“This road is long, and much of the map remains blank. The biggest problem is drilling miles through hot rock, safely. If scientists can do that, however, next-generation geothermal power could supply clean energy for eons.”

  • kalkulat@lemmy.worldOP
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    20 hours ago

    There is A LOT of radioactive matter below the earth’s surface … constantly generating heat.

    “About 50% of the Earth’s internal heat originates from radioactive decay. Four radioactive isotopes are responsible for the majority of radiogenic heat because of their enrichment relative to other radioactive isotopes: uranium-238 (238U), uranium-235 (235U), thorium-232 (232Th), and potassium-40 (40K).” - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Earth’s_internal_heat_budget

    • CameronDev
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      14 hours ago

      Fission is a form of decay, but its relatively rare compared to the other more typical modes of devay.

      Spontaneous fission is relatively rare, because it is usuallly restricted to superheavy elements, which are fairly rare and short lived.

      https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spontaneous_fission

      It was a needlessly pedantic nitpick though.