Since the problems began at Fukushima many in the comments on the live blogs and elsewhere have offered their suggestions for how the reactors could be tackled.
For example, one email from a scientist asked why ice or snow was not being dropped on the Fukushima reactors. It would, he said, deliver more heat absorbing power than water alone and would at least drop straight down from a helicopter.
So we've opened comments on this post as a place for you to leave ideas and suggestions in. Granted, not everyone will be a nuclear scientist – but some might. Click the recommend button for any suggestion you think is particularly good.
Update: hertbgh45 in the comments offers the following response to some suggestions:
I'm a nuclear engineer, but just finished my studies so I won't pretend to have that much expertise in the field.
Regarding the water balloons drops, I'll just point out that water has a density of roughly 1000 kg/m^3, dropping significant amounts of water in balloons (to achieve accurate targeting) will cause major structural damage to the buildings which will render the situation much worse rather than better. Although cooling is desired and urgent the integrity of any type of confinement is to be preserved at all costs.
Regarding ice, it seems that the liquid state of water as well as its availability makes it a much better choice. Furthermore, ice will stay packed together while falling and then the same argument applies as for balloons, i.e. structural damage.
I think the initiative of this blog is a good one and not having any particular "revolutionary" idea of my own I'm just trying to offer some elements of response to previous posts as to why such solutions might not be viable.
