RE: Nuclear Planet in DISCOVER

[Susan L Gawarecki <loc@icx.net>]

>If the Earth's core was indeed a natural fission reactor wouldn't there be 

>readily detectable physical evidence of it here at the surface, such as a 

>natural abundance of plutonium isotopes and fission products that would 

>well up due to vulcanism?  Wouldn't you also have other naturally abundant 

>induced radioactivity isotopes?



Volcanism and plate tectonics recycle material within the earth's crust

and occasionally from the upper mantle.  The core is very remote from

the processes that drive what comes to the surface.  That said, the

authors do point to deep-Earth production of 3He as possibly

attributable to nuclear fission.



My field of geology is far removed from the study of the earth's core. 

What I do know is that early in the earth's history, gravitational

forces caused differentiation of the molten earth by density (the

densest materials migrated towards the center of the earth).  The real

question is whether cosmic sources had produced sufficient uranium (of

the proper isotope) by that time to accrete into a large enough mass for

Hollenbach & Herndon's theory to be supportable. 



In reading the original article, I am struck by the theory of how deep

fission could cause the earth's geomagnetic fields reverse.  It sounds

more plausible to me than other theories advanced to date.



If you assume the center-of-the-earth-reactor theory is true, a question

that boggles my mind is - if you have a China-syndrome-type meltdown of

the core, where does it go?



TGIF,

Susan

-- 

.....................................................

Susan L. Gawarecki, Ph.D., Executive Director

Oak Ridge Reservation Local Oversight Committee

102 Robertsville Road, Suite B, Oak Ridge, TN 37830

Toll free 888-770-3073 ~ www.local-oversight.org

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