I was eight years old when the Chernobyl accident happened. I remember playing outside with my friend when he told me that a dangerous cloud was coming toward us. However, the cloud was tasteless, invisible, and we couldn’t feel it. As an eight-year-old, I thought, “Well, it can’t be that dangerous then.”

Thirty years later, I stumbled upon a YouTube video about the accident. I had completely forgotten about it. This motivated me to learn about the incident, the remediation efforts, and reactor physics, among many other facets of the event. Yesterday, I found the video below. I think it’s a very well-made simulation and explanation. I’m sure I’ll watch it a few more times to catch all the details.