4 billion years old and 100,000 in operation

4  billion years old and 100,000  in operation: the oldest nuclear reactor in history  has been discovered
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In 1972, a  piece of uranium was extracted from a mine in Africa and  was discovered to  be in  fact a  two-billion-year-old natural nuclear reactor called  "Oklo", after the place where it was  discovered. Its existence mystified scientists at the time, but research over the decades has  helped explain its unusual properties and how it  was created. Some of the Oklo fragments are  preserved in  the Natural History Museum in  Vienna, Austria, and serve to illustrate the natural  occurrence of radioactivity in  nature.
The discovery of natural uranium ore in Africa in 1972  left scientists  perplexed.
French physicist Francis Perrin was the first scientist to analyze high-grade uranium ore  that had come out of a mine in  Gabon, on the Atlantic coast of Central Africa, and  was concerned when he  discovered that it contained a lower  percentage of  uranium 235. (U-235) than  expected.
All natural uranium mined today contains 0.720%  U-235. But the Oklo ore contained only  0.717%.
The radioactive material  that had decayed contradicted all accepted scientific data  on the constant ratio of radioactive uranium  to the ore, and scientists  initially assumed that it must have been treated by  unnatural means before  it reached Perrin's hands, suspecting that some of the U-235 isotopes had been forced to split in a nuclear chain  reaction.
The scientific community had to accept that natural fission had  occurred.
Although scientists suspected artificial fission, they later  recognized that the ore had undergone a natural fission  process in the  Earth's crust more than two billion years  ago, and  that traces of fission  products had been left  behind, allowing scientists to  identify them. .
Ludovic Ferrière,  curator of the  rock collection at the Natural History  Museum in Vienna, Austria,  explained:
"After further studies, including  in-situ examinations, they discovered that the uranium ore had  undergone fission on its  own." There was no other  explanation. »
There are other forms of energy  that are emitted  from the Earth. Scientists have long considered the  possibility of  harnessing the  Earth's magnetic field  to generate energy. One theory  suggests that the  induction process could be  used to  extract energy from the  planet's magnetic  field.
Oklo fragments on  display in Austria
Pieces of the Oklo  mineral are on display  at the Natural History  Museum in Vienna. The accompanying  exhibit educates visitors about the natural  occurrence of radioactivity and illustrates the process of natural nuclear fission.  It is now accepted that low levels of  radiation of the kind found in  the ordinary  environment are  harmless.
"We want people to learn  more about natural radioactivity, to  let them  know that radioactivity is  everywhere around us, that  it is natural, and that at low levels  it is not  dangerous." »
How does the natural phenomenon of nuclear fission  occur? Looking at the processes that led to the creation of naturally  decayed uranium,  it is assumed that the  African deposits  would have had a critical mass of U-235  for the reaction to  begin. A second essential factor was that a moderator  was needed for a nuclear chain reaction to occur and  continue. In this case, the moderator was water, which slowed  down the  neutrons. Fission would not  be possible without  water, because the atoms  simply would not  split.
The exact conditions  of 2 billion years ago  could have occurred elsewhere
Peter Woods, team leader  for uranium production at the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA),  explained:
"Just like in a man-made  water nuclear reactor, the fission reactions, without  any way to slow down the neutrons, to moderate them,  just stop.  Water acted as a  moderator at Oklo, absorbing neutrons, controlling the chain  reaction. »
The specific geological context of the area where Oklo was  discovered played a major role in the formation of the uranium  ore.
Experts believe that other natural reactors must have occurred in other parts of the world, but  it is likely  that they have been destroyed by geological processes,  eroded or  submerged, or simply  do not  exist. The possibility  that such deposits  are waiting  to be discovered and  studied is an exciting  prospect.
As for nuclear energy,  it is expected that the  first exploration expeditions to Mars will  likely use nuclear energy to  support life.

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