Uranium-235
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Uranium-235 is an isotope of uranium making up about 0.72% of natural uranium. Unlike the predominant isotope uranium-238, it is fissile, i.e., it can sustain a nuclear chain reaction. It is the only
Uranium metal highly enriched in uranium-235
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
Uranium-235
…discovered in 1935 by Arthur Jeffrey Dempster. The release of energy from the fission of Uranium-235 powers most nuclear reactors and nuclear weapons. Uranium enrichment is the process of taking natural uranium and increasing the proportion of uranium-235. Some reactor types can use natural uranium directly, while nuclear…
A drum of yellowcake (a mixture of uranium precipitates)
Gaseous diffusion uses semi-permeable membranes to separate enriched uranium
A cascade of gas centrifuges at a U.S. enrichment plant