陆香港市场。 限量发售 尽 管在价格方面比较划算，但此次在香港开卖的iPad2的货源似乎仍旧十分紧缺，在港发售的数量可能较少。按照香港媒体的说法，普通销售网点可能仅有10至 20台货源，所以有消息人士预计，16GB容量的Wi-Fi及3G版本将会如同当初iPad发售时一样，成为用户的排队抢购的对象，届时不排除有商铺可能 需要用家同时购买额外Apple Care服务的可能。至于较大容量的版本，包括32GB及64GB，则可以以原价购买。 当然，此次本次苹果iPad2在港的发售，虽然在数量上不会很多，但还是大陆水货市场进行了较大的影响。其直接体现便是大陆水货iPad2售价的逐步走低，甚至部分商家已由早前的天价直降至目前仅4600元左右，在售价上已经颇具诱惑力。 苹果自行消化上涨成本 苹果iPad2虽然按照市场分析师的说法已经有超过百万部的销量，但在供货上一直存在问题。而根据国外媒体的消息，苹果已经同意使用由于地震而造成价格上涨的部件，以此来保证iPad2的正常供应。 而 根据市场分析师的说法，日本地震和海啸对于苹果产品供应链有着较大的影响。包括NAND闪存、DRAM内存、电子罗盘、触摸屏面板和电池都存在不同程度的 短缺，并且苹果的上游供应商也希望能够将利润损失降到最小。因此，为了保证自家产品的正常供货，苹果方面决定承担由此涨价带来的附加成本以获得零件平稳供 货。 目前，苹果iPad 2提供了白色和黑色两种色彩款式选择，并且拥有多种网络制式版本。在美国市场上，拥有单独的WiFi版、AT&T GSM 3G版(支持四频UMTS/HSDPA/HSUPA网络)、Verizon CDMA 3G版(支持双频CDMA EV-DO Rev.A网络)。如果加上16G、32G和64G不同容量组合，当前消费者可选的规格足可以细分为18种。
-
我要如何才能不去想你... 无意中看到这这张图,或许说如果我能把你在我心中的host数据改为127.0.0.1我就不会在想你了.. 作为一名"伪Geek"总是会想一些莫名其妙的东西,但是随着时间的流逝,自己或多或少也开始慢慢的现实起来. 很多东西没法去释怀.但是感情或者说一种感觉就像一种印记一样深深的烙在了自己的心里. 现实和理想往往不会一致.好比你,好比我,我们是曾经拥有过,也一直存在这这么多的小美好.. 忘却一个人和删除一些数据不同,人往往无法改变自己的想法.控制不住在自己的感情.即使是数据也不是很容易可以删除掉.虽然删掉了它还是存在于硬盘的某处..即使修改了host这个域名还会在那里存在.换一个地方随时会浮现出来.. 既然无法忘却....就把它好好的藏在心里吧....复制下来隐藏在心中的某个角落..永远的指向127.0.0.1......
-
看到了有一个水果的附产品---iDropper，很有意思... 它只是将复制黏贴的老套方式重新设计，便增加了些许趣味性。还记得以前做实验时候用吸管来吸液体吧，松一下，液体便被吸入管内，挤一下，液体便被转移到了另外一个烧杯内。 将“挤”、“捏”运用到信息的转移上，可以说是一种借鉴，更可以说是方式的创新。只是改变一下承载信息的载体，便会为用户在使用时增加许多乐趣，看到iDropper让我想起了斯皮尔伯格电影里的一个镜头，外星人传递他们的思想是通过用手指，自己的手指只在另外一颗脑袋上，便将自己的思想传递过去了，透过他们晶莹半透明的皮肤，可以看到信息的流动，在脑袋里回放，像是摄录机一样。 还有多少种方式可以改变现在生活中已经习惯的动作，敲键盘，DELETE，SAVE，close，不仅仅是电脑中动作，生活的方式在不久的将来也会翻新，坐在电脑前面打游戏？NO，Wi-i让你动起来，让你的身体都投入到游戏中，这肯定会是办公族的最爱。
-
国内90%电脑无法升级IE9 昨天，微软公司在中国发布新一代浏览器IE9的正式版本。微软表示，新一代浏览器比IE8提速11倍，但不支持XP操作系统。据介绍，微软IE9仅支持Windows Vista和Windows 7系统。而来自CNZZ的数据显示，目前国内XP系统的市场占有率接近90%，这就意味着目前近9成国内用户无法使用微软新一代浏览器。 昨天在发布会上，微软大中华区总裁梁念坚表示，目前用户在市场上购买PC时，基本不再预装XP版本。有业内人士表示，微软此举旨在“督促”用户放弃WindowsXP系统，购买或升级到Windows7操作系统。 微软官方表示，IE9不支持WindowsXP是因为其硬件加速功能在WindowsXP系统上无法正常运行。而windows7要求电脑内存至少在1G以上。对此，微软大中华区开发工具及平台事业部总经理谢恩伟表示，“建议这部分用户使用IE8。” 市场份额仍在下降 微软高管表示，“IE仍是目前最大的浏览器。”但市场数据显示，去年IE市场份额由74%跌至近57%。与此同时火狐、Chrome和Safari则均有不同程度的增长。 此外，国内不少互联网企业纷纷瞄准这一市场。360、搜狗、百度等互联网企业纷纷推出浏览器产品。对此，梁念坚表示，“国内主流的浏览器都是使用IE的内核，微软不收取任何费用，微软对这些企业表示欢迎。” 昨天，微软称，IE9不仅快速，而且还能将浏览器和桌面更紧密地结合起来。用户可以在Windows7桌面创建图标，由此可以快捷地访问网站、检查 收件箱、控制流媒体播放器等。微软中国消费与在线事业部市场总经理韦青表示，“预计未来1-2年内，大部分用户会转移到windows7系统中来。” 《新京报》
-
-
-
请把盐买好... 本来中午就想写这个日志的，结果今天一整天确实有些忙。上午弄材料，弄电脑，中午又跑去开会丫的。 看到新闻啊，全苏州买不到盐了，我的第一感觉就是：买那么多盐干嘛？想了想问了问总结出下面几条： 1、据说盐中含碘，碘可以抑制碘131的辐射。 2、据说海洋被污染了，今后买到的盐或许是海盐，担心对身体有影响。 3、大家都在买我也要买，但是买来干什么用？总之买了再说。 4、家里当真没盐了。 游锅确实感慨万千啊，不知道该说点什么。一肚子话啊，又不想打出来。 但是真正让我郁闷的问题是：我身边的朋友基本没有人去买盐。微博上，各种社交网站上没几个人去买盐？为什么会有这种情况？ 丫的，不想下去了。烦躁的很。 这几天败了不少东西了，前段时间听人声，瞬间感觉自己的喇叭跟不上用了，就买了对新喇叭；前几天在HDC下电影，瞬间又感觉硬盘不够用了有买了块外接2T的硬盘······结论是： 瞬间穷了·······
-
访谈:科学松鼠会解读核泄漏 提问：核泄露的当地多少年内不适合生活？核污染会通过流水等传播到日本的其他省份吗？土壤也会出现问题吧。 解答：这个问题比较好。1986年切尔诺贝利事故的污染地区，已经有民众自愿进入生活了。原子弹爆炸过的广岛，现在也是个城市。具体多少年就要具体情况具体分析了。核污染会通过流水传播，更多的保留在土壤当中，但是浓度往往不能达到对人类有害的程度。 提问：问个很弱的问题，核辐射都是粒子流，它们泄露后，运动是附着在灰尘上，被风吹动吗？还是以光速奔跑…… 解答：主要是有放射性的化学元素同位素，例如碘、铯和锶，附在灰尘上，而不是说辐射附在灰尘上。 提问：辐射物质扩散之后，是否可以用其他物质消灭呢？(比如酸碱中和这样的原理)如果辐射物质飘进大气，是否会对大气等有影响，进而造成其他连锁反应？！ 解答：辐射物质会自我衰减，但是不能消灭。辐射物质就跟粉尘一样，对大气有影响，连锁反应当然会有，但我觉得不是你所想的仅在游戏和电影里发生的那种连锁反应。 提问：你好。请问核泄露，污染，会影响大气层，臭氧层吗？ 解答：核泄漏产生的污染应该不会影响到臭氧层。 提问:想知道反应堆里的元素都有哪些…碘131是由别的元素衰变而来的还是本来就有的呢？泄露出的元素又有哪些呢？之所以重点提出碘元素是因为它在泄漏物中占的比例较大还是因为它相对较为容易被人体吸收？ 解答：碘131是衰变而来的。它对人体伤害特别大是因为它衰变得太快。而且碘又集中在甲状腺，就特别容易引发肿瘤。 提问：这次辐射有多广？什么东西会带着核辐射？汽车、食物、水、这些会不会携带核辐射？ 解答：被放射性尘埃污染的物质会携带放射性。非常少的一种情况的爆炸中的中子打中你的身体里的原子核，于是你也有了放射性。 提问：你好，刚刚看了下资料说切尔诺贝利时间辐射的到人，在5年内去世7000人，是不是这么回事？ 解答：不能确定这个说法的真实性，但可以确定即使5年去世了7000人，也跟该事故无关。跟事故有关的大多是3个月内发生的急性辐射病引发的死亡，资料里说是28人。 提问：一条微博说女儿遭到核辐射被隔离了，妈妈带着狗狗隔着玻璃试图跟她说话。想问：被核辐射的人(物品)会有其他人(动物)有危害性吗？ 解答：辐射主要以alpha粒子，beta粒子和gamma射线的形式存在，造成的伤害主要来自于引发的电离辐射。这种情况中的人和动物、物品是没有危害性的。 还有少量情况是中子辐射，这会诱发没有辐射性的元素变成有辐射性的同位素，这种情况下应该是有害的，但要定量地看待具体问题。 提问：可以请老师详细解释下单位吗？到处用的单位都不同，好晕。 解答：这个单位确实超级多。而且还要换算。是这样的：吸收剂量D：单位Gy(戈瑞)＝1J/Kg 。辅助单位rad(拉德)＝0.01Gy 。当量剂量H：单位Sv(希沃特)＝1J/Kg 。辅助单位rem(雷姆)＝0.01Sv=10mSv=10000uSv 3.此次核泄漏对我国的影响 提问：你好！现在就是关心到底对中国有没有影响！还是已经有影响了只是怕引起骚乱知情不报呢？谢谢回答！ 解答：现在而言实在是不可能有影响，距离也远，风向也不对……如果你非怕隐瞒不报的话，我告诉你国外各大媒体没有一个讨论到对中国可能辐射影响的，你总放心了吧。 提问:核能会向中国扩散吗？下雨会有影响吗 解答：如果真扩散到中国了(且数值达到了对人体有伤害的水平)，那么下雨有影响。 提问：如果含钚的话，发生什么情况是最危险的，会危及到中国吗 解答：钚的问题并不大。这只是核电站使用的燃料里面含有少量的钚239，但是浓度比较低，不会发生像原子弹那样剧烈的爆炸。最坏的情况可能有两种，一种是堆芯融毁，炙热的核燃料向下贯穿进入地壳，会对当地产生一定的核污染；一种是发生爆炸(不是原子弹那种)，产生放射性粉尘污染周围区域。不会危及中国。 提问：在国内建设的核电站技术可靠吗？对于国内建造的核电站是否做过专业的灾评？万一发生了如同日本一样的情况会有哪些防范措施？ 解答：国内的核电站选址有严格的规定，是要避开有可能地震的区域的，这个条件比日本好太多了。而且建设、操作都有比较严格的规范。日本的那个核电站技术比较落后(60年代的技术)，跟现在建设的安全性不能比。 提问：中国核电站设计抗震标准为里氏多少级？ 解答：中国的核电站选址要求必须综合考虑厂址区域的地质、地震、水文、气象、交通运输、工业企业、土地利用、厂址周围人口密度和分布，以及社会经济方面的合理性 等因素，还有核电站对周围环境的影响。选址中就要避开有可能发生地震的地区，并且有严格的抗震标准。但我一时找不到具体是几级。 4.生活中的核辐射 提问：我想问的是，接受一点微量辐射，对人体可能有什么好处么？求科普。 解答：再回答最后一个问题。其实有一种说法我觉得有道理，自然辐射(日常环境接受的核辐射)其实贡献了很大一部分生物进化过程中必须的“遗传变异”中的“变异”，如果不是全部的话。这么说来，低水平而不是零水平的电离辐射，对于人类，对于生物界，都是非常重要的。 提问：请问中国国内所测定的辐射标准是怎样的？一个人平均每天受到多少辐射才会影响健康？？？ 解答：辐射造成的伤害是这样的。低于一个阈值的时候，辐射强度和增加的罹患癌症的风险成比例增加的。就中等剂量的辐射来说，历史上统计结果是，每雷姆(rem=10mSv)大约增加0.04%的罹患癌症风险。大家可以根据目前的数据自己计算，注意不能单看瞬时的辐射强度，也要看这样的强度维持了多长时间。 提问：核泄漏，那是不是最近都不能吃那边的食物了？那要多久后能恢复呢？ 解答：食物确实有可能有危险，但之后的食品进口肯定会严格把关的，除非你自己走私，不然能在正规场合买到的就不会有事。 提问：是不是可以考虑让大家赶紧吃碘剂啊？ 解答：碘片对身体是有副作用的。而且太早吃也没用，再说也不能连续吃，一般只能吃十天。 提问：我们日常一次x光拍片辐射是多少？会一次一次累积在身体中么？ 解答：胸部拍片是50微西弗，胃部是600微西弗。不会累积，但是总量不要过多。提问：我是IT从业人员,经常使用电脑(相当经常),辐射什么的有没有不好的事情??? 解答：没有证据表明电脑辐射本身有不好的事情。建议IT从业人员注意饮食和作息规律，保持良好心理状态，经常锻炼身体；不要受到谣言的影响。 提问：问一个生活问题，孕妇如经常使用电脑，穿防电磁辐射衣保护，有用吗？ 解答：没用。主要原因是本来就没有证据证明电脑辐射会对孕妇有伤害，这和拍X光不一样。一个是电磁辐射，一个是电离辐射。 提问：再问个白痴的问题，日常生活中的一些金银首饰或者钻石翡翠之类，会不会也有辐射，是不是应该尽量避免佩戴这些。 解答：金属首饰都不会，矿石首饰一般也不会，除非你用了什么稀奇古怪的矿物。日常生活中最可能遇到的辐射源我觉得就是花岗岩了吧…… 5.专业解读 说一下核辐射的问题：核辐射可能以反应堆放出放射线的形式直接危害人体，但是这个伤害射程有限，范围更大的伤害是那些本身有放射性的粒子飘到空中，然后一边飘一边放出射线。切尔诺贝利的大范围伤害是因为火灾伴随堆芯暴露，把核燃料烧进了大气层；但现在日本的堆芯依然完好，出来的只是次生产物。 辐射达到200rem，辐射病开始出现，就像放疗的人会出现的恶心疲倦等症状。300rem以上，在未来几个月内死亡的风险就超过了50%。顺便说下，我们每年经受的自然辐射有大概0.2rem。 每个放射性元素半衰期都不同。看他们具体沾染到哪种。比如说碘-131的半衰期应该是八天，10个半衰期也就是80天以后，残留辐射就降低到千分之一。铀-235半衰期就是7.1亿年了。所以不同的放射性元素能留存多久是差别很大的。 关于为什么不封堆的问题，比较复杂，我就说一点：混凝土熔点大概不到两千度，而MOX混合燃料的熔点是两千七百以上……现在封堆只能加剧温度上升，而真的要出了最严重的问题(核燃料熔化)，封堆完全没用。现在当务之急是把温度降下来，之后才能考虑封不封。被核污染的人身上会有比较强的放射性元素，如果和没有被污染的人接触的话，很可能会对别人造成伤害。打个比方说，中了克石毒的男超人为了女超人好，应该离她远一点，所以我们把男超人隔离。 关于辐射造成的癌症风险：据统计，辐射引发的癌症只占广岛长崎死亡人数的0.5%-1.5%，这个数字肯定比很多人想象的低。然而由于心理学效应，很多本来就会罹患癌症的人都会把自己的病因归咎于原子弹。 如果有孕妇的话。因为在辐射面前，胎儿比成人要脆弱的多。联合国原子辐射科学委员会(UNSCEAR)报告里是认为，每1rem对胎儿造成的风险就有3%。
-
Fukushima Nuclear Accident – 15 March summary of situation The situation surrounding the Fukushima Nuclear Accident, triggered by Japan’s largest recorded earthquake and the resulting 10 m high tsunami, continues to develop rapidly. This post is intended to be a concise update of the situation as of 12pm Japan Standard Time, 15 March 2001. For a summary of the situation prior to today, read these posts: Japanese nuclear reactors and the 11 March 2011 earthquake Fukushima Nuclear Accident – a simple and accurate explanation (with further updates at MIT here: http://mitnse.com/) Japan Nuclear Situation – 14 March updates Further technical information on Fukushima reactors TEPCO reactor by reactor status report at Fukushima This is also a useful summary, from William Tucker (published in the Wall Street Journal): Japan Does Not Face Another Chernobyl. See also: Nuclear Overreactions:Modern life requires learning from disasters, not fleeing all risk. ——————————— Attention has centred on units #1, 2 and 3 of the Fukushima Daiichi plant (all Boiling Water Reactors built in the 1970s). Current concern is focused on unit #2 (more below). Units 4, 5 and 6 at the site were not in service at the time of the earthquake and their situation is stable. At a nearby plant, Fukushima Daiini, the situation is now under control, and units are in, or approaching, cold shutdown. I do not expect any further significant developments at that site. To quote WNN: In the last 48 hours, Tepco (Tokyo Electric Power Company) has carried out repairs to the emergency core coolant systems of units 1, 2 and 4 and one by one these have come back into action. Unit 1 announced cold shutdown at 1.24 am today and unit 2 followed at 3.52 am. Repairs at unit 4 are now complete and Tepco said that gradual temperature reduction started at 3.42pm. An evacuation zone extends to ten kilometres around the plant, but this is expected to be rescinded when all four units are verified as stable in cold shutdown conditions. • Fukushima Daini Unit 1 reactor o As of 1:24AM on March 14, TEPCO commenced the cooling process after the pumping system was restored. o At 10:15AM on March 14, TEPCO confirmed that the average water temperature held constant below 212 degrees Fahrenheit. • Fukushima Daini Unit 2 reactor o At 7:13AM on March 14, TEPCO commenced the cooling process. o As of 3:52PM on March 14, the cooling function was restored and the core temperature was stabilized below 212 degrees Fahrenheit. • Fukushima Daini Unit 3 reactor o As of 12:15PM on March 13, reactor has been cooled down and stabilized. • Fukushima Daini Unit 4 reactor o At 3:42PM on March 14, cooling of the reactor commenced, with TEPCO engineers working to achieve cold shutdown. The rest of this post will focus on the ongoing crisis situation at Fukushim Daiichi. Let me underscore the fact that accurate information is sparse, uncertain and rapidly changing. During March 12 and 13, there were serious issues with providing sufficient cooling to units 1 and 3 after the tsunami had caused damage to the diesel backup generators and compromised the emergency cooling water supply. This resulted in a decision to use sea water injection to keep the reactors cool — a process that is ongoing. Steam was regularly vented as part of the effort to relieve steam pressure within the reactor vessels, but this also led to an accumulation of hydrogen gas within the secondary buildings that house the reactor units. Possible sources for the hydrogen are discussed here. Unfortunately, this hydrogen could not be vented sufficiently quickly, resulting in chemical explosions (hydrogen-oxygen interactions) within the two reactor housing buildings of both unit 1 and unit 2 during March 12-13. The roof and part of the side walls of both buildings were severely damaged as a result. After the first hydrogen explosion there is no longer a roof on the building, so there is little chance of any large buildup of hydrogen or further explosions at these units. [In restrospect, the designers (40 years ago) perhaps should have more carefully considered the implications of the decision to vent the pressure suppression torus to the reactor building space]. Although hydrogen recombiners are a standard feature of that design, they unfortunately lost all AC power, and then the batteries were run down. Containment (the robust concrete shell and 18 inch thick steel reactor vessel within it), however, remained intact. This was verified by monitoring levels of radiation surrounding the units — if there had been any containment breach, levels would have jumped. This is an overview of the current status of units 1 to 3: • Radiation Levels o At 9:37AM (JST) on March 14, a radiation level of 3130 micro sievert was recorded at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station. o At 10:35AM on March 14, a radiation level of 326 micro sievert was recorded at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station. o Most recently, at 2:30PM on March 15, a radiation level of 231 micro sievert was recorded at Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station. • Fukushima Daiichi Unit 1 reactor o As of 12:00AM on March 15, the injection of seawater continues into the primary containment vessel. • Fukushima Daiichi Unit 2 reactor o At 12:00PM on March 14, in response to lower water levels, TEPCO began preparations for injecting seawater into the reactor core. o At 5:16PM on March 14, the water level in the reactor core covered the top of the fuel rods. o At 6:20PM on March 14, TEPCO began to inject seawater into the reactor core. o For a short time around 6:22PM on March 14, the water level inside the reactor core fell below the lower measuring range of the gauge. As a result, TEPCO believes that the fuel rods in the reactor core might have been fully exposed. o At 7:54PM on March 14, engineers confirmed that the gauge recorded the injection of seawater into the reactor core. o At 8:37PM on March 14, in order to alleviate the buildup of pressure, slightly radioactive vapor, that posed no health threat, was passed through a filtration system and emitted outside via a ventilation stack from Fukushima Daiichi Unit 2 reactor vessel. • Fukushima Daiichi Unit 3 reactor o At 11:01AM on March 14, an explosion occurred at Fukushima Daiichi Unit 3 reactor damaging the roof of the secondary containment building. Caused by the interaction of hydrogen and oxygen vapor, in a fashion to Unit 1 reactor, the explosion did not damage the primary containment vessel or the reactor core. o As of 12:38AM (JST) on March 15, the injection of seawater has been suspended. What is of most current concern? Units 1 and 3: the situation now seems fairly stable. There is some concern that holding pools for spent nuclear fuel (SNF) may have been damaged by the hydrogen explosions, but nothing is confirmed. Provided the pool walls remain unbreached and the SNF is covered with water, the situation should not escalate. Note: Although still ‘hot’, the SNF decay heat is many orders of magnitude lower than the fuel assemblies within reactors 1 to 3. Unit 4: A fire has started at the building of Unit #4. Note that the reactor of this unit is stable and was not operating at the time of the earthquake. Unit 2: This is now of most concern, and the situation continues to change quickly. Here is the key information to hand (I will update as new data emerges). Loss of Coolant Serious damage to the reactor core of Fukushima Daiichi 2 seems likely after coolant was apparently lost for a period. Seawater is again being injected, but coolant level is unknown. A spokesman for Tokyo Electric Power Company has appeard on national broadcaster NHK to explain the company’s efforts to control unit 2′s reactor core after its isolation cooling system failed following an increase in containment pressure to some 700 kPa. Having shut down on 12 March, the amount of decay heat produced by nuclear fuel in the reactor core will have dropped exponentially to less than a few percent of its value on shutdown, but this still must be removed by the passage of water. The company prepared to inject seawater into the reactor system, but this was only started “after the water level reached the top of the fuel.” Gauges indicated that water levels continued to drop despite the injection process and after some time injection became impossible due to high pressure. closeing the relief valve made injection possible again, but after a time pressure relief was again required. Injection has continued since that second venting operation but gauges still do not indicate that water levels are rising. Developing situation Loud noises were heard at Fukushima Daiichi 2 at 6.10am this morning. A major component beneath the reactor is confirmed to be damaged. A fire is burning at unit 4 and evacuation to 30 kilometres is being urged. Confirmation of loud sounds at unit 2 this morning came from the Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency (NISA). It noted that “the suppression chamber may be damaged.” It is not clear that the sounds were explosions. The pressure in the pool was seen to decrease from three atmospheres to one atmosphere after the noise, suggesting possible damage. Radiation levels on the edge of the plant compound briefly spiked at 8217 microsieverts per hour but later fell to about a third that. A close watch is being kept on the radiation levels to ascertain the status of containment. As a precaution Tokyo Electric Power Company has evacuated all non-essential personnel from the unit. The company’s engineers continue to pump seawater into the reactor pressure vessel in an effort to cool it. Prime minister Naoto Kan has requested that everyone withdraw from a 30 kilometer evacuation zone around the nuclear power plant and that people that stay within remain indoors. He said his advice related to the overall picture of safety developments at Fukushima Daiichi, rather than those at any individual reactor unit. Regarding radiation levels: It is very important to distinguish between doses from the venting of noble-gas fission products, which rapidly dissipate and cause no long-term contamination or ingestion hazard, and aerosols of other fission products including cesium and iodine. From NEI: An explosion in the vicinity of the suppression pool at Fukushima Daiichi 2 just after 6:20 a.m. Japan Standard Time (5:20 p.m. EDT) may have damaged a portion of the reactor’s primary containment structure. Pressure in the suppression pool has been reported to have decreased to ambient atmospheric pressure shortly after the blast. Plant operator Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO) has reported possible damage to the reactor’s pressure-suppression system. Radiation levels at local monitoring stations have risen but are still in flux. TEPCO has evacuated some workers from all three Fukushima reactors with the exception of approximately 50 workers involved in sea water pumping activities into the reactors as part of emergency cooling efforts. More updates to the above as the fog of uncertainty begins to clear… ——————————— Finally, a telling comment from a friend of mine in the US nuclear research community: The lesson so far: Japan suffered an earthquake and tsunami of unprecedented proportion that has caused unbelievable damage to every part of their infrastructure, and death of very large numbers of people. The media have chosen to report the damage to a nuclear plant which was, and still is, unlikely to harm anyone. We won’t know for sure, of course, until the last measure to assure cooling is put in place, but that’s the likely outcome. You’d never know it from the parade of interested anti-nuclear activists identified as “nuclear experts” on TV. From the early morning Saturday nuclear activists were on TV labelling this ‘the third worst nuclear accident ever’. This was no accident, this was damage caused by truly one of the worst of earthquakes and tsunamis ever. (The reported sweeping away of four entire trains, including a bullet train which apparently disappeared without a trace, was not labelled “the third worst train accident ever.”) An example of the reporting: A fellow from one of the universities, and I didn’t note which one, obviously an engineer and a knowlegable one, was asked a question and began to explain quite sensibly what was likely. He was cut off after about a minute, maybe less, and an anti-nuke, very glib, and very poorly informed, was brought on. With ponderous solemnity, he then made one outrageous and incorrect statement after another. He was so good at it they held him over for another segment The second lesson is to the engineers: We all know that the water reactor has one principal characteristic when it shuts down that has to be looked after. It must have water to flow around the fuel rods and be able to inject it into the reactor if some is lost by a sticking relief valve or from any other cause – for this, it must have backup power to power the pumps and injection systems. The designers apparently could not imagine a tsunami of these proportions and the backup power — remember, the plants themselves produce power, power is brought in by multiple outside power lines, there are banks of diesels to produce backup power, and finally, banks of batteries to back that up, all were disabled. There’s still a lot the operators can do, did and are doing. But reactors were damaged and may not have needed to be even by this unthinkable earthquake if they had designed the backup power systems to be impregnable, not an impossible thing for an engineer to do. So we have damage that probably could have been avoided, and reporting of almost stunning inaccuracy and ignorance.Still, the odds are that no one will be hurt from radioactivity — a few workers from falling or in the hydrogen explosions, but tiny on the scale of the damage and killing around it. It seems pathetic that Russia should be the only reported adult in this – they’re quoted as saying “Of course our nuclear program is not going to be affected by an earthquake in Japan.” Japan has earthquakes. But perhaps it will be, if the noise is loud enough.