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Uranium-238 is not generally used to generate electricity. Uranium-235 is.
Uranium-238 is fertile and fissionable, but it is not fissile. This means that, while it can be transmuted into Plutonium, and that it can be split with fast neutrons, it cannot sustain a fission chain reaction on its own accord.
Uranium-235, on the other hand, is fissile. This means that it can be split with thermal neutrons, and it generates enough extra neutrons in doing so that it can be used to setup a fission chain reaction.
Uranium-238 is naturally occurring. Uranium-235 is one of the isotopes present, in an about 0.7 percent level, but that is not enough to support a chain reaction.
There are reactors that use uranium-238, but they require a neutron flux source, perhaps from uranium-238 or plutonium-239. The most common design is to use uranium-235, at an enrichment level of 4 to 5 percent.
Answering the original question, then, uranium-235 is split, producing two new nuclides, and several neutrons. The residual binding energy required to support the new configuration is less than what was required originally. This loss in residual binding energy is released as energy (heat) and radiation, which then flashes water to steam, which turns turbines, which turn generators, which produce electricity.
In this process, the level of criticality is controlled so that the heat output is constant. This is done with a moderator, usually water, which controls the neutron flux so that, on average, each uranium-235 nucleus generates just one neutron that goes on to split another nucleus. This is different than in a weapon, where all the neutrons are used (2 or 3 per fission) to split more nuclei in an exponentially growing reaction that becomes uncontrolled and explosive.
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Uranium 238 story?
Uranium-238 is a naturally occurring radioactive isotope with a very long half-life. It is commonly used in nuclear reactors as fuel for generating electricity through nuclear fission. Despite being weakly radioactive, Uranium-238 does not pose a significant health risk unless ingested or inhaled in large quantities.
What element uses breeder reactor uranium or plutonium?
A breeder reactor uses uranium-238 or plutonium-239 as fuel. These elements can undergo fission reactions and produce additional fuel as a byproduct, making breeder reactors efficient in generating more nuclear fuel than they consume.
Uranium -235 and uranium -238 are different of uranium?
Uranium-235 and uranium-238 are isotopes of uranium, meaning they have the same number of protons but different numbers of neutrons. Uranium-235 is used in nuclear reactors and weapons due to its ability to sustain a nuclear chain reaction, while uranium-238 is more abundant in nature but less useful for these purposes.
Uranium -238 undergoes alpha decay Therefore uranium -238 will?
Uranium 238 is transformed in thorium 234 by alpha decay.
How is the structure of an atom or uranium 235 dfferent to the structure of an atom of uranium 238?
The main difference between uranium-235 and uranium-238 is their atomic masses. Uranium-235 has 235 atomic mass units (AMU) while uranium-238 has 238 AMU. This difference in mass is due to the number of neutrons in the nucleus of each isotope.
Uranium 238 story?
Uranium-238 is a naturally occurring radioactive isotope with a very long half-life. It is commonly used in nuclear reactors as fuel for generating electricity through nuclear fission. Despite being weakly radioactive, Uranium-238 does not pose a significant health risk unless ingested or inhaled in large quantities.
Why uranium-238 can be used in power plants to generate electricity?
Uranium-238 can be used in power plants because it is a radioactive element that undergoes nuclear fission, releasing a large amount of energy in the process. This energy is used to heat water and produce steam, which drives turbines to generate electricity. The sustainable and efficient energy production from uranium-238 makes it an ideal fuel source for power plants.
Which answer choice best explains why uranium-238 can be used in power plants to generate electricity?
Uranium-238 can be used in power plants to generate electricity because it undergoes nuclear fission, which releases a large amount of energy in the form of heat. This heat is used to produce steam, which drives a turbine connected to a generator to produce electricity.
What element uses breeder reactor uranium or plutonium?
A breeder reactor uses uranium-238 or plutonium-239 as fuel. These elements can undergo fission reactions and produce additional fuel as a byproduct, making breeder reactors efficient in generating more nuclear fuel than they consume.
What is the main use of Uranium-238?
The main use of Uranium-238 is as a fuel in nuclear reactors to generate electricity through nuclear fission. It is not used for nuclear weapons as its fissionability is limited, but it plays a crucial role in sustaining nuclear power generation.
Why is uranium 238 not used as fuel?
Uranium-238 is a fertile nuclear material that is useful in producing fissile material (Plutonium 239)
Uranium -235 and uranium -238 are different of uranium?
Uranium-235 and uranium-238 are isotopes of uranium, meaning they have the same number of protons but different numbers of neutrons. Uranium-235 is used in nuclear reactors and weapons due to its ability to sustain a nuclear chain reaction, while uranium-238 is more abundant in nature but less useful for these purposes.
How many neutrons are stuffed into the nucleus of uranium-238?
Uranium-238 has 146 neutrons.
Can all types of uranium be used in making electricity in a reactor?
Uranium-235 and uranium-233 (obtained from thorium-232) are fissile isotopes and used as nuclear fuels. Uranium-238 is fissionable with fast neutrons but the important use is as fertile material (to obtain plutonium-239). Other uranium isotopes are without use.
Do nuclear engineers make bombs?
It can and it is Although U-238 is not very radioactive -- it's sometimes called depleted Uranium -- it is used as a "tamper" in the core of nuclear warhead. Its use as a tamper greatly increases the yield energy of the device. Wikipedia has a pretty good article to check out. Uranium 238 is not fissionable with thermal neutrons; uranium 238 cannot be used in bombs as fissionable, explosive material.However as the final stage tamper of a hydrogen bomb the high energy fusion neutrons will fission Uranium-238, possibly generating 90% of the yield and a corresponding amount of the fallout of such bombs.
Why is uranium 238 used to make atomic bombs?
Uranium-235 (not uranium-238) is used in atomic bombs; under nuclear fission with neutrons uranium release an enormous quantity of energy (202,5 MeV per one atom of 235U).
Which is more explosive uranium-238 or uranium-235?
Uranium-235 is more explosive than uranium-238. This is because uranium-235 is fissile, meaning it can sustain a chain reaction of nuclear fission, which releases a large amount of energy. Uranium-238 is not fissile and requires a neutron source to undergo fission.
