The Fool(tm) wrote: >http://www.technologyreview.com/offthewire/3001_662002_6.asp > >Giant Nuke May Run Earth's Magnetic Field > >United Press International PHIL BERARDELLI, UPI Deputy Science and >Technology Editor 06/06/2002 >Jun 05, 2002 (United Press International via COMTEX) -- Thousands of >miles beneath our feet, a giant nuclear reactor seems to be at work deep >within Earth's core, and preliminary research suggests it may be the >mysterious power source behind the planet's magnetic field and thermal >energy, upon which all life on the planet depends for its survival, >scientists told United Press International. > >New data analyzed by J. Marvin Herndon, geoscientist and president of >Transdyne Corporation, of San Diego, Calif., and Daniel F. Hollenback, a >nuclear engineer and criticality expert at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, >in Oak Ridge, Tenn., show the reactor -- a ball of uranium about five >miles in diameter and located at the center of the core -- may have been >operating nearly since the formation of the planet.
Well, unless I've missed something, this would mark the first time a prediction or assumption from a David Brin novel has been proven false. "It happens to everybody..." :-) Thanks for the link, Fool. Very cool stuff. Reggie Bautista _________________________________________________________________ Get your FREE download of MSN Explorer at http://explorer.msn.com/intl.asp.
