Nuclear fuels

Uranium is a chemical element; it has 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. The half-life of this decay varies between 159,200 and 4.5 billion years for different isotopes, making them useful for dating the age of the Earth. The most common isotopes in natural uranium are uranium-238 (which has 146 neutrons and accounts for over 99% of uranium on Earth) and uranium-235 (which

Thorium is a chemical element; it has symbol Th and atomic number 90. Thorium is a weakly radioactive light silver metal which tarnishes olive grey when it is exposed to air, forming thorium dioxide; it is moderately soft, malleable, and has a high melting point. Thorium is an electropositive actinide whose chemistry is dominated by the +4 oxidation state; it is quite reactive and can ignite in air when finely divided.

material that can be used in nuclear fission or fusion to derive nuclear energy

uranium in which the proportion of uranium-235 has been increased through the process of isotope separation

process of manufacturing and consuming nuclear fuel

nuclear fuel that contains more than one oxide of fissile material

nuclear fuel that has been irradiated in a nuclear reactor (usually at a nuclear power plant)

chemical compound

uranium with the same isotopic ratio as found in nature

nuclear fuel cycle using 232Th as fertile material, which absorbs neutrons to become into 233U (the nuclear fuel), which fissions to produce energy

amount of separation done by a uranium enrichment process