Uranium
Do you know how nuclear power is made? It all starts with an element on the periodic table called uranium that stands at number ninety-two. It gives off power in a single way, using uranium 235 and 238. Fission is this process of removing protons and electrons from unstable nuclei, converting them to lead. This process gives of anywhere from 1 to 5 MeV (million electron volts). You can even produce more energy by splitting the unstable nuclei even further. This type of power can, with just 75 grams of uranium, fulfill an average person’s needs for a year! To be able to do this with coal, you would need 4.4 tons! Everyday objects may be radioactive. You and your cell phone emit radiation, just like bananas. There is a type of bean near the Chernobyl site that has adapted and have anti-radioactive properties. …show more content…
How? First, the uranium ore is crushed. Then they burn it to dry out any carbon content. The ore and water are drenched in sulfuric acid. This makes the uranium bond with the sulfur and oxygen, which forms uranium oxide liquid, which makes the next step easier. They apply ammonia, this makes it that yellow powdery stuff. This fine dust is 99.3% U-238 and .07% U-235. At this point, it isn’t very radioactive, but workers still take precautionary measures. They then make the uranium a gas by creating a reaction with fluoride. Then the uranium goes into a centrifuge, where the uranium spins really fast splitting the heavier U-238 atoms and the lighter U-235 atoms. They spin it many times, even thousands. Now the uranium is anywhere from 5% to 20% U-235, needed for nuclear power. Did you know that in order to make nuclear weapons the uranium must be 90% U-235? This new mix of purer uranium is then shipped to plants in little pellets, which are put in rods, and ready to make power for people all over the
Do you know how nuclear power is made? It all starts with an element on the periodic table called uranium that stands at number ninety-two. It gives off power in a single way, using uranium 235 and 238. Fission is this process of removing protons and electrons from unstable nuclei, converting them to lead. This process gives of anywhere from 1 to 5 MeV (million electron volts). You can even produce more energy by splitting the unstable nuclei even further. This type of power can, with just 75 grams of uranium, fulfill an average person’s needs for a year! To be able to do this with coal, you would need 4.4 tons! Everyday objects may be radioactive. You and your cell phone emit radiation, just like bananas. There is a type of bean near the Chernobyl site that has adapted and have anti-radioactive properties. …show more content…
How? First, the uranium ore is crushed. Then they burn it to dry out any carbon content. The ore and water are drenched in sulfuric acid. This makes the uranium bond with the sulfur and oxygen, which forms uranium oxide liquid, which makes the next step easier. They apply ammonia, this makes it that yellow powdery stuff. This fine dust is 99.3% U-238 and .07% U-235. At this point, it isn’t very radioactive, but workers still take precautionary measures. They then make the uranium a gas by creating a reaction with fluoride. Then the uranium goes into a centrifuge, where the uranium spins really fast splitting the heavier U-238 atoms and the lighter U-235 atoms. They spin it many times, even thousands. Now the uranium is anywhere from 5% to 20% U-235, needed for nuclear power. Did you know that in order to make nuclear weapons the uranium must be 90% U-235? This new mix of purer uranium is then shipped to plants in little pellets, which are put in rods, and ready to make power for people all over the