Did you know about 2 billion years ago, a natural nuclear fission reactor operated in what is now Gabon? Oklo is still visible in the geological record despite its extreme age. A perfect demonstration that ancient nuclear phenomena can leave persistent traces detectable by modern science. Incredible!
Oklo in Gabon: natural nuclear fission reactor ~2 billion years old still detectable
Key facts
- Located in modern-day Gabon
- A natural nuclear fission reactor
- Dates to approximately 2 billion years ago
- Still visible in the geological record despite extreme age
- Used to demonstrate that ancient phenomena can leave persistent geological traces
Sources
Earth Made Its Own Nuclear Reactor—2 Billion Years Agohistory.com
The resulting traces of the natural nuclear reactors near the modern town of Oklo in Gabon are the only ones ever found. Studying them has shown ...
Natural nuclear fission reactoren.wikipedia.org
Fission in the ore at Oklo continued off and on for a few hundred thousand years and probably never exceeded 100 kW of thermal power.
Okloen.wikipedia.org
Oklo is a geological region near Franceville in the Haut-Ogooué Province of Gabon. Several natural nuclear fission reactors were discovered in the uranium ...
OKLO natural nuclear reactorecolo.org
Fifteen natural fission reactors have been found in three different ore deposits at the Oklo mine in Gabon, West Africa. These are collectively known as the ...
Meet Oklo, the Earth's 2 billion-year-old natural nuclear ...illumination.duke-energy.com
One of the natural nuclear reactors is accessible through a tunnel from the main mine in Oklo, Gabon, a West African nation that borders the Atlantic Ocean.
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