Difference between revisions of "Uranium"

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{{Element | name=Uranium | symbol=U | anumber=92 | amass=238.02891 amu | state=Solid | class=Metallic | cstructure=Orthorhombic| color=metallic grey, reacts slowly with oxygen and rapidly with water. | date=1789 | discname=Martin J. Klaproth  | origname=From the planet Uranus. | uses=For many centuries it was used as a pigment for glass. Now it is used as a fuel in nuclear reactors and in nuclear weapons. Depleted uranium is used in the kinetic penetrators of armor-piercing artillery shells, armor plating on tanks, and as ballast in the wings of some large aircraft. | obtained=Primary uranium bearing ores are uraninite, autunite, carnotite, samarskite and torbernite. }}
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{{Element | name=Uranium | symbol=U | anumber=92 | amass=238.02891 amu | state=Solid | class=Metallic | cstructure=Orthorhombic| color=metallic grey, reacts slowly with oxygen and rapidly with water. | date=1789 | discname=Martin J. Klaproth  | origname=From the planet Uranus. | uses=For many centuries it was used as a pigment for glass. Now it is used as a fuel in nuclear reactors and in nuclear weapons. Depleted Uranium is used in casings of armor piercing artillery shells, armor plating on tanks and as ballast in the wings of some large aircraft. | obtained=Primary uranium bearing ores are uraninite, autunite, carnotite, samarskite and torbernite. }}
'''Uranium''' (U) is a heavy, naturally [[radioactive]], [[metal]]lic [[element]] with an [[atomic number]] of 92.
 
  
==Isotopes==
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'''Uranium''' (U) is a heavy, naturally [[radioactive]], [[metal]]lic [[element]] with an [[atomic number]] of 92. Its two principally occurring [[isotope]]s are uranium-235 and uranium-238. Uranium-235 is indispensable to the nuclear industry because it is the only isotope existing in nature that is fissionable by thermal [[neutron]]s. Uranium-238 is also important because it absorbs neutrons to produce a [[radioactive]] isotope that subsequently decays to the isotope [[plutonium]]-239, which also is [[fission]]able by thermal neutrons.
Its two principally occurring [[isotope]]s are uranium-235 and uranium-238. Their respective proportions play a large role in its use.
 
  
Uranium-238 is the dominant isotope, making up 99.3% (mass basis) of natural uranium. This percentage varies little between mines.  In nuclear reactors, it plays an important role by absorbing neutrons to produce a [[radioactive]] isotope which subsequently decays to the isotope [[plutonium]]-239, which is [[fission]]able by the thermal neutrons present in conventional light water reactors.
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"Depleted" Uranium is one of the densest materials known to man; As such, the United States uses it for bullets and tank armor. There are no known serious health risks stemming from external exposure to it.<ref>http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2005/07/050724094117.htm</ref><ref>http://web.ead.anl.gov/uranium/guide/depletedu/health/index.cfm</ref>
 
 
Uranium-235 is indispensable to the nuclear industry because it is the only isotope existing in nature that is fissionable by the thermal [[neutron]]s. It makes up 0.7% of natural uranium. In a process called ''enrichment'', the proportion of uranium-235 is increased by small amounts in hundreds of steps to produce fuel of 2% to 5% uranium-235. This, unlike natural uranium, can sustain a nuclear chain reaction in a light water reactor.
 
 
 
==Applications==
 
''Depleted uranium'' is a by-product of enriched uranium, a mixture of the 235 and 238 isotopes with a lower concentration of uranium-235 than in nature. It is one of the densest materials known to man. As such, it has been used for artillery shells, tank armor, ballast, and gyroscopes. There are no known serious health risks stemming from external exposure to it,<ref>http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2005/07/050724094117.htm</ref><ref>http://web.ead.anl.gov/uranium/guide/depletedu/health/index.cfm</ref> however it can still cause heavy metal poisoning when ingested, in the same manner as commonplace elements such as [[lead]], [[mercury]], and [[cadmium]].
 
 
 
Uranium compounds display a wide range of colors and have been used for coloring ceramic glazes and glass.
 
  
 
==References==
 
==References==

Revision as of 06:30, February 9, 2009

Uranium
Properties
Atomic symbol U
Atomic number 92
Classification Metallic
Atomic mass 238.02891 amu
Other Information
Date of discovery 1789
Name of discoverer Martin J. Klaproth
Name origin From the planet Uranus.
Uses For many centuries it was used as a pigment for glass. Now it is used as a fuel in nuclear reactors and in nuclear weapons. Depleted Uranium is used in casings of armor piercing artillery shells, armor plating on tanks and as ballast in the wings of some large aircraft.
Obtained from Primary uranium bearing ores are uraninite, autunite, carnotite, samarskite and torbernite.


Uranium (U) is a heavy, naturally radioactive, metallic element with an atomic number of 92. Its two principally occurring isotopes are uranium-235 and uranium-238. Uranium-235 is indispensable to the nuclear industry because it is the only isotope existing in nature that is fissionable by thermal neutrons. Uranium-238 is also important because it absorbs neutrons to produce a radioactive isotope that subsequently decays to the isotope plutonium-239, which also is fissionable by thermal neutrons.

"Depleted" Uranium is one of the densest materials known to man; As such, the United States uses it for bullets and tank armor. There are no known serious health risks stemming from external exposure to it.[1][2]

References