What do nuclear reactors, atomic bombs, the cores of stars, and the early universe all have in common? They are all places where nuclear processes transmute one element into another, releasing huge amounts of energy. In this talk, I’ll discuss nuclear reactions, including fission, fusion, and nuclear decay, and talk about how these reactions allow us to understand reactors, bombs, stars, and the origins of matter in the universe. I’ll also discuss what may have been Earth’s first nuclear reactor, which spontaneously formed about two billion years ago in what is today Gabon, Africa.
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