What are some fact about uranium?

Answer 1

Uranium is in nuclear fuels, nuclear weapons, ceramic glazes, colored glass.

Besides being a radioactive metal, at one time it was used as a pigment to color chinaware.

Uranium (pronounced /jʊˈreɪniəm/ yoo-RAY-nee-əm) is a silvery-white metallic chemical element in the actinide series of the Periodic Table with atomic number 92. It is assigned the chemical symbol U. A uranium atom has 92 protons and 92 electrons, of which 6 are valence electrons. The uranium nucleus binds between 141 and 146 neutrons, establishing six isotopes, the most common of which are U-238 (146 neutrons) and U-235 (143 neutrons). All isotopes are unstable and uranium is weakly radioactive. Uranium has the second highest atomic weight of the naturally occurring elements, lighter only than plutonium-244.[3] Its density is about 70% higher than that of lead, but not as dense as gold or tungsten. It occurs naturally in low concentrations of a few parts per million in soil, rock and water, and is commercially extracted from uranium-bearing minerals such as uraninite.

In nature, uranium is found as uranium-238 (99.284%), uranium-235 (0.711%),[4] and a very small amount of uranium-234 (0.0058%). Uranium decays slowly by emitting an alpha particle. The half-life of uranium-238 is about 4.47 billion years and that of uranium-235 is 704 million years,[5] making them useful in dating the age of the Earth.

Many contemporary uses of uranium exploit its unique nuclear properties. Uranium-235 has the distinction of being the only naturally occurring fissile isotope. Uranium-238 is fissionable by fast neutrons, and is fertile, meaning it can be transmuted to fissile plutonium-239 in a nuclear reactor. Another fissile isotope, uranium-233, can be produced from natural thorium and is also important in nuclear technology. While uranium-238 has a small probability for spontaneous fission or even induced fission with fast neutrons, uranium-235 and to a lesser degree uranium-233 have a much higher fission cross-section for slow neutrons. In sufficient concentration, these isotopes maintain a sustained nuclear chain reaction. This generates the heat in nuclear power reactors, and produces the fissile material for nuclear weapons. Depleted uranium (U-238) is used in kinetic energy penetrators and armor plating.[6]

Uranium is used as a colorant in uranium glass, producing orange-red to lemon yellow hues. It was also used for tinting and shading in early Photography. The 1789 discovery of uranium in the mineral pitchblende is credited to Martin Heinrich Klaproth, who named the new element after the planet Uranus. Eugène-Melchior Péligot was the first person to isolate the metal and its radioactive properties were uncovered in 1896 by Antoine Becquerel. Research by Enrico Fermi and others starting in 1934 led to its use as a fuel in the nuclear power industry and in Little Boy, the first nuclear weapon used in war. An ensuing arms race during the Cold War between the United States and the Soviet Union produced tens of thousands of nuclear weapons that used enriched uranium and uranium-derived plutonium.

• Uranium is a heavy, lustrous, silvery-white metal, capable of taking a high polish.
• It is a bit softer than steel; not hard enough to scratch glass
• When exposed to air, uranium metal becomes coated with a layer of oxide.
• Uranium and its (uranyl) compounds are highly toxic, both chemically and radiologically.
• Uranium is of great importance as a nuclear fuel. which is used in making of nuclear weapons.

Applications of uranium:

- nuclear fuel for nuclear power reactors

- explosive for nuclear weapons

- material for armors and projectiles

- catalyst

- additive for glass and ceramics (to obtain beautiful green colors)

- toner in photography

- mordant for textiles

- shielding material (depleted uranium)

- ballast

- and other minor applicationsUranium is highly dangerous and deadly. The name probably comes from the planet Uranus, since there are the elements, Plutonium and Neptunium.

Answer 2

- uranium is radioactive
- uranium has 3 natural isotopes and many artificial isotopes
- uranium is a solid metal
- uranium is dense; 19,1 g/cm3
- the atomic weight is 238,02891(3)
- the atomic number is 92
- the melting point is 1 0132,2 0C
- the boiling point is 4 131 0C
- uranium is paramagnetic
- the covalent radius of uranium atom is 196+/-7 pm
- the crystalline structure is orthorombic
- uranium is used in nuclear fuels for nuclear reactors
- depleted uranium can be used for armors and ammunition
- uranium can be used in atomic bombs
- etc.

Answer 3

uranium is cooler than carbon