chemistry

The Chain Reaction

The Chain Reaction is a chemistry topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand The Chain Reaction rather than just read about it. In short: The Chain Reaction is a 1980 Australian science fiction thriller film written and directed by Ian Barry. The film stars Steve Bisley and Arna-Maria Winchester.

Key takeaways

The Chain Reaction belongs to chemistry; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect The Chain Reaction to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of The Chain Reaction from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

The Chain Reaction is a 1980 Australian science fiction thriller film written and directed by Ian Barry. The film stars Steve Bisley and Arna-Maria Winchester. The film's plot is about an engineer badly injured in an accident caused by an earthquake. He knows that the nuclear waste will poison the groundwater and wants to warn the public. The movie features many cast members from Mad Max, among them Mel Gibson as a bearded mechanic, in an uncredited cameo. The taglines used in advertising the film included "A fast drive to Paradise turns into a nuclear nightmare!" and "Mad Max meets The China Syndrome". The film was rated M in Australia.

Plot

An earthquake in rural Australia causes a dangerous leak at WALDO (Western Atomic Longterm Dumping Organisation), a nuclear waste storage facility. Heinrich Schmidt an engineer badly contaminated in the accident, knows that the leak will poison the groundwater for hundreds of miles around and wants to warn the public. His boss, however, is only interested in protecting himself and believes that the accident should be covered up, when in fact the contamination risks thousands of lives. Heinrich escapes from the facility but is badly injured. Lost in the woods and suffering from amnesia, he is rescued by Larry Stilson, a car mechanic and Vietnam Veteran on holiday, and his wife Carmel. As Heinrich tries to piece together his memories of what happened, his boss' thugs are quickly closing in on the trio.

Cast Steve Bisley – Larry Stilson Arna-Maria Winchester – Carmel Stilson Ross Thompson – Heinrich Schmidt Ralph Cotterill – Gray Hugh Keays-Byrne – Eagle Lorna Lesley – Gloria Richard Moir – Junior Constable Pigott Patrick Ward – Oates Laurie Moran – Police Sgt. McSweeney Michael Long – Doctor Bill McCluskey – Ralph Margo Lloyd – Molly Tim Burns – Survey driver Arthur Sherman - Byron Langley Barry Donnelly - Gateman P. J. Jones - Bernie the Beater David Bracks - Spray Painter Jone Winchester - Marcia Joshua Ward - Jason Stillson Ryan McKibbon - Stephen Stillson Kim Gyngell - Crabs Roger Ward - Moose Sal Sharah - Pellegrini Frankie J. Holden - Farts Mel Gibson – Bearded mechanic (uncredited) Will Taylor – Little kid

Production

The film was the idea of director Ian Barry. He had been talking to producer David Elfick about making a film called Sparks about a blind film director, based on a short film he had made, but Elfick thought the subject matter would be too difficult to finance. Barry had written another film, a thriller then entitled The Man at the Edge of the Freeway, and Elfick decided to make that instead. The movie was budgeted at $600,000 but the Australian Film Commission thought it was too high so it was re-budgeted at $450,000. George Miller came on the project as associate producer. Funding came from the Australian Film Commission, Victorian Film Corporation and Hoyts. Shooting started in September 1979 and took place in Sydney and Glen Davis, New South Wales. Elfick says the location at Glen Davis was rumoured to be the site of an aboriginal massacre and was supposed to be cursed; he believed it because filming was extremely difficult. Filming took longer than expected and the movie went 40% over budget. Miller was tasked with directing the car chase sequences, which featured the Ford Fairlane LTD in most scenes as the preferred vehicle of the antagonistic authority chasing Larry's modified Holden HQ ute. David Elfick also filmed some second unit. The film was shot with a widescreen anamorphic lens. Post production was reputedly very difficult with representatives from the AFC, VFC and Hoyts supervising and discussing every cut of the film.

Distribution The film was released shortly after Mad Max and it has a similar theme to that film as well as American films like The China Syndrome in regards to the whole nuclear-apocalyptic storyline. The film was distributed in Australia by Palm Beach Pictures and Warner Bros. Pictures in the rest of the world and released on 25 September 1980.

Soundtrack

The music for the film was composed by Andrew Thomas Wilson.

Track listing "Awakening" (1:46) "The Beast" (4:17) "Decontamination" (2:05) "Heinrich's Theme" (3:00) "WALDO" (1:17) "A Swim in the River" (1:48) "Chain Reaction" (4:52) "Once More with Feeling" (3:00) "Paradise Valley" (1:03) "Car Chase" (4:31) "Carmel's Theme" (1:38) "WALDO Arrives" (1:57) "The Hand at the Window" (0:42) "Message to a Friend" (End tiles)(4:28)

Awards and critical reception

The web page TV Guide.com gave 3 out 4 stars. In Yahoo! Movies, the users rating to the film with a C and 5.5 out of 10 in Internet Movie Database.

Titles around the world

Detector (Italy) Ketjureaktio (Finland) Die Kettenreaktion (West Germany) Nuclear Run Peligro: reacción en cadena (Spain) Perigo...Reacção em Cadeia (Portugal) Skotoste ton, xerei polla! (Greece) The Man at the Edge of the Freeway* (Australia) *Working title

Home media The DVD includes these extras:

Thills and Nuclear Spills: The making of the film (31:37) The Sparks Obituary (24:50) Deleted and extended scenes (8:14) TV Spot (0:32) Stills and Poster gallery (2:54) "Theatrical Trailer" (3:19) Aussie trailers (9:46) The video presents a 1.70:1 aspect ratio, originally 1.66:1.

Box office The world-wide distribution rights were bought by Warner Bros. which put the film instantly in profit. The Chain Reaction grossed A$796,000 at the box office in Australia, which is equivalent to A$3,607,677 in 2021 dollars.

Illustrations

The Chain Reaction: Theatrical German poster. — Theatrical German poster.

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with The Chain Reaction

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what The Chain Reaction claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In chemistry, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to The Chain Reaction before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about The Chain Reaction ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of The Chain Reaction

In research: The Chain Reaction appears in chemistry research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses The Chain Reaction in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: The Chain Reaction is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1980 English-language films, 1980 films, 1980 independent films, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for The Chain Reaction outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study The Chain Reaction in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what The Chain Reaction means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain The Chain Reaction out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is The Chain Reaction in simple terms?

The Chain Reaction is a 1980 Australian science fiction thriller film written and directed by Ian Barry. The film stars Steve Bisley and Arna-Maria Winchester.

Why does The Chain Reaction matter?

Because it connects several chemistry ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study The Chain Reaction?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on The Chain Reaction.