![]() Reactor 4 had been shut down the day before in order to perform the maintenance checks to safety systems during potential power outages, according to the Nuclear Energy Agency (NEA). This caused the reactor to reach dangerously unstable and low-power levels. Operators were planning to test the electrical systems when they turned off vital control systems, going against the safety regulations. Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation (UNSCEAR). The explosion occurred on April 26, 1986, during a routine maintenance check, according to the U.N. ![]() As the nuclear core heated and produced more steam bubbles, the core became more reactive, not less, creating a positive-feedback loop that engineers refer to as a "positive-void coefficient." What happened during the nuclear explosion? But the RBMK-1000 used graphite to moderate the core's reactivity and to keep a continuous nuclear reaction occurring in the core. ![]() In most nuclear reactors, water is also used as a coolant and to moderate the reactivity of the nuclear core by removing the excess heat and steam, according to the World Nuclear Association. RBMK reactors were of a pressure tube design that used an enriched U-235 uranium dioxide fuel to heat water, creating steam that drives the reactors' turbines and generates electricity, according to the World Nuclear Association. The Chernobyl plant used four Soviet-designed RBMK-1000 nuclear reactors - a design that's now universally recognized as inherently flawed. A black and white image of the smoking, damaged building and reactor (Image credit: Sovfoto/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)
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