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... The Chernobyl accident depended on the specific
characteristics of the RBMK reactors, of which the Soviets
built 16 before switching to designs more like those used in
the rest of the world. (It may be that the North Korean reactors
are similar). The relevant features of RBMK reactors include:
"positive void co-efficient of reactivity". This means that if
the reactor gets too hot and some of the water turns to steam,
the rate of the nuclear reaction increases. In most other power
reactors, the void coefficient is negative. If some water boils
the reactor tends to stop. ...