Technology

Why blackouts are dangerous to Ukraine’s nuclear sites

Published

2 years ago

March 11, 2022

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is more and more threatening the very important connections between Ukraine’s nuclear energy vegetation and the electrical grid. The nuclear websites depend on exterior electrical energy to maintain vital security programs working — however these hyperlinks are fraying as reviews are available in about energy strains broken through the battle.

Gas at nuclear websites generates great warmth. With out cooling programs, which usually depend on an exterior energy supply to run, that gasoline might soften down and catastrophically launch radioactive supplies. There are a number of layers of backup programs that would wish to fail for such a worst-case situation to go down. However preventing and energy losses in Ukraine have specialists more and more anxious concerning the nation’s nuclear websites in the long term. The continued battle has additionally affected radiation monitoring, communications, and long-term upkeep and cleanup efforts at nuclear energy vegetation throughout Ukraine.

“Though the hazard will not be acute proper now, the regular degradation of security assist programs [at Chernobyl] is a rising concern,” Edwin Lyman, director of nuclear energy security on the Union of Involved Scientists, wrote in an e-mail to The Verge.

Chernobyl, the location of the worst nuclear energy plant catastrophe in historical past, misplaced energy yesterday after transmission strains failed. Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine’s largest working energy plant and the location of an alarming hearth final week, has additionally suffered harm to 2 of 4 energy strains that offer energy to the station.

Fortunately, up to now, the Worldwide Atomic Vitality Company (IAEA) reported that it “sees no vital affect on security” on account of the facility loss to Chernobyl. Zaporizhzhia has not misplaced energy, however circumstances there have grown extra worrisome within the six days because it was seized by Russian troops.

Disruption to any nuclear website’s energy provide is trigger for concern. Electrical energy from the grid is without doubt one of the “indispensable pillars of nuclear security” that the IAEA outlined for Ukraine final week. Electrical energy retains gasoline at secure temperatures, stopping a meltdown. And it powers key upkeep and monitoring programs for radioactive supplies. Listed here are three main parts at Ukraine’s nuclear websites that want to remain powered up:

Cooling Swimming pools

Russian forces seized Chernobyl quickly after it started its invasion of Ukraine in late February. The websites’ largest vulnerability since then, specialists inform The Verge, is a cooling pool for spent gasoline. It holds a lot of the gasoline from three shuttered reactors that stored working lengthy after the fourth reactor on the plant exploded in 1986.

Even spent gasoline can generate sufficient warmth to set off a disastrous meltdown, so it’s normally stored in cooling swimming pools for years. Such swimming pools usually depend on an out of doors energy supply to pump water forwards and backwards from the pool — protecting the water surrounding the spent gasoline cool and clear. That additionally prevents the water from evaporating and exposing the gasoline it’s supposed to guard.

Fortunately, Chernobyl’s cooling pool is probably going secure for now whatever the energy outage, specialists say, as a result of the gasoline it holds has had lots of time to chill down. “The warmth load of the spent gasoline storage pool and the amount of cooling water contained within the pool is ample to take care of efficient warmth removing with out the necessity for electrical provide,” the IAEA mentioned in an announcement on March third after Chernobyl misplaced partial energy.

Zaporizhzhia additionally has cooling ponds. A hearth broke out on the plant on March 4th after the nuclear energy plant was shelled, in what some officers described as the primary time a functioning nuclear energy plant has ever been attacked. The fireplace was ultimately put out, and there was no harm to the nuclear reactors’ security programs, in accordance with the IAEA. However IAEA Director Basic Rafael Mariano Grossi mentioned it was a “shut name.” Both shelling or an uncontrolled hearth might sever the plant’s connections to the grid.

Chernobyl’s Sarcophagus

The stays of the reactor that blew up at Chernobyl is one other concern. It’s encased by an enormous metal dome that was accomplished in 2017. That $1.7 billion construction was constructed to exchange a decaying “sarcophagus” that was swiftly constructed after the 1986 catastrophe to sequester 200 metric tons of radioactive materials that is still. A air flow system contained in the dome, which wants electrical energy, prevents the sort of corrosion that ate away at what’s left of the reactor and outdated sarcophagus, according to Claire Corkhill, chair in nuclear materials degradation at The College of Sheffield.

Ukraine’s nationwide energy grid operator, Ukrenergo, has referred to as for a ceasefire round Chernobyl in order that it will probably restore transmission strains and restore energy from the grid. The location has diesel turbines with sufficient gasoline for the location’s operations to final for 48 hours, however that point is starting to expire.

“From each day, we’re seeing a worsening scenario on the Chernobyl NPP, particularly for radiation security, and for the employees managing the power beneath extraordinarily troublesome and difficult circumstances,” Grossi mentioned in a March ninth assertion. “I repeat my pressing enchantment to the forces in efficient management of the plant to respect inner radiation safety procedures, to facilitate the secure rotation of employees and to take different essential steps to make sure security.”

Lively reactors

Grossi additionally referred to as consideration to worsening circumstances at Zaporizhzhia. “That is one other instance of the place the security pillar to safe off-site energy provide from the grid for all nuclear websites has been compromised,” he mentioned. As an energetic energy plant, the gasoline there — each in its reactors and cooling ponds for spent supplies — is hotter than at Chernobyl. That makes it much more essential for its cooling programs to be linked to the grid.

There are nonetheless two remaining excessive voltage energy strains, plus one other standby line, that join Zaporizhzhia to the grid. Zaporizhzhia normally provides about 20 % of Ukraine’s electrical energy. Now, simply two of the plant’s six nuclear reactors are producing energy. Different reactors have been shut down as a security measure — they’ll require much less water for cooling however nonetheless want some exterior energy supply to run their cooling programs. That’s one more reason why a dependable grid is essential for nuclear energy vegetation — they will’t depend on their very own energy when their reactors shut down.

Wrangling nuclear energy in a battle zone was all the time going to be difficult, however to make issues even trickier, Ukraine usually will get about half of its electrical energy from nuclear energy vegetation. That raises the stakes of protecting Ukraine’s nuclear energy vegetation secure and operational.

That is the primary time battle has damaged out in a spot with an influence grid so reliant on nuclear power, in accordance with the IAEA.

Technology

iMessage had an outage, but now it’s back

Published

3 hours ago

May 16, 2024

Press Room

iMessage had an outage, but now it’s back

On Thursday evening, many iPhone owners (including some here at The Verge) saw the “not delivered” flag when trying to send texts via iMessage. People reported the problem across multiple wireless carriers (Verizon, AT&T, and T-Mobile), countries, and even continents.

The Apple services status page didn’t show any indication of trouble while the problems were going on, but now it has been updated after the fact, reflecting a resolved issue where “Users were unable to use this service” for iMessage, Apple Messages for Business, FaceTime, and HomeKit. According to the note, the problems went on from about 5:39PM ET until 6:35PM ET.

Apple has not responded to inquiries or otherwise commented on the issue; however, judging by our use and reports on social media, everything seems to be up and running again. However, if your international friends are still saying, “Just use WhatsApp!” there isn’t really anything we can do about that.

Update, May 16th: Noted the issue appears to be resolved.

Technology

Handy hidden features on Instagram, X and Facebook

Published

3 hours ago

May 16, 2024

Press Room

Handy hidden features on Instagram, X and Facebook

If you’re one Facebook argument away from lighting your social media accounts on fire, I don’t blame you. Before you log out for good, I’ve got a few hidden features that’ll make using your social media accounts stink a little less.

We’re giving away an iPhone 15. Enter to win now!

Stop video autoplay

Facebook: Maybe you want to scroll at work undetected or you just prefer the sound of silence. On desktop, disable autoplaying videos under Settings and privacy > Settings > Videos. On mobile, go to Settings & privacy > Settings > Preferences > Media.
X: On desktop, click More > Settings and privacy > Accessibility, display and languages > Data usage. On mobile, tap your profile picture to find Settings and privacy.

You can’t stop autoplay on Instagram, which is a dang shame — unless it’s one of my vids that pops up.

AI EXPERT: CHATGPT PROMPTS YOU’LL WISH YOU KNEW SOONER

Love it and list it

X: Organize people in private or public lists without following them. Maybe you make a list for cooking tips and another for gadget news — whatever floats your boat. Easy.
Instagram: Sort your saved posts into Collections — just like you do on Pinterest. Create a new collection by tapping and holding the bookmark icon below a post, then tapping the + (plus sign). Enter a name, like “Recipes,” and voila! View your collections by tapping the three lines in the top right of your profile, then Saved.

Pin your DMs

Instagram: Pin up to three chats to the top of your list for quick access. Just press and hold down on a conversation, then select Pin. No more scrolling to find your besties!
Messenger: You can pin an individual message in a chat. Super handy for remembering shared addresses or recipes! From a chat, tap and hold the message you want to pin and tap Pin. To see pinned messages in a chat, tap View Pins.

The icons of X (then Twitter), Facebook and WhatsApp are seen on an iPhone. (AP Photo/Martin Meissner, File)

Say ‘shhhh’

If you’ve got a turbo-posting friend you want to see a little less from on Facebook or Instagram, tap the three dots on one of their posts and pick Hide. You’ll see their posts a little less often — without the drama of unfollowing them. You can also choose to Mute your pal altogether on the next screen.

Shake to report

Something not working correctly on Instagram? Don’t throw your phone across the room — shake it! This brings up the option to report a technical error. Pretty clever. FYI, this isn’t the place to report stalkers or abuse. To do that, tap the three dots next to a post or a username.

1-MINUTE TECH CHANGES FOR MORE PRIVACY

Split your life

Facebook finally realized we’re not the same people to our friends, family and colleagues. You can set up multiple profiles linked to your Facebook account. On the web version, click your profile picture, then click Create a new profile. Just use it for good, not trolling.

The poke is back

Technically, it’s always been there, but Facebook users are rediscovering the “poke.” What does it mean? Whatever you want it to — from flirting to just being funny. Head to your Pokes page to let people know you’re there, I guess.

Bonus: If you want to step away, try this

Ignoring apps that are literally developed to capture your attention is tough. There are settings built into your phone to make it easier. Namely, app time limits.

The concept is simple: Set an amount of time you’re allowed to spend on an app, and once you hit it, you’re locked out. You can get around the limit — but remember you set it for a reason in the first place.

The Instagram logo is seen displayed on a smartphone. Instagram allows users to shake their device to report “bugs,” or instances of the app not working properly. (Rafael Henrique/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)

Use an iPhone?

Before you begin, enable Screen Time on your device: Under Settings, tap Screen Time. Select Turn On Screen Time, followed by Continue.

Here’s how to set up specific app time limits:

Go to Settings > Screen Time and turn on Screen Time.
Tap App Limits > Add Limit.
Select as many categories as you want or choose All Apps & Categories. To select individual apps, tap a category, then find the app.
Tap Next and set the time limit. You can set an amount of time for each day by tapping Customize Days.
Tap Add when you’re finished.

TECH LIFE UPGRADES SMARTER THAN THE STUFF ON TIKTOK

How to set time limits on apps for Android

Android’s Digital Wellbeing works similarly. Note that different manufacturers put these settings in different places, so use these steps as a starting point.

Open Settings > Digital Wellbeing & parental controls.
Tap the chart. Next to the app you want to limit, tap Set timer.
Choose how much time you can spend on that app. Then, tap Set.

Just like that, you’re on your way to less doom scrolling.

Get tech-smarter on your schedule

Award-winning host Kim Komando is your secret weapon for navigating tech.

Technology

Sony’s new PlayStation PC overlay is a simple start

Published

10 hours ago

May 16, 2024

Press Room

Sony’s new PlayStation PC overlay is a simple start

Ghost of Tsushima Director’s Cut debuts on PC today, and it’s the first game to feature Sony’s new PlayStation PC overlay and shared Trophies system. I’ve had a chance to get a first look at this new overlay, and my initial impression is that it’s really unobtrusive, clean, and simple.

There are five main sections here: search, friends, Trophies, profile, and settings. Search lets you find other PlayStation players and add them as friends, whereas the friends section lists both your online and offline friends. You can see your friends’ Trophies, but you can’t message friends or party chat from this overlay, unfortunately. You’ll have to use in-game chat if you want to speak to a console friend, or just use Discord.

The PlayStation PC overlay in action.

GIF by Tom Warren / The Verge

The Trophies system works just as you’d expect, by syncing Ghost of Tsushima Director’s Cut trophies from the PS5 version of the game to PC, and vice versa. You just sign in to your PlayStation Network ID, and the overlay and Trophies are both available.

The profile section lets you view all your existing Trophies across all your PlayStation games, and the settings section is largely web links to account management, privacy settings, and PlayStation support. There are settings to enable or disable notifications for Trophies, and the ability to see who you’ve blocked on PSN.

Overall, the PlayStation PC overlay works much like Steam’s, in the sense that it’s only active within a game. Sony hasn’t created something that’s constantly running in the background like Nvidia’s GeForce Experience or Microsoft’s Xbox Game Bar.

A trio of notifications will greet you if you haven’t disabled GeForce Experience and the Steam overlay pop-ups.

Screenshot by Tom Warren / The Verge

I did notice that if you haven’t disabled notifications for the GeForce Experience and Steam overlays, then you’ll get a trio of pop-up notices when you start Ghost of Tsushima Director’s Cut because the PlayStation one also has its own notification. Unfortunately, there’s no way to disable the PlayStation notification, as the pop-up notifications toggle doesn’t affect this particular message.

Still, the overlay looks and feels lightweight, even if it’s a little basic right now. Nixxes Software, the in-house port developer that Sony acquired in 2021, helped create it, and I’m hoping this simple start will lead to even more features in the future. It sure would be great to have the option of using the voice chat features of the PlayStation Network instead of having to use in-game chat or Discord. Sony is increasingly investing in the PC space, so there’s a good chance this PlayStation overlay improves over time.