clipka wrote:

> Stefan Viljoen schrieb:
> 
>> - mains electricity (I shiver to think about a nuclear plant suddenly
>> losing all computerized instrumentation and monitoring systems)
> 
> Which is why nuclear power plants (at least in safety-aware western
> world) come with multiply rendundant systems, at least one of which is
> independent of electronics.

I hope so!
 
> For instance, a reactor might have control rods held in place by
> solenoids; cut the power, and are driven into the core by gravity or
> loaded springs, effectively shutting the reactor down.

Hmm, isn't this what happened at Chernobyl? The reactor scrammed, but due to
the design, the control rods exacerbated the runaway reaction, instead of
attenuating it?

But then, the design was way-different from western PWRs as far as I know.
 
>> - water supply
> 
> I guess this will actually be the worst. Food is second.
> 
> You forgot heating systems. Those come third, though warm clothing and a
> lot of warm blankets can help you some. Well, maybe in Africa it's not
> that much of an issue...

Correct, here, you can get by year round without any real-special provision
for heating. It rarely if ever goes below -5c - and then only for an hour
or two in the early morning. Coldest I've ever been in my life was at
about -9c.
-- 
Stefan Viljoen

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