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For countless years, scientists have wondered what exactly makes up the center of our planet. The most widely accepted theory essentially states that at one point, Earth’s entire core was liquid, but gradual internal cooling caused the inner core to solidify out of the outer core, which still remains liquid. In more recent years, however, Dr. J. Marvin Herndon speculated that there was more to our planet’s interior than meets the eye. He hypothesized that Earth’s core was something beyond a simple conglomerate of dense metals: a nuclear fission reactor that serves as the energy output source for our planet. While the theory is not widely supported by scientists, Herndon does present some compelling evidence that could harbour in a major scientific discovery.
The inner core is speculated to be composed mainly of a nickel-iron alloy among other elements. Because of the law of density, only elements with a fairly high atomic mass and number (and therefore high density) can be found at the core of the earth. Herndon suggests that at the center of the core, there is a five mile uranium sphere which accounts for the nuclear activity that causes Earth to radiate energy. This theory is not invalid since uranium is among the densest of metals. For many years, it was believed that planets did not create their own energy, but merely re-radiated the energy given to them by the sun - a hypothesis that was disproved when it was discovered that Jupiter radiated twice the solar energy it received. Herndon uses this discovery as evidence to support his georeactor theory, stating that planets such as Mars and Uranus produce little energy and consequently have generally simple atmospheres that show little activity (Smith 2003). This correlation promotes a further idea, implying that Earth’s geomagnetic shield is the by-product of its nuclear georeactor.
The magnetic shield that makes up our planet’s atmosphere is essential to life. Solar wind emitted by...