J. Marvin Herndon

James Marvin Herndon (born 1944) is an American interdisciplinary scientist who earned his BA degree in physics in 1970 from the University of California, San Diego and his Ph.D. degree in nuclear chemistry in 1974 from Texas A&M University.[1] For three years, J. Marvin Herndon was a post-doctoral assistant to Hans Suess and Harold C. Urey in geochemistry and cosmochemistry at the University of California, San Diego. He has been profiled in Current Biography, and dubbed a “maverick geophysicist” by The Washington Post.[2]

Theories on Earth

Herndon suggested that the composition of the inner core of Earth is nickel silicide; the conventional view is that it is iron–nickel alloy.[3] In 1992, he suggested "georeactor" planetocentric nuclear fission reactors as energy sources for the gas giant outer planets,[4] as the energy source and production mechanism for the geomagnetic field [5] and stellar ignition by nuclear fission.[6][7] Scientists who have scrutinised these ideas have challenged the underlying assumptions and proposed mechanisms. In a paper on the nuclear reactor hypothesis, Schuiling argues that 'it is unlikely that nuclear georeactors ... are operating at the Earth's centre'.[8]

In 2005, Herndon postulated what he calls whole-earth decompression dynamics, which he describes as a unified theory combining elements of plate tectonics and Earth expansion. He suggests that Earth formed from a Jupiter-sized gas giant by catastrophic loss of its gaseous atmosphere with subsequent decompression and expansion of the rocky remnant planet resulting in decompression cracks at divergent continental margins which are filled in by basalts from mid-ocean ridges.[9][10][11][12][13]

Recent measurements of "geoneutrino" fluxes in the KamLAND and Borexino experiments have placed stringent upper limits on Herndon's "georeactor" hypothesis on the presence of an active nuclear fission reactor in the Earth's inner core, so that such reactor would produce less than 3 TW.[14]

Chemtrail theory proponent

Herndon has become a proponent of the chemtrail conspiracy theory[15] and published several peer-reviewed papers claiming that coal fly ash is being sprayed for geoengineering.[16] In 2016, two of his papers, however, were retracted because of flaws;[17][18][19] Herndon disputed the reason for retraction, claiming the retractions were "a well-organized effort (CIA?) to deceive... Those concerted efforts to cause said retractions prove that the high officials who ordered the spraying know very well that they are poisoning humanity and want to hide that fact".[20]

References

  1. ^ Current Biography 64: 45-49, 2003, https://web.archive.org/web/20050205193822/http://nuclearplanet.com/profile.htm, similar link: J. Marvin Herndon's Brief Biography at January 12, 2013
  2. ^ Guy Gugliotta. Is Earth's Core a Nuclear Fission Reactor?, The Washington Post, March 24, 2003, p. A06
  3. ^ Herndon, J. M. (1979) The nickel silicide inner core of the Earth. Proc. R. Soc. Lond. A368, 495-500
  4. ^ Herndon, J. M. (1992) Nuclear fission reactors as energy sources for the giant outer planets, Naturwissenschaften 79, 7-14.
  5. ^ Herndon, J. M. (2007) Nuclear georeactor generation of Earth’s geomagnetic field. Current Science, V. 93, No. 11, 1485-1487.
  6. ^ Herndon, J. M. (1994) Planetary and protostellar nuclear fission: Implications for planetary change, stellar ignition and dark matter. Proc. Roy. Soc. Lond., A455, 453-461.
  7. ^ Brad Lemley: Nuclear Planet - Is there a five-mile-wide ball of hellaciously hot uranium seething at the center of the Earth?. In: Discover - The sciences. 1st August 2002.
  8. ^ Schuiling, R (2006). "Is there a Nuclear Reactor at the Center of the Earth?". Earth Moon Planet. 99 (1–4): 33–49. Bibcode:2006EM&P...99...33S. doi:10.1007/s11038-006-9108-4.
  9. ^ J. Marvin Herndon, Whole-earth decompression dynamics, Current Science, V. 89, No. 11, 10 Dec. 2005
  10. ^ John Timmer (9 July 2012). "eBooks and the democratization of crackpottery". Download the Universe. Retrieved 3 September 2017.
  11. ^ "Crackpots, geniuses, and how to tell the difference". Boing Boing. 10 July 2012. Retrieved 3 September 2017.
  12. ^ J. Marvin Herndon: Whole-Earth Decompression Dynamics Cornell University Astrophysics, 2005
  13. ^ J. Marvin Herndon: A New Basis of Geoscience: Whole-Earth Decompression Dynamics Cornell University Physics 2013
  14. ^ Borexino Collaboration (2010). "Observation of geo-neutrinos". Phys. Lett. B. 687 (4–5): 299–304. arXiv:1003.0284. Bibcode:2010PhLB..687..299B. doi:10.1016/j.physletb.2010.03.051.
  15. ^ Herndon, Marvin J. "January 16, 2015 Email to San Diego Mayor, Copies to City Council Members" (PDF). Nuclearplanet.com. Retrieved 20 February 2017. Almost every day jet airliners are spraying innumerable so-called "chemtrails" and they persist after release behind the jets to gradually form clouds. Chemical clouds. Toxic clouds.
  16. ^ Herndon, Marvin J (2015). "Aluminum poisoning of humanity and earth's biota by clandestine geoengineering activity: Implications for India" (PDF). Curr. Sci. 108 (12): 2173–7. Retrieved 19 February 2017.
  17. ^ "Paper on chemtrails, a favorite subject of conspiracy theorists, retracted". Retraction Watch. 3 September 2015. Retrieved 3 September 2017.
  18. ^ Tchounwou, Paul (2 September 2015). "Retraction: Herndon J.M. Evidence of Coal-Fly-Ash Toxic Chemical Geoengineering in the Troposphere: Consequences for Public Health. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2015, 8, 9375–9390". International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. 12 (9): 10941–10942. doi:10.3390/ijerph120910941. PMC 4563576. PMID 26351092.
  19. ^ Production Office, Frontiers (20 July 2016). "Retraction: Human and Environmental Dangers Posed by Ongoing Global Tropospheric Aerosolized Particulates for Weather Modification". Frontiers in Public Health. 4: 156. doi:10.3389/fpubh.2016.00156. PMC 4955013. PMID 27453892.
  20. ^ Herndon, J. M. (2017). Concerted Efforts to Unwarrantedly Cause Retractions of Peer-Reviewed and Published Public Health Scientific Papers (PDF).

Further reading