We’ve all heard the nuclear jargon thrown carelessly about by both critics and proponents of nuclear technology. Enriched Uranium this and Depleted Uranium that. You might be asking yourself “What does all this mean?”
Here are some of the basics:
Hopefully, you learned in high school science class that all atoms are made up of three subatomic particles; Protons (positive electrical charge), Neutrons (neutral charge), and Electrons (negative).
All Uranium atoms contain 92 Protons, hence it’s home as #92 on the periodic table. Different Isotopes of Uranium have different numbers of Neutrons in the nucleus, thus they have a different mass. The two most common Uranium isotopes are Uranium 235 (92 protons + 143 neutrons = 235 AMU of mass) and Uranium 238 (92 protons + 146 neutrons = 238 AMU).
Raw Uranium Ore, Uranium dug out of the ground that is, contains 99.284% Uranium 238 and only 0.711% Uranium 235. U-235 is known as fissile Uranium. Fissle is the type required for Nuclear Fission (the splitting of an atom). In order to make Uranium ore into useful fuel, the Enrichment process is required.
Uranium enrichment is grossly complicated but in a nutshell we put the stuff in a centrifuge and spin the heebie-jeebies out of it. After this process is completed we are left two different materials:
1. Enriched Uranium (higher concentration of U-235) which can be used as Nuclear Fuel, or if enriched far beyond that can be used for Nuclear Weapons.
2. Depleted Uranium (lower concentration of U-235) which is often used by the military for armor piercing projectiles.
In order for a sample of Enriched Uranium to be considered weapons-grade, the Uranium must be Highly Enriched (85% U-235 or higher). To put this in perspective the most common fuel used in American nuclear power plants is enriched to only 3-5% U-235. This makes the distinction between civilian nuclear fuel and nuclear weapons very simple and easily determined.
Images Used in this Post
Uranium Ore image courtesy of Flickr user bionerd published under the CC license.
Uranium 238 image courtesy of Flickr user bionerd published under the CC license.
~Man Overboard
5 Comments
Nice post. Thank you for the info. Keep it up.
You can find more information about nuclear energy projects at http://www.inl.gov/nuclearenergy
Great link Tom, INL is welcome back here anytime!
Good, brief summary. I do not want to complicate the subject, but one of the keys to very long term future prosperity is the wonderful fact that all actinides will fission if they are hit with enough neutrons or with neutrons at the right energy levels.
We are doing okay in the very early stages of atomic fission power using just the 0.711% of natural uranium, but that should get innovators really excited about the future when we can use the other 99.284% of uranium PLUS the 3-4 times more abundant thorium.
Rod Adams
Publisher, Atomic Insights
Host and producer, The Atomic Show Podcast
Excellent point, Rod. There is plenty of energy sitting in the unburned 238. Of course there is plenty of energy sitting in the plutonium from nuclear weapons, plutonium from spent fuel, unburned U235 from spent fuel, and thorium too. It makes me laugh when the antis try to sell the argument that we’re going to run out of Uranium in the next 30 years.
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[...] look at a particle of Uranium 238 undergoing alpha decay. Uranium 238 has 92 protons (atomic number 92) and 146 neutrons (mass [...]
[...] this speed, it is very unlikely that a Uranium 235 atom can ‘grab’ it to produce fission. Therefore it is necessary to moderate (slow [...]
[...] This was in reference to his previous statements that the rogue nation was proceeding to enrich Uranium to 20%. While he claims intentions for a “peaceful nuclear program,” the civilized [...]
[...] this speed, it is very unlikely that a Uranium 235 atom can ‘grab’ it to produce fission. Therefore, it is necessary to moderate (slow [...]
[...] look at a particle of Uranium 238 undergoing alpha decay. Uranium 238 has 92 protons (atomic number 92) and 146 neutrons (mass number [...]