What is the significance of the name uranium

English Language Learners Definition of uranium. Kids Definition of uranium. Medical Definition of uranium. Get Word of the Day daily email!

Test Your Vocabulary. Test your vocabulary with our question quiz! Love words? Need even more definitions? Homophones, Homographs, and Homonyms The same, but different. Both require heat to produce steam to drive turbines and generators.

In a nuclear power station, however, the fissioning of uranium atoms replaces the burning of coal or gas. In a nuclear reactor the uranium fuel is assembled in such a way that a controlled fission chain reaction can be achieved. The heat created by splitting the U atoms is then used to make steam which spins a turbine to drive a generator, producing electricity.

The chain reaction that takes place in the core of a nuclear reactor is controlled by rods which absorb neutrons and which can be inserted or withdrawn to set the reactor at the required power level.

The fuel elements are surrounded by a substance called a moderator to slow the speed of the emitted neutrons and thus enable the chain reaction to continue. Water, graphite and heavy water are used as moderators in different types of reactor.

Because of the kind of fuel used i. A typical megawatt MWe reactor can provide enough electricity for a modern city of up to one million people. Whereas the U nucleus is 'fissile', that of U is said to be 'fertile'. This means that it can capture one of the neutrons which are flying about in the core of the reactor and become indirectly plutonium, which is fissile.

Pu is very much like U, in that it fissions when hit by a neutron and this yields a similar amount of energy. Because there is so much U in a reactor core most of the fuel , these reactions occur frequently, and in fact about one-third of the fuel's energy yield comes from 'burning' Pu But sometimes a Pu atom simply captures a neutron without splitting, and it becomes Pu Because the Pu is either progressively 'burned' or becomes Pu, the longer the fuel stays in the reactor the more Pu is in it.

The significance of this is that when the spent fuel is removed after about three years, the plutonium in it is not suitable for making weapons but can be recycled as fuel. Uranium ore can be mined by underground or open-cut methods, depending on its depth. After mining, the ore is crushed and ground up. Then it is treated with acid to dissolve the uranium, which is recovered from solution.

Uranium may also be mined by in situ leaching ISL , where it is dissolved from a porous underground ore body in situ and pumped to the surface. This is the form in which uranium is sold.

Before it can be used in a reactor for electricity generation, however, it must undergo a series of processes to produce a useable fuel. For most of the world's reactors, the next step in making the fuel is to convert the uranium oxide into a gas, uranium hexafluoride UF 6 , which enables it to be enriched. Enrichment increases the proportion of the uranium isotope from its natural level of 0.

This enables greater technical efficiency in reactor design and operation, particularly in larger reactors, and allows the use of ordinary water as a moderator. After enrichment, the UF 6 gas is converted to uranium dioxide UO 2 which is formed into fuel pellets.

These fuel pellets are placed inside thin metal tubes, known as fuel rods, which are assembled in bundles to become the fuel elements or assemblies for the core of the reactor. In a typical large power reactor there might be 51, fuel rods with over 18 million pellets.

For reactors which use natural uranium as their fuel and hence which require graphite or heavy water as a moderator the U 3 O 8 concentrate simply needs to be refined and converted directly to uranium dioxide. From ore to reactor: how is uranium transformed? The ore extracted from the mine is often quite low in grade. Uranium from these ores must therefore be concentrated. The rocks are crushed and then finely ground and the uranium extracted through a number of chemical operations.

Now free of impurities, the uranium can pass to the next stage: enrichment. In order to fuel nuclear reactors and produce electricity, the natural uranium must be enriched with a higher proportion of uranium The 0. Yellow cake on band filter. Muyunkum plant, Kazakhstan. With just one kilo of enriched uranium, as much energy can be produced as with tons of coal. A big year for revolutions — not least the energy revolution!

This is where the artist explains his interpretation of the element and the science behind the picture. Where the element is most commonly found in nature, and how it is sourced commercially. Atomic radius, non-bonded Half of the distance between two unbonded atoms of the same element when the electrostatic forces are balanced. These values were determined using several different methods. Covalent radius Half of the distance between two atoms within a single covalent bond.

Values are given for typical oxidation number and coordination. Electron affinity The energy released when an electron is added to the neutral atom and a negative ion is formed. Electronegativity Pauling scale The tendency of an atom to attract electrons towards itself, expressed on a relative scale.

First ionisation energy The minimum energy required to remove an electron from a neutral atom in its ground state. The oxidation state of an atom is a measure of the degree of oxidation of an atom. It is defined as being the charge that an atom would have if all bonds were ionic. Uncombined elements have an oxidation state of 0. The sum of the oxidation states within a compound or ion must equal the overall charge. Data for this section been provided by the British Geological Survey.

An integrated supply risk index from 1 very low risk to 10 very high risk. This is calculated by combining the scores for crustal abundance, reserve distribution, production concentration, substitutability, recycling rate and political stability scores. The percentage of a commodity which is recycled. A higher recycling rate may reduce risk to supply.

The availability of suitable substitutes for a given commodity. The percentage of an element produced in the top producing country. The higher the value, the larger risk there is to supply. The percentage of the world reserves located in the country with the largest reserves. A percentile rank for the political stability of the top producing country, derived from World Bank governance indicators. A percentile rank for the political stability of the country with the largest reserves, derived from World Bank governance indicators.

Specific heat capacity is the amount of energy needed to change the temperature of a kilogram of a substance by 1 K. A measure of the stiffness of a substance. It provides a measure of how difficult it is to extend a material, with a value given by the ratio of tensile strength to tensile strain.

A measure of how difficult it is to deform a material. It is given by the ratio of the shear stress to the shear strain. A measure of how difficult it is to compress a substance. It is given by the ratio of the pressure on a body to the fractional decrease in volume. A measure of the propensity of a substance to evaporate. It is defined as the equilibrium pressure exerted by the gas produced above a substance in a closed system.

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Nor shall the RSC be in any event liable for any damage to your computer equipment or software which may occur on account of your access to or use of the Site, or your downloading of materials, data, text, software, or images from the Site, whether caused by a virus, bug or otherwise. Jump to main content. Periodic Table. Glossary Allotropes Some elements exist in several different structural forms, called allotropes. Glossary Group A vertical column in the periodic table.

Fact box. Glossary Image explanation Murray Robertson is the artist behind the images which make up Visual Elements. Appearance The description of the element in its natural form.

Biological role The role of the element in humans, animals and plants. Natural abundance Where the element is most commonly found in nature, and how it is sourced commercially. Uses and properties. Image explanation. The image is based around the common astrological symbol for the planet Uranus. Uranium is a very important element because it provides us with nuclear fuel used to generate electricity in nuclear power stations.

It is also the major material from which other synthetic transuranium elements are made.