facts
On this page you can find all of the facts about uranium
How uranium is created:
"Uranium occurs in most rocks in concentrations of 2 to 4 parts per million and is as common in the Earth's crust as tin, tungsten and molybdenum. Uranium occurs in seawater, and can be recovered from the oceans."
"Uranium was apparently formed in supernovas about 6.6 billion years ago. While it is not common in the solar system, today its slow radioactive decay provides the main source of heat inside the Earth, causing convection and continental drift. |
How uranium works:
A nuclear reactor produces and controls the release of energy from splitting the atoms of uranium.
Uranium-fuelled nuclear power is a clean and efficient way of boiling water to make steam which drives turbine generators. Except for the reactor itself, a nuclear power station works like most coal or gas-fired power stations How much it costs: The spot price began the year at $34.35 per pound U3O8and ended the year at $20.25 per pound U3O8. In the early part of 2017, the uranium price has gained some momentum, trading in the $25.00 per pound U3O8 range, and was last quoted at $25.50 per pound U3O8 on March 20, 2017. |
Benefits:
The benefits are ensuring a cleaner form of power generation, less dependence on oil and less dependence on foreign sources of uranium. One quarter-ounce uranium fuel pellet has the energy-to-electricity equivalence of 3.5 barrels of oil, 17,000 cubic feet of natural gas or nearly a ton of coal. Drawbacks: Uranium is used in the process of fission because it's a naturally unstable element. In BWRs, water runs through the reactor core, so if there is any leakage of fuel, the water can get contaminated and is transported to the rest of system. There have been several nuclear reactors that have failed and been shutdown that are still in existence. These abandoned reactors are taking up valuable land space, could be contaminating the areas surrounding them, yet are often too unstable to be removed. |
Fun Facts
Uranium has a melting point of 1132°C. The chemical symbol for uranium is U.
Uranium was discovered in 1789 by Martin Klaproth, a German chemist, in the mineral called pitchblende. It was named after the planet Uranus, which had been discovered eight years earlier.
Uranium is a very heavy metal which has been used as an abundant source of concentrated energy for 60 years.
Uranium was discovered in 1789 by Martin Klaproth, a German chemist, in the mineral called pitchblende. It was named after the planet Uranus, which had been discovered eight years earlier.
Uranium is a very heavy metal which has been used as an abundant source of concentrated energy for 60 years.
Citations:
How it is created:
www.world-nuclear.org/information-library/.../what-is-uranium-how-does-it-work.aspx
How it works:
www.world-nuclear.org/nuclear-basics/how-does-a-nuclear-reactor-make-electricity.aspx
How much it costs:
www.denisonmines.com/s/Uranium_Prices.asp
Benefits:
http://www.godanriver.com/news/understanding-uranium-s-benefits---and-risks/article_59dc74ac-2b43-528a-b247-5c2a8065a03a.html
Drawbacks:
https://greenliving.lovetoknow.com/Advantages_and_Disadvantages_of_Nuclear_Energy