China discovers new way to extract uranium to boost nuclear expansion

Discovery

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Uranium was discovered by German chemist Martin Heinrich Klaproth in 1789.

Name

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Klaproth named the new element after the planet Uranus, which had been recently discovered.

Glow

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When uranium is used to color glass, it glows in the dark under black light.

Pure uranium

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It was not until 1841 that French chemist Eugène-Melchior Péligot isolated pure uranium. He did so by heating uranium tetrachloride with potassium.

Radioactivity

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In 1896, French physicist Antoine H. Becquerel found that uranium was radioactive, after leaving a sample of it on top of an unexposed photographic plate. The plate became cloudy.

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Famed Polish scientist Marie Curie coined the term “radioactivity” following Becquerel's discovery. Marie Curie together with her husband, French scientist Pierre Curie, were pioneers in the study of radioactivity.

Where did it come from?

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It’s believed that uranium was formed in a supernova about 6.6 billion years ago and made its way to Earth. The element’s slow radioactive decay is the main source of heat inside the planet.

There’s more uranium than silver

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Uranium is the 48th most abundant element in natural crustal rock, making it 40 times more abundant than silver.

Rate of decay

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The rate of decay for most types of uranium is quite low, depending on the type of uranium. For instance, Uranium-238 has a half-life of 4.5 billion years, and Uranium-234 has a half-life of 245,500 years.

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The exception is Uranium-214, which is made artificially and has a half-life of half a millisecond!

Uranium is not the most radioactive element

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The low rate of decay means that uranium, in general, is not that radioactive. The most radioactive element is actually polonium, which has a half-life of 138 days.

Nuclear fission

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This by no means makes it safer when it comes to explosive potential. That's thanks to a reaction called nuclear fission, where a very large amount of energy is released. This is the case for Uranium-235, which is another isotope of uranium.

Nuclear bomb

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Only 1.38% of the uranium in the bomb underwent fission. In total, the "Little Boy" bomb contained 140 pounds (64 kg) of uranium.

Depleted uranium

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The leftover product is depleted uranium, which is then used in things such as bullets or tank armor. Depleted uranium is almost half as radioactive as natural uranium.

Mines

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Uranium is mined in 20 countries around the world. The vast majority of it comes from Kazakhstan, Namibia, Canada, Australia, Niger, and Russia.

Who uses nuclear power?

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About 10% of the world's electricity is generated in nuclear reactors. The US, for instance, gets about 20% of its electricity from nuclear sources, whereas countries such as Belgium, Sweden, and Ukraine get 30% or more. France, on the other hand, gets over 70% of its electricity from nuclear reactors.

Other uses of nuclear energy

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We have been using artificially-produced radioisotopes ever since the 1950s for a variety of things, and the impact on our lives has been tremendous.

Food

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Radioisotopes are also used in the preservation of food, from killing pests to controlling the ripening of fruit and vegetables.

Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty

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Uranium is used to generate energy and it’s sold to countries that have signed the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT). The NPT allows for international inspection to confirm uranium is being used for peaceful purposes.

Disarmament

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A lot of uranium previously destined for military use became available for electricity production following a widespread nuclear disarmament in the 1990s.

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According to the World Nuclear Association, “over two decades to 2013 one-tenth of US electricity was made from Russian weapons uranium.”

Sources: (World Nuclear Association) (Live Science) (Australia's Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation)

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