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In 1972 in Oklo, Gabon, a uranium mine was being operated. But when was taken to be enriched, it was discovered that the U-235 to U-238 ratio was very odd. A careful examination of the mine turned up fossil evidence of several naturally occuring nuclear fission reactors. At least one of them was a fully functional breeder reactor: from the fissioning U-235 a neutron converts U-238 to U-239 which beta decays to Pu-239, and then that alpha decays to a new U-235. There is not much left to these reactors due to the mining, but there are a few remain, and number fifteen is typically described as “well preserved.” Here are a one page summary of the Oklo reactors and a more detailed discussion of Oklo. These natural reactors are not well known to the public, but well studied for insights into long term nuclear waste storage.

We enjoy listening to well-aged radio programs while maintaining our equally well-aged writing instruments. We were recently delighted to discover Mystery Play Internet Radio, a l0w-bandwidth site which plays selections from the owner’s personal library of 50,000 vintage radio broadcasts. The tinny, 16-bit audio stream lends an atmosphere of listening to a long-ago broadcast which became lost somewhere in deep space and has just now found its way back to Earth. Included between shows are snippets of 1940s music and commercials for extinct products and secret decoder rings.

Our only quibble is with the site’s poor interface, and the accessibility stinginess of its streaming service, live365.com. We suggest the discerning listener obtain a copy of Apple’s pleasing phonograph device iTunes and enjoy hassle-free access via Mystery Play’s link within the Talk and Spoken Word radio catagory.