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Uranium is a chemical element with the symbol U and atomic number 92. It is a silvery-grey metal in the actinide series of the periodic table. A uranium atom has 92 protons and 92 electrons, of which 6 are valence electrons. Uranium radioactively decays, usually by emitting an alpha particle.
Uranium-235 (235 U or U-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 fissile isotope that exists in nature as a primordial nuclide. Uranium-235 has a half-life of 703.8 million years.
In a fission nuclear reactor, uranium-238 can be used to generate plutonium-239, which itself can be used in a nuclear weapon or as a nuclear-reactor fuel supply. In a typical nuclear reactor, up to one-third of the generated power comes from the fission of 239 Pu, which is not supplied as a fuel to the reactor, but rather, produced from 238 U. [5] A certain amount of production of 239
The critical mass for lower-grade uranium depends strongly on the grade: with 45% 235 U, the bare-sphere critical mass is around 185 kilograms (408 lb); with 19.75% 235 U it is over 780 kilograms (1,720 lb); and with 15% 235 U, it is well over 1,350 kilograms (2,980 lb). In all of these cases, the use of a neutron reflector like beryllium can ...
Like the periodic table, the list below organizes the elements by the number of protons in their atoms; it can also be organized by other properties, such as atomic weight, density, and electronegativity. For more detailed information about the origins of element names, see List of chemical element name etymologies.
Atomic radii vary in a predictable and explicable manner across the periodic table. For instance, the radii generally decrease rightward along each period (row) of the table, from the alkali metals to the noble gases; and increase down each group (column). The radius increases sharply between the noble gas at the end of each period and the ...
Energy densities table Storage type Specific energy (MJ/kg) Energy density (MJ/L) Peak recovery efficiency % Practical recovery efficiency % Arbitrary Antimatter: 89,875,517,874: depends on density: Deuterium–tritium fusion: 576,000,000 [1] Uranium-235 fissile isotope: 144,000,000 [1] 1,500,000,000
{{Infobox element}}; labels & notes: (Image) GENERAL PROPERTIES Name Symbol Pronunciation (data central) Alternative name(s) Allotropes Appearance <element> IN THE PERIODIC TABLE Periodic table Atomic number Standard atomic weight (data central) Element category (also header bg color) (sets header bg color, over 'series='-color) Group Period ...