31 March 2011 noon

Workout notes: yoga in the morning, weights over lunch:
squats, Smith machine: 10 x 45, 10 x 135, 10 x 165, 5 x 185, 10 x 135. The depth was ok at 165; perhaps a bit shallow at 185.
curls: 3 sets of 15 with 20 lb. dumbbells
incline press: 10 x 115, 10 x 125, 1 x 135, 9 x 120 (vertigo was slight)
pull downs: 3 sets of 10 x 120
rows: 3 sets of 10 x 200
sit ups (4 x 25, 1, 2, 3, 4 incline)
ball; hamstring exercises: 3 sets of 15.
This took about 1 hour.

Vertigo: reduced, but still there at times. The ears are not quite as full. We are closing in on day 3; I do feel better but I am not well.

Science/technology The geometry of nuclear fuel plays a role in forming the chain reactions. There is some fear that blobs of fuel may have started up chain reactions:

But on 25 March, Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO), which runs the Fukushima Daiichi plant, reported that chlorine-38 had been found among several radioactive isotopes in water taken from the turbine building of reactor number 1. Chlorine-38 can form when neutrons hit atoms of naturally occurring chlorine-37 in seawater.

Some chlorine-38 is to be expected because seawater was used to cool reactor number 1, and fuel rods continue to emit neutrons even after a reactor is shut down. But according to calculations by Dalnoki-Veress, a dead reactor core would not produce enough neutrons to account for the amount of chlorine-38 measured – 1.6 million becquerels per millilitre.

Despite the presence of the control rods, he says, partial or total melting of the fuel rods could rearrange the fuel in ways that would allow chain reactions to occur. Such reactions would probably be short-lived, he says, as the heat they would generate would tend to push apart the chunks or molten globs of fuel involved, reducing their ability to react further. But continued melting and rearrangement could cause repeated bursts of chain reactions.

Others are skeptical as it would be difficult to achieve a small “critical” lump by pure accident, though it would be theoretically possible.

Fun
Warmer weather is on the way; this means running races and other outdoor activities:

I had better shake off this ear infection so I can get back out there and race!