One of the deepest bore-holes on Earth (at the very least an attempt to learn more about how to drill to reach the Earth's mantle for science) is known as the "Kola Superdeep" (lnked). It goes down more than 12 kilometers, and as you can imagine was quite expensive to do. However, one of the unexpected/expected discoveries involves hydrogen gas.

I'm quite sure the scientists in charge of drilling that hole expected new things to be learned (expecting the unexpected), but of course they didn't know in advance what those new things might actually be. Why would anyone think to find hydrogen gas 12 kilometers down, when we know the Earth has been around for more than 4 billion years, and hydrogen escapes to outer space?

Well, we can't ignore the fact that the hydrogen is really down there, which leads to do two things. The first is the speculate why: I suggest that the Earth's core is hot enough (and the outer core radioactive enough) to dissociate water into hydrogen and oxygen. I further suggest that since it is known that oxygen and hydrogen have very different rates of diffusing through other substances, it just happens that lots of hydrogen has seeped up to where it finally got blocked by impermeable rock --and the Kola Superdeep just happened to penetrate that rock. The loose oxygen is still much deeper down (probably isn't loose any more; probably reacted with other stuff down there like nickel and iron)

Second, we can estimate how much water might have been dissociated over 4 billion years of Earth history, and how much hydrogen might be available for industrial use. This is a pure carbon-free source of energy! Just what we need to help stave off Global Warming! And it likely can be accessed anywhere on Earth, if we drill deep enough!
-- Vernon, Feb 22 2018

Kola Superdeep https://en.wikipedi..._Superdeep_Borehole
As mentioned in the main text. [Vernon, Feb 22 2018]

I’m now visualising those old images of a hardworking and dirty oil well roughneck jumping around gleefully and shouting “WE STUCK A GUSHER!” - only in a high squeaky voice, and then lighting up a celebratory cigar.
-- AusCan531, Feb 22 2018


//and the outer core radioactive enough// wot ?
-- FlyingToaster, Feb 22 2018


// lighting up a celebratory cigar. //

... for the very last time.
-- 8th of 7, Feb 22 2018


//wot// The Earth is radioactive. Radioactivity keeps the core hot and molten, and the mantle hot and toffeeish.
-- MaxwellBuchanan, Feb 22 2018


// The Earth is radioactive //

That sounds dangerous - who can we sue for compensation ?
-- 8th of 7, Feb 22 2018


//The Earth is radioactive.//

That's an interesting thought. Has anyone calculated her half- life?
-- pertinax, Feb 22 2018


//Has anyone calculated her half- life?// The answer should be either 'fe' or 'li' obviously.
-- AusCan531, Feb 23 2018


Well that explains where Noah's floodwaters went.
-- RayfordSteele, Feb 23 2018


They were stolen by Space Aliens, stupid.
-- 8th of 7, Feb 23 2018


That's a confession!
-- pertinax, Feb 23 2018


Not us. We didn't steal it; we only stood by laughing while someone else did.
-- 8th of 7, Feb 23 2018


Hookup the fuel cell well head but do we really need more hot moisture in the air? Maybe ice blocks all round.
-- wjt, Feb 24 2018


While the Earth's content of radioactive material helps keep the core molten, I mentioned radioactivity because of another phenomenon --energetic radiation can split water molecules. We know that solar radiation can do it in the upper atmosphere. We should be certain it can also happen deep underground.
-- Vernon, Feb 24 2018


While the Earth's content of radioactive material helps keep the core molten, I mentioned radioactivity because of another phenomenon --energetic radiation can split water molecules. We know that solar radiation can do it in the upper atmosphere. We should be certain it can also happen deep underground.
-- Vernon, Feb 24 2018


// energetic radiation can split water molecules. //

Ionizing radiation can indeed split water molecules.

// We know that solar radiation can do it in the upper atmosphere. //

Photodissociation can occur anywhere that a suitably energetic solar photon strikes a water molecule.

// We should be certain it can also happen deep underground. //

That would be what the Physical Chemists refer to as a "neat trick", as the majority of solar photons are absorbed at or very near the surface. Only a negligible proportion of highly energetic gamma photons and particles penetrate deep* underground.

Please, tell us more of this previously unknown effect.

*For a given value of "deep".
-- 8th of 7, Feb 24 2018


[8th of 7], your attempt to confuse things gets you nowhere. I was referencing underground radioactivity as a source of hydrogen, via splitting of water molecules.

DO note I specified "energetic radiation" without specifying that all such must come from the Sun, or all come from radioactive substances. So when I wrote that "it can also happen deep underground", the word "it" referred to "energetic radiation can split water molecules".
-- Vernon, Feb 24 2018


You'll have to excuse [8th]. A little knowledge is a dangerous thing, and very little knowledge is a very dangerous thing.
-- MaxwellBuchanan, Feb 24 2018


You should know ...
-- 8th of 7, Feb 24 2018



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