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Uranium
is a chemical element, its symbol is U and its atomic number is 92.
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Refined
uranium is a silvery-white weakly radioactive metal.
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Uranium
is hard, malleable, ductile, and a poor electrical conductor. The metal has a
very high density, around 70% denser than lead, yet less dense than gold.
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There
are three naturally occurring uranium isotopes. Uranium-238 is the most
stable of these and makes up over 99%, uranium-235 makes up 0.72% of natural
uranium and uranium-234 just 0.005%.
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German
chemist Martin Heinrich Klaproth is credited with discovering uranium in
1789. He named the new element after the recently discovered planet Uranus.
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In
1841, Eugène-Melchior Péligot became the first person to isolate uranium and
in 1896 Henri Becquerel discovered it had radioactive properties.
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Uranium
has a melting point of 2,075 °F (1,135 °C) and a boiling point of 7,468 °F
(4,131 °C).
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Uranium
has been in use as far back as ancient Rome and during the Middle Ages when
its orange-red to lemon-yellow shades were used as coloring agents in ceramic
glazes and glass.
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Fissile
isotopes of uranium have the ability to cause a nuclear chain reaction making
the metal important for generating heat in nuclear power reactors and
producing fissile material for nuclear weapons.
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Uranium-235
is the most important uranium isotope for the creation of nuclear reactors
and weapons because it is the only naturally occurring isotope that is
fissile (meaning it can be split into 2 or 3 fission fragments by thermal
neutrons).
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One
kilogram of 235U can theoretically produce 20 terajoules of energy,
equivalent to the energy produced from 1500 tonnes of coal.
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The
first atomic bomb used in World War II, dropped on Hiroshima, Japan, in
1945, contained a uranium core. Today nuclear bombs are usually made from
other materials such as plutonium.
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The
military uses uranium when making special ammunition. It helps make bullets
and larger projectiles hard and dense enough to punch through armor.
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Over
33% of the world's uranium is mined in Kazakhstan. Other uranium mining
countries include Canada, Australia, Namibia, Niger, and Russia.
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Marie
Curie's discovery of radium in uranium ore meant uranium mining
increased so radium could be extracted to make glow-in-the-dark paints. It
takes 3 tonnes of uranium to get 1 gram of radium, leaving massive amounts of
uranium waste material which was sent for use in the glazing and tiling
industry.
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In
addition to being weakly radioactive, uranium is also deemed a toxic metal
and over exposure can affect the normal functioning of our vital organs.
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