What would happen if uranium disappeared or became depleted?

Answer 1

Uranium is most commonly used as a source of fuel for nuclear power plants. The products of nuclear fission reactions are used to produce many chemical reference materials and radioactive isotopes for cancer treatments, etc. While some nuclear power plants can be adapted to burn alternate fuels like plutonium and thorium, the switch from uranium fuels would be costly. Isotopes of uranium have also been used to accurately date the earth.

Answer 2

Depleted uranium: uranium containing approx. 0,2 % uranium 235, the fissile isotope. Depleted uranium can be used in breeder nuclear reactors and has also many applications (especially for weapons and armors).

Uranium can be transformed by nuclear fission or nuclear reactions and other elements.

Answer 3

The main thing that would be different is we would have neither nuclear power nor nuclear weapons of any kind.

World War 2 would not have ended until at least late 1946 (possibly as late as 1955 by some estimates) and when it ended Japan would have been partitioned into a communist North Japan occupied by the USSR and a democratic South Japan occupied by the US (much like East Germany and West Germany in Europe). The US would almost certainly have used chemical weapons in Japan several times before the end of the war.

The Cold War interval would likely have not been so cold, probably including at least another World War.

The USSR might not have bankrupted themselves so rapidly on massive weapons development projects as they did.

There would have been no massive "space race" and thus no moon landings. While we would definitely have transistorized electronics, integrated circuits and microprocessors would be prohibitively expensive for everyday use (because the expense of setting up the fabrication facilities was paid for by the government demand for miniaturized light weight guidance computers for ICBMs and the manned space program).

There are many other things that everyone takes for granted now that would not be.

Answer 4

If uranium disappeared or became depleted, nuclear reactors would no longer be able to generate electricity through nuclear fission. This would lead to a shift towards other sources of energy, such as renewable sources like solar or wind power, and potentially an increased reliance on fossil fuels. It could also impact industries reliant on uranium for various applications, such as medical imaging and defense.