Fission in Uranium would take billions of years when its left to its own devices. Because of radioactive decay, it would either release alpha or beta radiation, or fission. The earth would have to be really old for that to maybe happen. Besides, Only less than 1% of Uranium is U-235, which is the only isotope of uranium that would fission, is found on earth.
Uranium is the only naturally occurring element used for nuclear fission in commercial nuclear reactors. It is typically found in two isotopes, uranium-235 and uranium-238, with uranium-235 being the primary isotope used for nuclear fission reactions.
We look to the naturally occurring element uranium as a nuclear fuel.
The element most commonly used as a fuel in nuclear fission reactions is uranium-235. It is a naturally occurring isotope of uranium that can sustain a chain reaction under controlled conditions in nuclear reactors.
In every nuclear reactor that is operating
Fusion ocurs in the stars including our sun. I don't know of fission occurring naturally anywhere, but there is evidence it once did in a few places on earth a long time ago. At that time there would have been more U-235 which has now reduced by decay. It may occur elsewhere in the universe in planets like earth, but we have no way of knowing this. Natural nuclear fission: Oklo - please see the related link, below
No, it is not possible to manufacture helium. Helium is a naturally occurring element that is produced through the process of nuclear fusion in stars.
nuclear fission
No, fission does not naturally occur in the human body. Fission is a nuclear reaction that involves the splitting of atomic nuclei, which is not a process that happens in biological organisms.
Because uranium-235 can easily be made to fission in a reactor with a moderator to slow the neutrons down, a chain reaction can be sustained, and heat is generated which can be harnessed for electricity. Uranium is usually used because it is the largest naturally occurring atom. A smaller atom would not split as easily, and a larger atom would first need to be created before it could be split.Also Uranium-235 is the only isotope capable of undergoing fission and supporting a chain reaction of any element on earth that occurs naturally at high enough levels (0.72% of natural Uranium) to make it economically extractable. Other fissionable materials have to be produced in sufficient quantities in "breeder reactors" where the radiation converts certain non-fissionable elements into other fissionable elements through neutron capture. Because uranium is much more common that was believed early in the development of nuclear reactors, it is much more economical to refine naturally occurring uranium (separating the U-235 from U238) than to use breeder reactors to convert non-fissionable isotopes into fissionable ones and then refine the result to produce more nuclear fuel.A very slightly different world (e.g. older) and nuclear energy and weapons might never have been possible at all.
Two examples of unstable atoms that can be used for nuclear fission are Uranium-235 and Plutonium-239. Uranium-235 is a naturally occurring isotope that can sustain a chain reaction when bombarded with neutrons. Plutonium-239, on the other hand, is typically manufactured in nuclear reactors from Uranium-238 and is also capable of undergoing fission when it absorbs a neutron. Both isotopes are key fuels in nuclear reactors and atomic bombs.
Uranium
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.