Podcast Summary: Neutrons, Neutronium, and Miniature Nuclear Reactors
Mad Scientist Supreme
In this episode, the Mad Scientist Supreme dives into the strange and powerful world of neutrons, neutronium, and the potential for small-scale nuclear reactors built on an unconventional principle: neutron recycling.
The episode begins with a refresher on neutrons—electrically neutral subatomic particles found in the nucleus of atoms. When a radioactive element like uranium decays, it emits fast-moving neutrons. These neutrons, unaffected by electric or magnetic fields due to their neutrality, can pass through matter until they either strike another atomic nucleus—potentially triggering radioactivity—or slow down and fall to the center of a gravity field.
The Mad Scientist proposes that over billions of years, these free neutrons have been accumulating at the Earth's core, forming a dense ball of neutronium. This hypothetical substance, composed entirely of neutrons, would act as a regulatory mass for nuclear reactions in the Earth's interior. Similarly, he suggests that asteroids bombarded by cosmic radiation would also develop micro-cores of neutronium. As these space rocks enter Earth’s atmosphere, the neutronium may decouple and fall separately, a phenomenon detectable with high-resolution trajectory tracking systems.
The podcast then shifts to a forgotten experiment involving a glass tube bent in a gentle arc, used to channel neutrons away from a nuclear reactor and back toward it. This observation—of neutrons bouncing off electron fields in the tube walls—sparks a revolutionary idea: looping neutrons in controlled paths using glass to recycle them through a compact nuclear fuel source.
The Mad Scientist outlines a conceptual design for a low-mass, self-sustaining nuclear reactor. By encircling a small pellet of fissionable material (like uranium-235 or plutonium) with 360° x 360° looping glass tubes, the design maximizes the chance that each neutron will eventually collide with a nucleus, initiating fission and releasing heat. This would dramatically reduce the amount of radioactive material needed to sustain a reaction.
Although neutrons will eventually slow and fall out of the loop—absorbed by the Earth’s gravity—cosmic radiation and environmental background radiation provide a constant supply of free neutrons. These can be captured and reused in the system, effectively harvesting ambient radiation to power a localized steam turbine or electrical generator.
In essence, this episode proposes a new type of reactor that uses neutron optics and ambient cosmic radiation to deliver clean, contained, and compact nuclear power generation, potentially without the catastrophic risks of traditional reactors.
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