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Under nuclear fission with thermal neutrons uranium release an enormous quantity of energy (202,5 MeV per one atom of 235U); the obtained heat is converted in electricity.
And we need electricity and heat. also uranium is an alternative to fossil fuels; nuclear reactors don't contribute to global warming and don't release carbon dioxide.
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∙ 12y ago
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What is a use for Uranium fuel?
The use is to produce electricity from a nuclear reactor plant
What fuel does a nuclear reactor use?
Uranium-235 in combination with Uranium-238, enriched from natural levels of about 0.7% U-235 to about 5% U-235. There are other configurations, but this is the most common.
What naturally occurring radioistope is used as the fuel for a nuclear reactor?
Uranium is usually the element of choice for nuclear fuel. We also like to recover the uranium-235 isotope for fuel if we can. Some reactors use mostly U-235 for fuel, and some use a bit of U-235 in with U-238 for fuel.
What is the use radioactive isotope in energy generation?
The most useful isotope is uranium 235 which occurs naturally as 0.7 percent uranium as found. Plutonium 239 is also useful but has to be made in a reactor from uranium 238
What element is put into nuclear reactors for energy?
Reactors can be fueled by uranium or many of the transuranic elements, but uranium is the only element that occurs naturally with large enough levels of its fissionable isotope uranium-235 for practical use. Plutonium is also a good reactor fuel, but must be produced first from the plentiful but nonfissionable uranium-238 in a reactor as it only occurs naturally at trace levels. While thorium cannot be directly used as fuel, the fissionable isotope uraniuum-233 which can be used as fuel can be produced from it in a nuclear reactor. For transuranics other than plutonium (and maybe americium) specially designed fast neutron reactors are required to effectively use them as fuel, but they too can be used.
Why do you use uranium and plutonium in the reactor?
Uranium and plutonium can be used as nuclear fuels for nuclear reactors.
What is a use for Uranium fuel?
The use is to produce electricity from a nuclear reactor plant
What fuel is used in nuclear power plants?
A nuclear reactor is a device to initiate, control, and sustain a nuclear chain reaction. Nuclear power is energy produced from controlled nuclear reactions. When it comes to just standard fuel across the table it would have to be: Plutonium, Uranium, and Thorium.
What is a way to produce heat energy?
Burn a fossil fuel like coal or oil, or use uranium in a nuclear reactor
Is uranium safe to use?
Depending of the use, depending of the chemical and physical form, the protective precautions applied, quantity, if it is irradiated in a nuclear reactor or not, etc.
How does one use a breeder reactor?
It would be used as a more efficient version of a Nuclear Reactor. While a regular nuclear reactor requires almost a factor of 100 greater in fuel amounts, a Breeder reactor uses much less and produces less waste.
Can a nuclear reactor be used as a nuclear weapon?
No. LLNL even tested several Uranium-Hydride bombs in the 1950s. Even though their computer models said the devices should explode, none gave a nuclear yield. One could use the waste from the reactor as a Radiological Weapon, but the reactor itself is not useful as a weapon.
Does the government use uranium?
Yes, the government uses uranium. Uranium is mined, refined and then enriched to provide nuclear fuel for nuclear reactors. Depleted uranium, the uranium "left over" from enrichment, is used in munitions to defeat armor, and in some types of armor. On a related note, enriched uranium is in demand by some sovern states and religeous/political factions to make nuclear weapons, though the "modern" nuclear powers use plutonium as the fissionable element in their nuclear devices. The plutonium is made by "soaking" uranium in the neutron flux of an operating nuclear reactor for a time. This changes (transmutes) some of the uranium to plutonium, which is then recovered and processed.
What fuel does a nuclear reactor use?
Uranium-235 in combination with Uranium-238, enriched from natural levels of about 0.7% U-235 to about 5% U-235. There are other configurations, but this is the most common.
What are the example of nuclear fission?
The only example of nuclear fission in a naturally occurring material is of Uranium 235, which comprises 0.7 percent of natural uranium, the rest being Uranium 238 which is not fissile. To use U235 in a nuclear reactor it is usually enriched to about 4 percent first, though reactors have been designed to use natural uranium. These have to use graphite or heavy water as moderator, as normal water absorbs too many neutrons. During reactor operation some of the U238 absorbs a neutron and becomes Plutonium 239 which is also fissile, so this contributes to a proportion of the reactor power which increases as the fuel is used and the U235 diminishes.
How is californium used in nuclear reactors?
We might use californium as a neutron source in a nuclear reactor. Californium is a neutron emitter, and it can be used to "enhance" start-up abilities of a reactor where the fuel isn't as "good" as it might be in a core of, say, highly enriched uranium.
Do Breeder reactor and nuclear reactor have similarities?
A breeder reactor is one type of nuclear reactor, but not a type that is in general commercial use at the present time
