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Science About the True Nature of Earth and Universe
"The purpose of science is to discover the true nature of Earth and Universe and to share that knowledge with people everywhere. That's what I do." -- J. Marvin Herndon 

Humans tend to be creatures of habit, plodding along through time, eagerly looking toward the future, but rarely looking with question at circumstances from the past which have set them on their present course. Yet, much of the progress into the future is based upon and consequently dictated by actions and circumstances of the past. Sometimes, both in science and in human affairs, past actions, which may have originally seemed prudent and correct, upon reflection are revealed, in light of new discoveries and subsequent experience, to have been imprudent and incorrect.

Building upon a faulty foundation leads nowhere, except to disaster. Since the 1930s, astrophysics and geophysics have been built upon a faulty foundation. Astronomers, for example, have made remarkable progress in observing components of the Universe. Yet, astrophysical understanding is lacking, the consequence of building upon a faulty foundation, making models based upon arbitrary assumptions, and failing to follow long-established, ethical practices of science. That is also the case in Earth and planetary science.

The purpose of science is to determine the true nature of the Earth and Universe which follows logically from observations, ideas, and understandings. On this website, J. Marvin Herndon, pictured at right, describes and corrects some of the fundamental blunders that underlie much of astrophysics, planetary physics, and geophysics. The consequence is a wholly different perception of the nature of the Earth and Universe, wherein causal relationships become evident and observations make sense, as described in detail in Herndon’s book, Maverick’s Earth and Universe.

Making scientific discoveries and having new insights is like progressing step-by-step along a path through the wilderness, a logical progression of understanding. The links to detailed web pages below are themselves a time-line of significant developments in natural nuclear fission; click on each and enjoy being at the forefront of scientific understanding.

Advances are made by discovering something new or by discovering and correcting previously faulty concepts which were wrongly, but widely believed to be true, sometimes for many decades. Not surprisingly, correcting faulty fundamental concepts opens the door for exciting new discoveries such as are to be found on this website.

 Email link: J. Marvin Herndon       Brief Biography (click here)                                         

Major Developments Related to the Earth and to Natural Nuclear Fission

1906

Richard D. Oldham's Discovery of the Earth's Core (click here)

1936

Inge Lehmann's Discovery of the Earth's Inner Core (click here)

1938

Otto Hahn and Fritz Strassmann's Discovery of Nuclear Fission and Consequences (click here)

1956

Paul K. Kuroda's Feasibility of Natural Nuclear Reactors in Uranium Mines (click here)

1972

French Discovery of Fossil Natural Reactors at Oklo, Republic of Gabon (click here)

1979

J. Marvin Herndon's Discovery of Earth's Inner Core Composition (click here)

1980-2009

J. Marvin Herndon's Discovery of the Compositions of Earth's Interior Parts (click here) More than six decades ago, scientists got a mistaken idea of what's inside Earth and have been trapped on an illogical plateau, unable to progress forward. Three decades ago, J. Marvin Herndon realized the mistake and began a logical progression of understanding which he shares here.

1993-2009

J. Marvin Herndon's Nuclear Georeactor at the Center of Earth (click here) Herndon's discovery of the highly reduced, low-oxygen, interior of the Earth led to the understanding, demonstrated feasibility, and evidence of a natural nuclear fission reactor, called the georeactor, at Earth's center.

1993-2009

J. Marvin Herndon's Nuclear Georeactor Origin of the Earth's Magnetic Field (click here) For more than six decades, scientists have thought that the Earth's magnetic field is generated by convection-driven dynamo action in the Earth's fluid core. Click the link, follow the logic, and see for yourself why long-term convection, and hence dynamo-action, in the fluid core is impossible and why a different possibility makes sense.

2005-2009

J. Marvin Herndon's New Earth Dynamics (click here) There are problems with plate tectonics theory and there are problems with expanding Earth theory. Click the link to see an entirely different vision of Earth dynamics which is Herndon's unification and extension of those two seemingly disparate theories, which Herndon calls Whole-Earth Decompression Dynamics.

2007-2009

J. Marvin Herndon's Discovery of the Physical Impossibility of Earth-Core Convection (click here) Since 1939 a major part of geophysics has been based upon the assumption that convection takes place in the Earth's core. As shown by Herndon, that assumption is wrong. Earth-core convection, for two reasons, is physically impossible.

Major Developments Related to the Solar System

1992

J. Marvin Herndon's Concept of the Feasibility of Nuclear Reactors as Energy Sources for Giant Outer Planets (click here) This was the key, the first indication, of the existence of planetary nuclear fission reactors.

2004-2009

J. Marvin Herndon's Nature of Planetary Matter (click here) As explained here, J. Marvin Herndon discovered that only three processes are responsible for the diversity of matter in our Solar System.

2009

New Paper: Herndon, J. M., Nature of planetary matter and magnetic field generation in the Solar System. Current Science, 2009, 96, 1033-1039. (click here for pdf)

Major Developments Related to Stars, Galaxies, and Exo-planets

1994

J. Marvin Herndon's Thermonuclear Ignition of Stars and the Nature of Dark Matter (click here) More than seven decades ago, scientists thought they had solved the problem of how stars ignite, how they start to burn. Later, although there were indications of problems, no one except J. Marvin Herndon, thought to ask "What's wrong with this picture?" and to re-think the problem. 

2006-2009

J. Marvin Herndon's Structure of Galaxies (click here) Because astrophysics has been built on a flawed foundation for more than seven decades, the characteristic features of galaxies have been inexplicable. Now, J. Marvin Herndon points the way to understand for the first time the luminous star distributions, which are a prominent, common feature of galaxies, making galaxies appear as they do.

2009

New Paper: Herndon, J. M., New concept for internal heat production in hot Jupiter exo-planets, thermonuclear ignition of dark galaxies, and the basis for galactic luminous star distributions. Current Science, 2009, 96, 1453-1456. (click here for pdf)

Special for Teachers and Lovers of Knowledge

Celebrities Remember Their Favorite Teachers (click here)

J. Marvin Herndon's Teaching Students to Question Earth-Core Convection (click here)

J. Marvin Herndon's Teaching Earth Dynamics: What’s Wrong with Plate Tectonics Theory? (click here)

J. Marvin Herndon's Teaching About Nature’s Nuclear Reactors (click here)

J. Marvin Herndon's Questioning Astrophysics and Revealing Connections between Stellar Ignition, Luminous Galactic Structures, Dark Matter, Galactic Jets, and the Origin of the Elements (click here)

YouTube Video: Origin of Earth's Magnetic Field (click here) This video is best "watched in high quality" as it contains an experimental demonstration of why long-term convection, and hence dynamo-action, in the fluid core is impossible.

YouTube Video: Lighting the Stars (click here) The nature of star ignition has been misunderstood since a mistake was made in the 1930s and subsequently built upon J. Marvin Herndon reveals the mistake and describes the rationale for his correcting it. (click here for notes and references) 

YouTube Video: The Origin of Galaxies (click here) Observations arranged into a logical order reveal causal relationships leading to a new fundamental understanding of the origin of galaxies.

YouTube Video: No Mantle Convection!!! (click here) Plate tectonics theory is incomplete, providing no energy source for geodynamics and depends critically on the assumption of mantle convection. This video shows the reason that mantle convection is physically impossible.

YouTube Video: 21st Century Earth Dynamics Part 1 (click here) and 21st Century Earth Dynamics Part 2 (click here) This is a two-part video about a complete, new geodynamic theory, recently published in the scientific literature, called Whole-Earth Decompression Dynamics, that unifies and supersedes plate tectonics and Earth expansion theories.

YouTube Video: Put Teachers on Top (click here)

Science Policy and Management

American Science Decline: The Cause and Cure (click here) For the past four decades, American science has continued to decline despite ever-increasing budgets. J. Marvin Herndon reveals the cause and proposes solutions to reverse that decline. Flaws instituted by the National Science Foundation in the early 1950 have widely corrupted science, providing means for and financial incentive to those who misrepresent and suppress science.

Science Suppression and Misrepresentation

Science Suppression by the National Science Foundation (click here) Ray Bradbury's "Fahrenheit 451" describes a fire department whose function had changed to one of burning books. In like manner, the National Science Foundation now supports science suppression.

Science Suppression by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (click here) Herndon's concept and scientific development of planetocentric nuclear fission reactors has been thoroughly vetted in the international science community and is widely applicable to planetary and satellite magnetic field generation and internal heating, but it is rarely, if ever, referenced in NASA publications or by NASA-funded investigators. This is why.

Science Misrepresentation by the U. S. Department of Energy (click here) Science is about truth, not deception, not misrepresentation. U. S. Government-funded scientists, instead of being truthful about Herndon's georeactor concept, blatantly misrepresent science with impunity and with the acquiescence of the U. S. Department of Energy.

Science Suppression by the American Astronomical Society (click here) The By-laws of the American Astronomical Society (AAS) clearly state: "As a professional society, the AAS must provide an environment that encourages the free expression and exchange of scientific ideas." But apparently not where J. Marvin Herndon is concerned.

Education Policy and Management

American Education's Failure: The Cause and Cure (click here) American education continues decline even as committees propose one new program after another for teachers to implement. J. Marvin Herndon reveals the cause and proposes a solution to reverse that decline while broadening the range and scope of education.

Other Items of Interest

Important Scientific Discoveries and Insights of J. Marvin Herndon, Ph.D. (click here)

Current Biography Profile of J. Marvin Herndon (click here)

Discover Magazine article "Nuclear Planet" and Consequences (click here)

Galileo Quotes from The Assayer on Human Nature (click here)

The Naysayer (click here)

Foreword by J. Marvin Herndon to the book Mars: Perspective Energy and Material Resources (click here)
Chapter 20 of the book Mars: Perspective Energy and Material Resources by J. Marvin Herndon "Perspectives on the Utilization of Martian Iron and Carbon Dioxide" (click here)

J. Marvin Herndon's website about the Earth: http://UnderstandEarth.com (click here)

new book    Maverick's Earth and Universe

J. Marvin Herndon's view of Earth, its internal composition, energy sources, origin, and behavior, makes sense in a logical and causally related manner. His presentation is unlike the textbook picture that is based upon deep-rooted blunders, uncorrected by consensus-only, reviewed-in-secret, government-funded, establishment scientists.

Maverick's Earth and Universe begins at the foundations of knowledge and progresses step-by-step so that the reader can understand, not simply believe. The author reveals the way science should work, including a methodology more fundamental than the so-called scientific method, and describes techniques to use for making discoveries, which are not found in any textbook.

Maverick's Earth and Universe discloses the decades-old major blunder that underlies astrophysics, and points to a wholly different way to envision the Universe. Available from Trafford (click here), from Amazon.com, (click here) and elsewhere.

Reviews of Maverick's Earth and Universe (click here).

The scientific foundations described on this website have been published in the following, premiere scientific journals: Naturwissenschaften, Journal of Geomagnetism and Geoelectricity, Proceedings of the Royal Society of London, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA, Current Science, and Earth, Moon, and Planets. When an important new contradiction to prevailing ideas arises in the realm of ethical science, the new concept should be discussed and debated, subjected, if possible, to experimental and/or theoretical verification, refuted if wrong, or otherwise acknowledged. Scientists throughout the world are invited to ascribe to that standard. Secure in the belief that science and truth should go hand in hand with the freedom to learn about and to understand the world in which we live, this web site is dedicated to the dissemination of information to all people: to scientists and, especially, to interested persons everywhere.

© 2009 Transdyne Corporation and J. Marvin Herndon. Except as otherwise marked, the material on this website may be reproduced for educational purposes, provided that no modifications are made and provided the source and J. Marvin Herndon are acknowledged.