Some comments on Herndon’s nuclear georeactor

W. Seifritz

doi:10.1515/kern-2003-0079

Article

Some comments on Herndon’s nuclear georeactor

W. Seifritz

Published/Copyright: March 11, 2022

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From the journal Kerntechnik Volume 68 Issue 4

Abstract

Light was thrown on the nuclear aspects of Herndon’s georeactor. His thesis is that a power producing droplet of liquid uranium, possessing a radius of about 5 km, operated during the last 4.5 billions of years in the center of the Earth and producing 3–6 TW of thermal power.

It could be shown that indeed initial criticality was possible due to the high U-235/U-238 enrichment of approximately 30% at that time. Furthermore, the U-238/Pu-239/U-235 conversion cycle guarantees also a stabilized U-235/U-238 enrichment of about 10% during the whole history of Earth. For this, a constant critical neutron flux in the realm of 10⁸ n/(cm²s) has to be present to convert U-238 via the Pu-239 route and its eddecay into U-235 with a conversion ratio of exactly unity.

Herndon’s georeactor is compared with other exotic fission reactors in Nature, too, but the decisive answer whether such a georeactor really exists needs further – particularly chemical, thermodynamical and geological – research work.

Dedicated to Dr. Rudolf Weber who died too early by drowning in the Mediterranean Sea

Agradecimento/Acknowledgement

Este trabalho resultou no ambiente de nosso ‘Instituto Mundial dos Cientistas Aposentados’ (World Institute of Retired Scientists, (WIRS) que foi estabelecido em Canela, Rio Grande do Sul, Brasil, Fevereiro 2002. A intenção desta união é a desdobramento universal dos conhecimentos potenciais dos cientistas aposentatos.

Antes de sua morte prematura meu amigo antigo, Dr. R. Weber, journalista científico, há informado o público sobre o fenómeno de Oklo com um entusiasmo grande. Por isso hei dedicado 1he estas reflexões sobre um fenómeno semelhante.

Prof. Dr. M. Taube, Killwangen/Suiça há chamado minha atenção intelectual para o reator geológico de Herndon. Ele me há marcado a lição de casa a reflectir sobre este fenómeno exótico pela qual lhe estou agradecido.

Nomenclature

σ =: microscopic cross section, in barn e. g., σa(5) = microscopic absorbtion cross section of U-235
Σ =: macroscopic cross section, in cm^–1 with the same indexnotation
Φ =: neutron flux, in n/(cm²s)
η =: neutrons produced per absorbed neutron, e. g. η⁽⁵⁾ = neutrons produced per absorbed neutron in U-235
λ =: natural decay constant = ln(2)/T_1/2with T_1/2being the half-life; e. g. λ⁽⁵⁾ = decay constant of U-235
N =: atomic particle density, in cm^–3 e. g. N⁽⁸⁾ = atomic particle density of U-238. N¯= corresponding equilibrium value, N₀ = corresponding initial value.

References

1 Hollenbach, D. F. and Herndon, J. M.: Deep-Earth Reactor: Nuclear Fission, He, and the Geomagnetic Field, PNAS, USA, Vol. 98, issue 20, pp. 11 055-11 090 (2001)10.1073/pnas.201393998Search in Google Scholar PubMed PubMed Central

2 Herndon, J. M.: Nuclear Georeactor Origin of Oceanic Basalt He–3/He–4, Evidence, and Implications, PNAS, March 18 (2003), Vol. 100, No. 6, pp. 3047–305010.1073/pnas.0437778100Search in Google Scholar

3 Weber, R.: Webers Taschenlexikon Kernenergie, Olynthus-Verlag/Switzerland, p. 175 (1985)Search in Google Scholar

4 Clayton, E. D.: Anomalies in Criticality, BNWL-SA-4868, Rev. 3 Battelle Pac. Northwest Lab. (1976)Search in Google Scholar

5 Hollenbach, D. F.: Oak Ridge Nat. Lab., Oak Ridge/USA, personal communication, April 21, (2003)Search in Google Scholar

Published Online: 2022-03-11

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https://doi.org/10.1515/kern-2003-0079