The 2 Billion Year Old Natural Nuclear Reactor in Gabon

[@GeologyHub]

This strange deposit was my favorite thing I learned while taking an upper level ore deposits course in college. It shows s great example of just how strange the planet can be. :)

[@magnumserpentine6444]

This is the only video I disagree with you. I have spoken to nuclear scientist who are SKEPTICAL that it could be natural due to the need of purified water (Its some form of water that's not drinkable "Hard water" I think) The Scientist made it clear to me that in his opinion GROUND WATER would not do because of some technical issue that I didn't understand. So I am not sure if it was little green men from Mars or Dinosaurs (See Doctor Who hehe) who did this but I was pretty convinced it was not NATURAL. Sorry.

[@mobilemarshall]

@@magnumserpentine6444 Heavy water can be concentrated from regular water by distillation, and it doesn't need to be 100% pure to have an effect. Even small amounts will have an effect. Regular water is still a moderator, just not as good of one. I guess it's more logical to you that aliens dumped their uranium waste in that mine though. Because that makes sense.

[@giordanobruno1333]

I was introduced to this by debating young earth creationism. Science for the win!!

[@leialee6820]

@Ivan Varela Although 'Dr. Who' was a good TV science fiction series. Started when black and white TV was still on.

[@bearinmind50]

@@magnumserpentine6444 because of how long ago these events happened there were differences in the isotope ratio between U235 and U238. The half-life of U235 is 703Myears vs the half-life of U238 of 4.5Byears. That means the concentration of U235 was significantly higher. Light water is fine for moderation of neutrons and it doesn't need to be pure in a natural reactor to moderate enough neutrons to cause a naturally occurring self-sustaining chain reaction if the concentration of U235 is high enough. Also there really is likely no other source of fission products for them to be present in the rocks at that location.

[@witchy90210]

I remember learning about this on SciShow as well. It is so fascinating that something like this randomly happened just because things were just right in the environment. Great video.

[@cameronvandygriff7048]

It always baffles me that something that took us years of theory and experiments to get right was done by nature just cause

[@brucejonesillustrations8721]

actually there is extremely obvious and convincing evidence that this was not natural at all the fact that uranium was found to be extracted and the fact that the nuclear reactor was moderated shows that this wasn't natural at all

[@arthurhucksake2665]

I didn't even think that this kind of thing was even possible. Huh, guess I do learn something new every day!

[@bettygreenhansen]

If you’re lucky!

[@arthurhucksake2665]

@@bettygreenhansen Heh, spitting straight facts right there!

[@marzinjedi6437]

There’s more than one !

[@GenericSpace]

That's not even the half of it. We're only just beginning to traverse the cosmos and we're constantly discovering that there are such things as naturally occurring elements that exist out there. As humans, we like to quantify everything and put everything into it's place; a nice tidy "equation" that can explain everything - but with new elements comes new mysteries and anything that is a mystery is something we have yet to understand and "quantify" Just wait; our periodic table is going to get an over-haul some time over the next hundred~ years or so ;)

[@arthurhucksake2665]

@@GenericSpace Such is the nature of scientific discovery- everything we know is subject to change as theories are proven and disproved.

[@Werrf1]

Interestingly, it appears that a similar phenomenon is currently happening in the basement of the Chernobyl power station. Sensors in the New Safe Confinement structure are picking up occasional pulses of increased radiation, indicating that chain reactions are still happening. It's believed that it's due to moderating water filling the basement and covering up the corium that was created in the accident, starting a natural chain reaction in much the same way as Oklo.

[@leialee6820]

Very interesting.

[@Scottingham]

That increased neutron flux is unsettling. No way for it to go supercritical again at least.

[@michielhuygelier6953]

since NSC was put in place the water is gone.

[@Werrf1]

@@michielhuygelier6953 The last I heard (which could be out of date), the water was going down but wasn't gone. Most likely this phenomenon has been going on since 1986, but wasn't discovered until NSC was in place and the ruin could be more effectively monitored. (Edit - typo, sorry)

[@f.d.6667]

Good point!

[@StanKelley]

I read some science fiction a while back where scientists believed self sustaining reactors impossible (due to an undiscovered math error in an early calculation), so no nuclear weapons or power had been developed. Perhaps in such a world, the discovery of natural reactors like this could be the inspiration for synthetic copies.

[@dmdrosselmeyer]

Interesting thought for sure, though I wonder the chances of this anomaly ever being discovered if people weren't there mining the uranium already. In a world where there is no nuclear power industry there would be no point in mining uranium and the area hadn't been active in thousands of years. Indeed, we only know it existed because of the very math the story in question supposes never came to be. Without accurate nuclear physics no one would ever know it was ever anything more than some yellow and black rocks; they never would have known the ratio of isotopes was off and would have had no reason to analyze them to begin with anyway.

[@PixlRainbow]

imagine if in that alternate history, there was still an active natural nuclear reactor in human timescales. There would have been legends of some kind of being that slept and awoke every few hours. If the natural nuclear reactor continued its activities until the industrial revolution, it would have been capped with a geothermal steam power plant without the knowledge that it was nuclear powered, and there would be rumours of people desecrating the monster's lair being cursed with sickness, with its radioactive nature not being discovered until knowledge of the concept of radioactivity became more common later.

[@jmarth523]

Could you do a video about major or minor flood basalts throughout history? Or about places that are to be the site of future/growing mountain ranges?

[@SHOrTwiREDdeviantart]

FLOOD BASALTS!!!!

[@GentlyUsedOreos]

This is completely fascinating! Never even knew this existed! Thank you for another great video!

[@HJWhitehall]

I love this topic. I remember reading and discussing the Gabon, Oklo Mine, in my geology classes in college. It was so interesting to me this very subject lead me into researching nuclear physics. Thank you for sharing.

[@SinnerChrono]

Very interesting. Read a book a number of years ago that used elements of this discovery in its plot.

[@carmineredd1198]

jew George W Bush ...

[@DanielBerke]

I learned about the Oklo natural reactor a few years ago for the PhD I'm doing in astrophysics on whether the strength of electromagnetism varies, since the rate of nuclear reactions going on at the site can be used to estimate constraints on possible variation (they're consistent with no variation when it was running, if you're curious).

[@f.d.6667]

That IS an interesting fact!

[@wwhb4780]

This is so great. I knew of the Okla natural Reactor for many years and even hesitated to click on another clip about it. But it is the very best I ever watched or read, and even clarified some matters, as well as explaining how the phenomen was detected and identified like no other popular science explanation I had come about, thanks!

[@KainusGulch]

This has to be one of the coolest videos you've made so far!

[@mariejanes7207]

These videos are getting so good! Great job, love it!

[@EatsLikeADuck]

I live for learning about things like this. Thank you!

[@anitamitchell3452]

I love this site .... always learning something new .... thank you.

[@TheGodsEye82]

Should've mentioned the half life, U 235 would have been near reactor grade back then allowing fission to take place.

[@arthurdrake6083]

😁👍

[@kenwin5845]

There was some thought that a reaction may have started in northern Saskatchewan. I don't think it progressed as much as this one. I never did find out the final determination. Can't remember if it was Cluff Lake or Geike River

[@bigrooster6893]

My brain hurts after watching this 😂

[@goldenbuglab]

예전에 우라늄에 대해 글을 쓰려고 할 때, 천연상태로 반응했을지도 모를 광산이 있다는 이야기를 보았었는데 이 이야기군요! 자료 고맙습니다. 상당히 오랫동안 궁금하던 게 해결됐습니다.

[@koori3085]

Man, Gabon has more secrets than a politician! The natural world never ceases to amaze!

[@koori3085]

@CRAM MARC Amazing, and we've got a lot of world yet to explore!

[@jeffclarkofclarklesparkle3103]

I love all your videos. Especially this one. I would love to see a series on the canadian shield 🙏

[@rh5563]

I have never heard of this before. This was VERY interesting. 👍👍👍

[@CTP1111]

wow absolutely fascinating, thanks!

[@uncleron63]

Great content as always. Thank you for sharing your knowledge.

[@maryluharmon3267]

Awesome! Thank you!

[@chubbymoth5810]

I heard about these, but never knew it was in Gabon.

[@Leitis_Fella]

I learned about this in a Natural Resources and The Environment class!

[@Gurkewasser22]

This Channel makes me addicted to rocks.

[@Gobl_943]

Any interest in covering the Timber Mountain volcanic complex in Nevada? It's estimated that it's last series of eruptions may have occurred within the last 10.000 years and that it may erupt again.

[@jamesturner1525]

It's wild when you think Oklahoma area used to be the tallest volcanic mountains and everything was eroded away because it was soft sandstone

[@paulbeck6410]

Knew about this but had little information about it. I understand that the last one is being preserved, as it should be.

[@hi.moriarty]

Geepers Creepers, you cover the greatest stuff!!! I'd come across something about this a few years ago but had forgotten about it.

[@dumoulin11]

This is truly strange.

[@erichtomanek4739]

Ancient Aliens! That's the ONLY explanation! They built this to generate power for Pyramid construction. It all makes sense!

[@fpsdovah2572]

I didn’t know natural nuclear reactors existed until now thanks

[@Fomites]

Same here.

[@kirklaird5020]

Ummm, the sun is a nuclear reactor.

[@richarddavies7419]

A factor that improved chance of a natural reactor is the 704 million year half life of U235, so its concentration would have been much higher 1.7 billion years ago than today.

[@tymonkalbarczyk1456]

Can you make a series of films covering all main types of ore deposits all around the world, possible ways of it's exploatation, it's genesis etc.

[@carolynallisee2463]

Looks like Nature invents everything first...

[@asteverino8569]

Thanks for this very enlightening natural phenomenon.

[@jasonstinson1767]

Great content. Like approved. How about some extreme caves?

[@juice8292]

Your videos always amaze me!!! Wow ❤️

[@jean-claudeduval]

the big surprise here is that the video state that it is the only natural reactor in the world. My expectation previous to that video was that they were all over.

[@galacticadventurer6694]

Can you make a video on plate tectonics in the Mediterranean?

[@paris-1911]

“The title of this video might have first seemed absu-“ *I BELIEVE YOU*

[@markcrombie5280]

Very interesting topic. Here in Virginia we have a number of small uranium ore deposits, and one rather huge one in pittslyvania county , the Swanson deposit in Coles hill

[@ragnapodewski4694]

Thank you! I have asked for this natural oddity, I have read of in spectrum of science

[@StuffandThings_]

Since you've now covered Oklo, could you cover the Franceville Basin?

[@barry7608]

Very interesting thanks

[@hgbugalou]

I would not be surprised at all if these are semicommon deeper within the earth and we have no idea.

[@GeologyHub]

The issue is that parts of the earth with rocks older than 1 billion years in age are quite rare. Most of the crust was destroyed and replenished with newer material during that time span

[@dakotaflowers0]

Single handedly the coolest fun fact of the day 😎

[@heinzobermite4831]

I wonder if any thought has been given to the biological effects of this reactor. It ran for some 100,000 years, during which time, any number of available living creatures may have come by & taken a little natural dose of radioactive genetic alteration… and especially if there were other nearby reactors also running after the main Oklo reactor burned out… imagine the possibilities!

[@realdonkey2141]

Kinda proves exteme pressures are not needed for small sustained reactions. And helps the theory there may be more significant occurrences at the core of the earth.

[@Yor_gamma_ix_bae]

History channel would say it was ALIENS!

[@michaelneal6589]

Thank you

[@Hallands.]

Alan Watts mentioned this in one of his books, but I had no idea the reactor was so old… wonder if the radiation did something to alter or speed up evolution…

[@malcontender6319]

Outstanding job.

[@BigBrother-fm2tx]

INCREDIBLE!

[@joebledsoe257]

I read about this in Scientific American many years ago. Title was something like when the earth was almost a star.

[@wwhb4780]

It is not mentioned that the necessary condition for this to happen is, that the isotope U-235 at that early time was three percent, compared to today's 0.7 percent. I think that today, with 0.7 percent U-235 in Uranium ore, the process would need heavy water (deuterium) as a moderator. Possibly, WWII was decided because some heroes did deny the Nazis the output of the heavy water from Norsk Hydro in 1943. Probably they saved the world ...

[@bettygreenhansen]

Thank you! Fascinating

[@djolley61]

Isn't the Earth's core kept hot by low level fission? The heat from which keeps up the convection of the mantle and maintaining our magnetic field which allows life on Earth?

[@Dragrath1]

Not quite first off radioactive elements heat the Earth's interior via radioactive decay not sustained fission. Secondly Uranium like its fellow Actinide elements has a strong chemical affinity for oxygen such that during chemical differentiation Uranium primarily rises to the surface with the lighter oxygen material rather than staying in or sinking down towards the core. As such virtually all the Earth's Uranium and Thorium are/were within the Planets crust or the upper mantle primarily concentrated within silicate continental rocks( prior to the oxidation of the Earth's atmosphere for Uranium). For context the reaction between molecular oxygen and the uranium in silicates produces water soluble uranium oxide salts thus the Great Oxidation Event released Earth's Uranium which had before that point been trapped within the planets ancient cratons. This is a big part of why Oklo was able to exist when it did as Uranium washed out with water and concentrated resulting in both the moderator and the concentration of enriched Uranium naturally being present. The consequences of this are that Planets like Earth and Mars have virtually all their radiogenic heating of these elements fully contained within their crust or upper mantle. (This has thus far been confirmed for Vesta, Earth, the Moon(Luna) and Mars respectively by comparing the concentrations in their crust relative to mean solar abundances of these elements and the worlds total masses and in Vesta's case its ejected lower mantle & core material) In fact modeling suggests that higher amounts of Uranium is actually detrimental to a terrestrial world maintaining internal convection. Based on Insight's observations of mars this may very well have been a critical factor in Mars's death. If this is the case then the Theia impact may have been critical in permitting Earth to maintain a magnetic dynamo due to lithospheric material disproportionally concentrating within the Moon. If true then it would also naturally explain Venus's lack of a magnetic field and likely also why Mercury still has one. (The concentration of Uranium and Thorium in continents is also likely important as it meant the Early oceanic crust could be more uranium poor and thus better able to cool off to maintain the thermal gradient.) The result of this work suggests that Potassium 40 is really the only significant radiogenic element that might be found in any significant enough amounts in Earth's core. There were however a number of much shorter lived radioisotopes that Earth was once heavily enriched in their heat along with the heat released by differentiation still is largely trapped down there in the planets core.

[@beornthebear.8220]

I wonder if their is a fission reaction going on on the center of the Earth.With heavy elements sinking, and the crush of the Earth compressing it, is it possible that a nuclear reaction is largely responsible for the switching of the North and South poles, which we have evidence has happened?

[@f.d.6667]

I think it's common knowledge that some of the earth core's heat is indeed fueled from fission processes - can't remember how much though.

[@dgonz26868]

Absolutely fascinating!

[@PrometheusZandski]

Super cool. Thanks for posting this.

[@beornthebear.8220]

U235 was also used for the atom bombs.

[@maruraba1478]

So the earth survived this constant reaction and the nuclear waste created? Crazy!! His gives me hope that our own reactors and nuclear waste can be reintegrated into natural geologic cycles and are not just death zones forever, like this naturally occurring reactor that is now inert, it may take a few million years to dissipate but hey, it better than never going away.

[@Sptn051]

I seem to recall something equally as fascinating as this natural reactor, another natural reactor. This one was buried underneath a glacier and was nearly half a megawatt when fission was at its peak. I can't specifically recall where this reactor is but I'm thinking it was Scandinavia somewhere.

[@pixelpeter3883]

Never heard about this; nature never ceases to amaze!

[@LordMondegrene]

Gabon go "GABOOM!"

[@anthonyc.2296]

How about a video on the Wetumpka impact crater in Alabama or the Extinct Volcano underneath Jackson, Mississippi.

[@keepmoving1185]

Very well done

[@glennbabic5954]

Please talk about Wave Rock, Shark Bay Stromatolites, and Jack Hills zircons.

[@Theogenerang]

100 Kilowatts. Not great, not terrible.... .

[@carlthornton3076]

Very Good!..

[@vipahman]

So Wakanda is just a pseudonym for Gabon and vibranium is almost an anagram for uranium.

[@bellytripper-nh8ox]

UMBILIUM COMES FROM UMBILICUSES.

[@timothyconover9805]

So, some random rocks two billion years ago did what Westinghouse and Framatome can't get done today.

[@bleachcheeks4837]

Sometimes i wonder if you're one of the geologists nick zenter always talks about in his lectures 🤔

[@rh5563]

Zentner

[@TheInsaneupsdriver]

i remember reading somewhere that its possible for something like this to cause a atomic explosion.

[@glenndavis4452]

Would really like to see a video on undersea volcanoes, if there is even actual data available for them. And how/if they affect local weather patterns/climate. The El Niño volcanoes are fairly well known to affect North American weather. Are there any other ones ? Very informative channel. I had heard of the Gabon “reactor” being cited as evidence of ancient aliens on another channel. Along with some high radiation mass gravesite in India.

[@headlessspaceman5681]

I read about this site in Tom Zoellner's book about uranium, can't remember what it's called.

[@WDIO-RADIO]

And downwind... man evolved.

[@OttawaOldFart]

Have to wonder if there is such a concentration whether it was a meteorite?

[@SwirlyWhirlyXYZ]

I wonder if there are any of these below sea level, or deep below the crust

[@andrew1jl]

So is there any way to get a specimen of this???

[@GumriRN]

So this radioactive ☢️ stuff has a relatively short half-life? No other place in the world? Or we just haven’t found it yet. This area is also relatively close to the lower Mid-North Atlantic Rift. If this site formed when Pangea disassembled maybe that’s the kind of places Geologists should be investigating.

[@twonumber22]

Always amazed by this great planet.

[@JxH]

Gabon: I used to listen to the 'Africa #1' radio station, broadcasting from Gabon, on shortwave. They've since stopped broadcasting on shortwave.

[@markfox1545]

No one cares.

[@robbabcock_]

Fascinating! I'm not saying it was aliens, but...👾👽😲😂

[@christopheb9221]

wonder if this how an hot springs or magma plumes are being powered?

[@A3Kr0n]

I think the first time I read of this was from Scientific American back in the 1970s

[@ali_g79]

Because 2 billion years ago we kept record of carbon so we could date things. People really will believe anything.

[@stinkyfungus]

A literal "atomic pile" Cool!

[@evanrutherfordlazyahole9079]

Well that explains the radiation.

[@shermdeazy]

I would like to see a video on giant mudfossils

[@Goose_Willis]

How bout a video about the Patom(Patomskiy) crater?

[@DyingDarkStar]

I wonder if you could do a hypothetical scenario where the south american continent sinks 1inch below sea level at its low points like would be come a vast mud plane? I've tried looking up this type of hypothetical scenario and similar scenarios and found nothing of use i guess it's a very specific thing and it's alright if you don't want to or can't make a video exploring this scenario. But I am curious on the ramifications and what the world would look like in the aftermath.

[@DyingDarkStar]

@CRAM MARC yeah subduction when i was looking things up rising sea level stuff kept coming up.

[@15firekid]

There must be similar things on other planets in the universe, I wonder how strong a reaction could theoretically get given the right circumstances, like could a natural nuclear reaction get to the point of near or even full meltdown.

[@deathbycheese850]

Water would be needed, and as it stands, we seem to be the only planet that has it.

[@user-ln9dh2bq8j]

Betalguise seems like a pretty big nuclear reaction to me.

[@RedcoatsReturn]

Are nuclear processes still going on in the Earth’s core and does this explain why the core is not appreciably cooling down?

[@carmineredd1198]

some guy named simpson used to work there 2 billion years ago .... doh !!

[@richardbuchs3815]

Please, go into more depth on this subject. Please!! 🐸

[@leechild4655]

so, nuclear energy is really green energy. we need more nuke plants.