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Gabon's natural nuclear reactor ran two billion years ago

Original: Nature beat us to nuclear power by ~1.7 billion years. In what's now Gabon, Africa, natural uranium deposits went critic

Scientists are highlighting the Oklo uranium deposits in Gabon, where around 1.7 billion years ago natural nuclear fission reactions occurred without any human involvement. Groundwater seeping through uranium-rich rock slowed neutrons enough to sustain fission, then boiled off and paused the reaction in self-regulating cycles. The phenomenon is being shared as a striking example of nature achieving nuclear power long before humans.

Why now: The surprising fact that a natural nuclear reactor existed in Gabon fascinates science enthusiasts and keeps resurfacing in discussions.

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Evidence

• Nature beat us to nuclear power by ~1.7 billion years. In what's now Gabon, Africa, natural uranium deposits went critical all on their own — groundwater seeping through the rock slowed neutrons enough to start fission, then boiled away, shutting the reaction back down. On for… · eatrics · 12

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