The natural isotopic abundance of U235 today may be taken 0.72%. The remaining 99.28% is then considered U238. It is known that today's natural uranium cannot become critical with water. However, it has been found that a nuclear reactor operated naturally on Earth (the location is now in Oklo, Gabon). This happened long time ago, when the abundance of U235 was 3.5% (not 0.72%). Estimate how long ago this reactor operated, knowing that the abundance of U235 was 3.5% and the half-lives of U235 and U238 are, 7.038*108 years and 4.468 10 years, respectively.
The natural isotopic abundance of U235 today may be taken 0.72%. The remaining 99.28% is then considered U238. It is known that today's natural uranium cannot become critical with water. However, it has been found that a nuclear reactor operated naturally on Earth (the location is now in Oklo, Gabon). This happened long time ago, when the abundance of U235 was 3.5% (not 0.72%). Estimate how long ago this reactor operated, knowing that the abundance of U235 was 3.5% and the half-lives of U235 and U238 are, 7.038*108 years and 4.468 10 years, respectively.
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