Ithilgore:

I think most people reckon he falls to the reactor core because of the whole "giant blue glowy explosion thing" that him falling onto the surface really wouldn't accomplish.

Well, you're assuming most people also reckon the blue energy released is also from the reactor core, and I don't think that's the case. I for one take the blue energy to be from Palpatine, an explosion of all his power when he dies. And yes, it looks like he's falling into some kind of reactor core, but logistically that's not possible. First of all, he's falling down the lift shaft, not a reactor core shaft, and second, he only falls for a few seconds, several hours too soon for him to reach the core. If he falls for six seconds before exploding, he would be travelling at 270,000 km per hour.