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Uranium
Uranium is a heavy element with the atomic number 92 and the symbol U. In 1789 it was discovered in the mineral pitchblende by Martin Heinrich Klaproth , who named it after the planet Uranus
586 Questions
What is uranium the mineral used for?
Applications of uranium:
- nuclear fuel for nuclear power reactors
1. Uranium is an alternative to fossil fuels, especially for countries without reserves of coal, petrol, methane.
2. Uranium don't contribute to global warming.
3. Uranium don't release carbon dioxide.
4. In the future uranium can be extracted from the sea water.
- explosive for nuclear weapons
- material for armors and projectiles
- catalyst
- additive for glass and ceramics (to obtain beautiful green or yellow colors)
- toner in photography
- mordant for textiles
- additive for the preparation of biological samples for electron microscopy
- shielding material (depleted uranium)
- ballast (counter weights)
- and other minor applications
Where in Canada is nickel and uranium found?
Nickel can be found in meteorites and in the air attached to small dust particles. It can also be found in mines. The most popular places to find nickel are Australia and Canada.
Nickel is not that uncommon and has been found in many places, notably: Alaska, Poland, China, Russia, Australia and Colombia.
Nuclear waste undergoes radioactive decay, which is the spontaneous change of unstable isotopes changing to become more stable isotopes, along with bits of energy being released.
All radioactive isotopes have half-lives, which is the amount of time for half the amount of the original isotope to undergo decay. It's a form of exponential decay since radioactive decay can be modeled by the formula A=A0ekt where
A=the current mass of particles still present after a given amount of time
t=time
and A0 is the original mass of particles present when t=0
What is the difference between a uranium bomb and a plutonium bomb?
The difference simply comes down to the fissile material (i.e. uranium or plutonium) used as fuel in the core (aka pit) of the bomb. There is also a third type that is less well known among the general public, the composite bomb which uses both uranium and plutonium together as fuel in the core (aka pit) of the bomb. In the composite bomb the uranium and plutonium could potentially be alloyed together, but are more likely (for metallurgical reasons) prepared as separately cast and machined nested shells that must be assembled to create the core (aka pit) of the bomb.
The secondary difference is the choice of rapid assembly mechanism used in the bomb to assemble a subcritical mass of fissile material into a supercritical mass of fissile material rapidly enough to avoid having stray neutrons initiate a chain reaction prematurely causing a fizzle. A fizzle may do no more than simply melt the bomb or may do as much as producing a yield of a few tons of TNT equivalent, but is unpredictable in effect and thus undesirable. There are several potential sources of stray neutrons ranging from cosmic rays to the materials of the bomb itself. If it were possible to obtain fissile materials that are isotopically pure (e.g. uranium-235, plutonium-239) the choice of rapid assembly mechanism would be a nonissue, but isotopic purity is simply an impossibility on the industrial scale that these materials must be produced. The issues with each fissile material are as follows:
- uranium - must be enriched from natural uranium and thus will always contain some uranium-238 which is not fissionable and captures the high speed neutrons needed to sustain the chain reaction. The usual form of weapons grade uranium used in US bombs is called oralloy and is 93.5% uranium-235 and 6.5% uranium-238. Neither of these isotopes has a significant probability of spontaneous fission and as the remaining uranium-238 actually poisons the chain reaction some, a uranium bomb can use either the gun or implosion rapid assembly mechanism with no risk of a fizzle happening.
- plutonium - must be produced in a reactor from uranium-238. Typical weapons grade plutonium as produced in reactors is about 93% plutonium-239, 6% plutonium-240, and 1% plutonium-241. Unfortunately the plutonium-240 isotope has a high enough probability of spontaneous fission that with this much of it in the fuel a bomb using the gun rapid assembly mechanism would certainly fizzle, leaving the implosion rapid assembly mechanism as the only viable choice for either a plutonium bomb or a composite bomb.
In summary the three types of atomic fission bombs differ as follows:
- uranium bomb - uranium fueled, may use either gun or implosion rapid assembly mechanism
- plutonium bomb - plutonium fueled, must use implosion rapid assembly mechanism
- composite bomb - uranium & plutonium fueled, must use implosion rapid assembly mechanism
In 1789 Klaproth discovered a new mineral; he make a confusion between the element and mineral and considering pitchblende the element named this uranium.
In 1842 Peligot showed that this mineral is an oxide and separated uranium as a chemical element, a metal.
Is Uranium a renewable resource?
No, uranium is a non-renewable resource. When we have used it all up, there is none left. A renewable resource is something like sunlight, which we can use to generate electricity, and even if we use it all today, it still comes back just as strong tomorrow.
Uranium is a nonrenewable resource.
The most common isotope of uranium is uranium-238 with 146 neutrons.
What is a metric ton of uranium worth?
A metric ton of the oxide U3O8 (the usual commercial form) worth now approx. 90 000 US $.
Prices of uranium (as for other products) are very variable.
What substance is uranium used in?
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 applications
What are some the products made from uranium?
Some products made from uranium include nuclear fuel for power plants, nuclear weapons, and certain medical devices for radiation therapy and imaging. Uranium is also used in some specialized applications, such as in radiation detection equipment and certain types of glass and ceramics.
What does uranium and plutonium do inside a bomb?
The critical mass of plutonium is lower, plutonium is not so expensive as highly enriched uranium, the technology to obtain plutonium is more simple than the isotopic separa-tion of uranium, etc.
What did Becquerel discovered from uranium?
He found that uranium is radioactive. Uranium is in the f block. Atomic number of it is 92.
What makes uranium a non renewable resources?
Uranium 235 is consumed partially during the activity in reactor. The fuel may be recycled to extract the remaininig uranium and plutonium. But it can only do a few times.
Then you have other types of reactors but it is not possible to the infinite ! The fuel is exhausted or degraded.
How is uranium 235 and uranium 238 similar?
Uranium-235 and uranium-238 are natural, radioactive isotopes of uranium; they have 92 protons and electrons but the number of neutrons is different:
- for 235U: 143
- for 238U: 146
