Enriched uranium
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Enriched uranium is a type of uranium in which the percent composition of uranium-235 has been increased through the process of isotope separation. Naturally occurring uranium is composed primarily of
A drum of yellowcake (a mixture of uranium precipitates)
A billet of highly enriched uranium metal
Gaseous diffusion uses semi-permeable membranes to separate enriched uranium
A cascade of gas centrifuges at a U.S. enrichment plant
Depleted uranium
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Depleted uranium, also referred to in the past as Q-metal, depletalloy, or D-38, is uranium with a lower content of the fissile isotope 235U than natural uranium. The less radioactive and non-fissile
Enriched uranium
…facility in the United States, but centrifugation remains the enrichment process used commercially. The 238U remaining after enrichment is known as depleted uranium (DU), and is considerably less radioactive than natural uranium, though still very dense. Depleted uranium is used as a radiation shielding material…
The DU penetrator of a 30 mm round from the GAU-8 Avenger
U-238 DU rounds on display
A typical DUF6 cylinder storage yard
DUF6 cylinders: painted (left) and corroded (right)