alpha---688 deg C--->beta---776 deg C--->gamma

Uranium is a heavy, silvery-white metal which is pyrophoric when finely divided. It is a little softer than steel, and is attacked by cold water in a finely divided state. It is malleable, ductile, and slightly paramagnetic. In air, the metal becomes coated with a layer of oxide. Acids dissolve the metal, but it is unaffected by alkalis. Uranium has twenty three isotopes, one of which is an isomer and all of which are radioactive. Naturally occurring uranium contains 99.2745% by weight 238U, 0.720% 235U, and 0.0055% 234U. Studies show that the percentage weight of 235U in natural uranium varies by as much as 0.1% depending on the source. The U.S.D.O.E. has adopted the value of 0.711 as being their "official" percentage of 235U in natural uranium. Natural uranium is sufficiently radioactive to expose a photographic plate in an hour or so. Much of the internal heat of the earth is thought to be attributable to the presence of uranium and thorium. 238U with a half-life of 4.46 x 10^9 years, has been used to estimate the age of igneous rocks. The origin of uranium, the highest member of the naturally occurring elements - except perhaps for traces of neptunium or plutonium - is not clearly understood, although it may be presumed that uranium is a decay product of elements of higher atomic weight, which may have once been present on earth or elsewhere in the universe. These original elements may have been formed as a result of a primordial "creation," known. as "the big bang," in a supenova, or in some other stellar processes. Uranium is of great importance as a nuclear fuel. 238U can be converted into fissionable plutonium by the following reactions:

238U(n,y)-->239U--B-->239Np--B-->239Pu

This nuclear conversion can be brought about in "breeder" reactors where it is possible to produce more new fissionable material than the fissionable material used in maintaining the chain reaction. 235U is of even greater importance, for it is the key to the utilization of uranium. 235U, while occurring in natural uranium to the extent of only 0.71 %, is so fissionable with slow neutrons that a self-sustaining fission chain reaction can be made to occur in a reactor constructed from natural uranium and a suitable moderator, such as heavy water or graphite, alone. 235U can be concentrated by gaseous diffusion and other physical processes, if desired, and used directly as a nuclear fuel, instead of natural uranium, or used as an explosive. Natural uranium, slightly enriched with 235U by a small percentage, is used to fuel nuclear power reactors for the generation of electricity. Natural thorium can be irradiated with neutrons as follows to produce the important isotope 233U.

232Th(n,y)-->233Th--B-->233Pa--B-->233U

While thorium itself is not fissionable, 233U is, and in this way may be used as a nuclear fuel. One pound of completely fissioned uranium has the fuel value of over 1500 tons of coal. The uses of nuclear fuels to generate electrical power, to make isotopes for peaceful purposes, and to make explosives are well known. The estimated world-wide production of the 430 nuclear power reactors in operation in January 1994 amounted to about 338,000 megawatts. Uranium in the U.S.A. is controlled by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission. New uses are being found for "depleted" uranium, i.e., uranium with the percentage of 235U lowered to about 0.2%. It has found use in inertial guidance devices, gyro compasses, counterweights for aircraft control surfaces, as ballast for missile reentry vehicles, and as a shielding material. Uranium metal is used for X-ray targets for production of high-energy X-rays; the nitrate has been used as photographic toner, and the acetate is used in analytical chemistry. Crystals of uranium nitrate are triboluminescent. Uranium salts have also been used for producing yellow "vaseline" glass and glazes. Uranium and its compounds are highly toxic, both from a chemical and radiological standpoint. Finely divided uranium metal, being pyrophoric, presents a fire hazard. The maximum permissible total body burden of natural uranium (based on radiotoxicity) is 0.2 uCi for soluble compounds. Recently, the natural presence of uranium in many soils has become of concern to homeowners because of the generation of radon and its daughters (see under Radon). Uranium metal is available commercially at a cost of about $200/kg (99.7%) in air-tight glass under argon.