2 Billion Year Old Nuclear Reactors Found In Africa

NASA ^ | 9/12/10 | NASA

[Dallas59]

Oklo: Ancient African Nuclear Reactors

Explanation: The remnants of nuclear reactors nearly two billion years old were found in the 1970s in Africa. These reactors are thought to have occurred naturally. No natural reactors exist today, as the relative density of fissile uranium has now decayed below that needed for a sustainable reaction. Pictured above is Fossil Reactor 15, located in Oklo, Gabon. Uranium oxide remains are visible as the yellowish rock. Oklo by-products are being used today to probe the stability of the fundamental constants over cosmological time and distance scales and to develop more effective means for disposing of human-manufactured nuclear waste.

[UnbelievingScumOnTheOtherSide]

They might have mentioned that a large part of earth’s internal heat comes from nuclear reactions occuring after most uranium and thorium concentrated in the core. (and not primordial compression)

[meyer]

I suppose they shut those down after 3 mile island too! ‘

/s :-)

[Dallas59]

I think they mean the heat generated by the natural nuclear reaction would be enough to boil water to steam to run a turbine to produce electricity...had someone built it connected to the heat.

[musicman]

[JSteff]

So what will they do with the electricity? Hopefully they won’t cook anything, it doesn’t even appear as though they have running water to wash the dishes.

[mad_as_he$$]

Mutated animals.

[RichInOC]

OG: WHAT HAPPEN?

[RichInOC]

OG: WHAT HAPPEN?

[Erasmus]

The Watt is a unit of the rate energy release, transfer, or absorption, regardless of its form.

[Erasmus]

For example, an electric power generating unit will often be rated at, say, “600 MWe,” which means “600 Megawatts electrical”.

The boilers in that plant may well be fired by 1800 MWt, or 1800 Megawatts thermal (regardless of the source—nuclear, coal, etc), indicating in this hypothetical example a thermodynamic efficiency of 600/1800, or 33%.

[lunarville]

Ok, I think I understand, thanks!

[SunkenCiv]

thanks KoRn!
http://www.freerepublic.com/tag/jmarvinherndon/index

[SunkenCiv]

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[SunkenCiv]

thanks KoRn! Thanks Dallas59 for the topic. J. Marvin Herndon ping.

• Scientific maverick's theory on Earth's core up for a test [2004]

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[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

Fascinating.

[Squawk 8888]

The 100kW refers to the energy released (in the form of heat). Without going too deeply into the physics, suffice it to say that all forms of energy can be measured in terms of watts.

[ElkGroveDan]

they produce electricity by converting the heat from the reactor into super-heated STEAM to power the turbine generator.

A kilowatt is a measure of energy - any energy, it doesn't necessarily have to be steam or electricity from a turbine.

[Diver Dave]

Sending this to my niece and nephew up in Athol. 8^)

Shoulda done some diggin’ back in the fifties when I lived near Post Falls.

[musicman]

[gleeaikin]

Why didn’t these alien souls inhabit the dinosaurs that lived 75 million years ago?