Japan's Economy, Trade, and Industry Ministry plans to foster start-ups in the field of nuclear power, providing funds and human r...
First concrete has been poured for the "common raft" of the UK's Hinkley Point C Nuclear Power Plant, on which the reactor buildin...
Russia Industry and Trade Minister Denis Manturov hopes that Russian state nuclear corporation Rosatom will be invited to particip...
The US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has accepted for review an application from Virginia Electric and Power Co. (Dominion E...
Fresh doubts have been raised over prospects for the UK’s new nuclear power program after a report that Hitachi is considering a...
India's Kaiga Atomic Power Station has set a new world record as Unit 1 at the faculty completed uninterrupted operation for more ...
Uranium Primer - Uranium as Nuclear Fuel
Uranium in its naturally occurring form consists primarily of two “isotopes” with the same chemical characteristics, but different atomic weights due to the differing number of neutrons in their nuclei. Both isotopes have 92 protons in their nuclei (and, thus, the same chemical characteristics), but the lighter isotope (atomic weight of 235) has 143 neutrons and the heavier isotope has 146 neutrons. The lighter isotope, U-235, comprises only 0.7% of natural uranium, but it is the only isotope that can actually undergo fission and, thus, produce energy. The other isotope, U-238, comprises the remaining 99.3% of natural uranium. In order to be useful as fuel in the most prevalent nuclear power technologies, the percentage of U-235 must be increased to the level of 2-5% U-235, a process called “enrichment.” Enrichment is a technically difficult process, the essence of which is highly secret because it is the same process used to produce some nuclear weapons material. (Nuclear weapons can be made from uranium of approximately 90% U-235.)
