Answer to Question 1
No American or western European reactor can explode. They can, however, under
certain circumstances make hydrogen gas, which can burn explosively.
Reactors of the RBMK type do need to be computer controlled. The RBMK reactors can
explode, as Chernobyl didbut not in a nuclear explosion. The explosion came from
graphite (carbon) used as a moderator in the reactor that caught fire from the release of
Wigner energy.
Answer to Question 2
This is very much the case. We see examples of the difficulty of doing this every
day. I hope that the student will adduce examples from personal experience.