[meteorite-list] Earths core

From: Francis Graham <francisgraham_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Mon Aug 9 07:08:25 2004
Message-ID: <20040809110823.404.qmail_at_web40112.mail.yahoo.com>

Dear Mark,
   This might well be the case on Earth.
   Natural fission reactions have occurred in the Oklo
uranium deposits in present-day Gabon, in the late
Archean.
   Even more dramatic will be the case on "Population
Zero" planets. "Population Zero" planets do not exist
yet; they will exist about 3 or 4 billion years from
now when higher elements' abundances have increased in
the interstellar medium from Population I star
supernovas occurring now, and if star formation in the
galaxy continues.
   Such Population Zero planets would have a vigorous
fission occurring in their cores and would have
hot-spot volcanoes of jets of vaporized material
spewing out into space. It would be a while before
these physically tumultuous worlds could support life
as we know it. Note the caveat "as we know it."
   The mantle would collapse into the depleted core
forming in the upper mantle extensive faulting, which
later would support living things that are hot-spot
chemosynthesizers in the brine that would infuse into
these many spaces. As this life would evolve into
multicellular forms, it would eventually leave these
crevasses for the surface, much as ocean life left for
land in our Paleozoic, especially as the spaces
sedimented in from the detrius of such life. If such
life on the surface later evolved intelligence, we
might envision the following conversation:

  "Hello, Dear, how was work today?"
  "Oh, Jim, it was terrible. We found a whole new way
to convert zorbomite to food rocks using solar energy,
but those darn little plague chemosynthesizers
infested our test batch."
  "Well, Marge, I prepared your favorite meal of
reduced Europium titanates. Their many valence states
are healthy for your hearts, you know--"
  "Little Margie! Stop that! Don't play with your rock
pulverizer! Use it on your food!"

  We Earth land vertebrates must eat one rock, halite
(salt) to live; evolved surface chemosynthesizers
would have many many more they must eat and on
Population Zero planets these would be plentiful in
variety.
  I wonder if there is a way to detect samarium,
neodymium and other fission products in the core of
the Earth. If hot spot volcanoes, such as Mauna Loa,
really come from deep within the mantle near the
core-mantle boundary there ought to be some trace of
fission in the Earth's core if it is really happening.

Francis Graham


    


--- mark ford <markf_at_ssl.gb.com> wrote:

>
> Hi.
>
> Just been reading an interesting article in 'New
> scientist' (this
> weeks).
>
> It is about the centre of the Earth (i.e the core) ,
> apparently there is
> simply far too much heat to be explained by the
> conventional 'still
> molten since it formed' theory (or from gravitation
> actions).
>
> One theory that is being taken seriously is that
> fissile radioactive
> elements (These being the heaviest elements) would
> sink into the core
> mixture) and start a nuclear chain reaction, so the
> extra heat could be
> generated from nuclear processes. Scientists are
> looking for the tell
> tale anti neutrino's that could indicate nuclear
> reactions going on.
> They point out that natural nuclear reactors exist
> on earth already, in
> area's where uranium is sufficiently concentrated in
> the rock, it has
> undergone fission.
>
> If this where the case, there ought to be similar
> processes going on
> other planetary bodies (indeed this might explain
> why mars still appears
> to have volcanism when it shouldn't really have, for
> it's size?).
>
> My question:
>
> Would we not expect to find iron meteorites with
> nuclear reaction
> by-products or even higher than normal un-reacted
> radioisotope
> concentrations - if this were feasible?
>
> Or is it a case of Asteroids being too small to
> differentiate enough for
> the heavier elements to collect in sufficient
> quantities?
>
> Maybe we just haven't had a sample of 'inner core'
> yet, and somewhere
> out there are chunks of natural reactor!!
>
> Best,
> Mark Ford
>
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Received on Mon 09 Aug 2004 07:08:23 AM PDT