Oklo, the Two Billion Year Old Nuclear Reactor
SciShow takes you to a uranium deposit in Africa where, eons ago, a unique set of conditions came together to form the world's only known natural nuclear reactor. Check it out! No radiation...
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In 1972, French scientists were testing some uranium taken from the Oklo mine in Gabon, in Central Africa,where they had noticed something odd. They had a lot less usable uranium than they thought they did.Enough uranium to make six nuclear bombs was just... missing.Normally the uranium found in ore comes in three different varieties, or "isotopes,"each with a different number of neutrons in its nuclei.Since their atomic make-ups are slightly different, they all react in different ways.But when you're looking for the stuff that releases enough energy to light up a cityor vaporize an island when you split it,the isotope you're looking for is Uranium-235.Now, Uranium ore should contain the same ratios of different isotopesno matter where ...
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In 1972, French scientists were testing some uranium taken from the Oklo mine in Gabon, in Central Africa,where they had noticed something odd. They had a lot less usable uranium than they thought they did.Enough uranium to make six nuclear bombs was just... missing.Normally the uranium found in ore comes in three different varieties, or "isotopes,"each with a different number of neutrons in its nuclei.Since their atomic make-ups are slightly different, they all react in different ways.But when you're looking for the stuff that releases enough energy to light up a cityor vaporize an island when you split it,the isotope you're looking for is Uranium-235.Now, Uranium ore should contain the same ratios of different isotopesno matter where ...
