Did you know that China is the country that exports the most?
A lot of uranium previously destined for military use became available for electricity production following a widespread nuclear disarmament in the 1990s.
Radioisotopes are also useful when it comes to crops and breeding livestock. They are used to produce crops that are more resistant to diseases and the effects of weather.
According to the World Nuclear Association, “over two decades to 2013 one-tenth of US electricity was made from Russian weapons uranium.”
Sources: (World Nuclear Association) (Live Science) (Australia's Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation)
See also: Nuclear threat: the most radioactive places on earth
Radioisotopes are also used in the preservation of food, from killing pests to controlling the ripening of fruit and vegetables.
Radioisotopes are radioactive isotopes of an element. These can also be described as “atoms that contain an unstable combination of neutrons and protons, or excess energy in their nucleus.”
About 10% of the world's electricity is generated in nuclear reactors. The US, for instance, gets about 20% of its electricity from nuclear sources, whereas countries such as Belgium, Sweden, and Ukraine get 30% or more. France, on the other hand, gets over 70% of its electricity from nuclear reactors.
Uranium is used to generate energy and it’s sold to countries that have signed the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT). The NPT allows for international inspection to confirm uranium is being used for peaceful purposes.
Yellowcake is the name given to solid uranium oxide. This form of uranium is a yellow powder that is often commercialized before it is enriched.
We have been using artificially-produced radioisotopes ever since the 1950s for a variety of things, and the impact on our lives has been tremendous.
Radioisotopes are widely used for diagnosis and research. For instance, radiation therapy, which is used to treat cancer, employs radioisotopes. Gamma radiation is also used to sterilize a wide range of medical utensils.
Uranium is mined in 20 countries around the world. The vast majority of it comes from Kazakhstan, Namibia, Canada, Australia, Niger, and Russia.
The leftover product is depleted uranium, which is then used in things such as bullets or tank armor. Depleted uranium is almost half as radioactive as natural uranium.
Only 1.38% of the uranium in the bomb underwent fission. In total, the "Little Boy" bomb contained 140 pounds (64 kg) of uranium.
The low rate of decay means that uranium, in general, is not that radioactive. The most radioactive element is actually polonium, which has a half-life of 138 days.
We are all naturally exposed to very small amounts of uranium. Exposure occurs through food, water, soil, and air, though this level of exposure is safe.
Uranium is the 48th most abundant element in natural crustal rock, making it 40 times more abundant than silver.
This by no means makes it safer when it comes to explosive potential. That's thanks to a reaction called nuclear fission, where a very large amount of energy is released. This is the case for Uranium-235, which is another isotope of uranium.
The rate of decay for most types of uranium is quite low, depending on the type of uranium. For instance, Uranium-238 has a half-life of 4.5 billion years, and Uranium-234 has a half-life of 245,500 years.
The exception is Uranium-214, which is made artificially and has a half-life of half a millisecond!
It’s believed that uranium was formed in a supernova about 6.6 billion years ago and made its way to Earth. The element’s slow radioactive decay is the main source of heat inside the planet.
Pure uranium is silver, but it oxidizes quickly when exposed to air.
In 1896, French physicist Antoine H. Becquerel found that uranium was radioactive, after leaving a sample of it on top of an unexposed photographic plate. The plate became cloudy.
Klaproth named the new element after the planet Uranus, which had been recently discovered.
Uranium was discovered by German chemist Martin Heinrich Klaproth in 1789.
It was not until 1841 that French chemist Eugène-Melchior Péligot isolated pure uranium. He did so by heating uranium tetrachloride with potassium.
Klaproth was studying the mineral pitchblende, when after abnormal chemical reactions he concluded that this was not pitchblende and that he had actually discovered a new element.
Nuclear fission is the basic principle of atomic bombs. The bomb detonated in Hiroshima, for example, had less than a kilogram of uranium, and the blast was equivalent in power to about 15 kilotons of TNT.
Uranium is a chemical element used for a variety of purposes, most commonly to produce energy in nuclear power plants. But this heavy metal also gets a bad rep because it can indeed be used in weapons of mass destruction. In light of the recent Ukrainian conflict and the potential threat of Russia using nuclear weapons, we bring you facts about uranium that you were likely unaware of.
Click through the following gallery to learn more about uranium.
Famed Polish scientist Marie Curie coined the term “radioactivity” following Becquerel's discovery. Marie Curie together with her husband, French scientist Pierre Curie, were pioneers in the study of radioactivity.
When uranium is used to color glass, it glows in the dark under black light.
To make uranium fission more efficient, it must be enriched. Nuclear power plants use enriched uranium to generate energy.
Uranium has been around for a very long time. Records of its use date back to 79 CE, when uranium oxide was used as a coloring agent for glass and in ceramic glazes.
Uranium: the essential element with a surprising history
What is uranium, and how does it work?
LIFESTYLE Science
Uranium is a chemical element used for a variety of purposes, most commonly to produce energy in nuclear power plants. But this heavy metal also gets a bad rep because it can indeed be used in weapons of mass destruction. In light of the recent Ukrainian conflict and the potential threat of Russia using nuclear weapons, we bring you facts about uranium that you were likely unaware of.
Click through the following gallery to learn more about uranium.