Nuclear materials

Beryllium is a chemical element; it has symbol Be and atomic number 4. It is a steel-gray, hard, strong, lightweight and brittle alkaline earth metal. It is a divalent element that occurs naturally only in combination with other elements to form minerals. Gemstones high in beryllium include beryl (aquamarine, emerald, red beryl) and chrysoberyl. It is a relatively rare element in the universe, usually occurring as a product of the spallation of larger atomic nuclei that have collided with cosmic rays. Within the cores of stars, beryllium is depleted as it is fused into heavier elements. Beryll

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

Antimony is a chemical element with the symbol Sb () and atomic number 51. A lustrous grey metal or metalloid, it occurs in nature mainly in the form of the sulfide mineral stibnite (). Antimony compounds have been known since ancient times and were powdered for use as medicine and cosmetics, often known by the Arabic name kohl.

Plutonium is a chemical element; it has symbol Pu and atomic number 94. It is a silvery-gray actinide metal that tarnishes when exposed to air, and forms a dull coating when oxidized. The element normally exhibits six allotropes and four oxidation states. It reacts with carbon, halogens, nitrogen, silicon and hydrogen. When exposed to moist air, it forms oxides and hydrides that can expand the sample up to 70% in volume, which in turn flake off as a powder that is pyrophoric. It is radioactive and can accumulate in bones, which makes the handling of plutonium dangerous.

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.

Neptunium is a chemical element; it has symbol Np and atomic number 93. A radioactive actinide metal, neptunium is the first transuranic element. It is named after Neptune, the planet beyond Uranus in the Solar System, which uranium is named after. A neptunium atom has 93 protons and 93 electrons, of which seven are valence electrons. Neptunium metal is silvery and tarnishes when exposed to air. The element occurs in three allotropic forms and it normally exhibits five oxidation states, ranging from +3 to +7. Like all actinides, it is radioactive, poisonous, pyrophoric, and capable of accumula

Gadolinium is a chemical element; it has symbol Gd and atomic number 64. It is a silvery-white metal when oxidation is removed. Gadolinium is a malleable and ductile rare-earth element. It reacts with atmospheric oxygen or moisture slowly to form a black oxide coating. Gadolinium below its Curie point of is ferromagnetic, with an attraction to a magnetic field higher than that of nickel. Above this temperature it is the most paramagnetic element. It is found in nature only in an oxidized form. When separated, it usually has impurities of the other rare earths because of their similar chemical

Deuterium (hydrogen-2, symbol H or D, also known as heavy hydrogen) is one of two stable isotopes of hydrogen; the other is protium, or hydrogen-1, H. The deuterium nucleus (deuteron) contains one proton and one neutron, whereas the far more common H has no neutrons.

uranium with a lower content of the fissile isotope U-235 than natural uranium

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

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thumb|Yellowcake Yellowcake (also called urania) is a type of powdered uranium concentrate obtained from leach solutions, representing an intermediate step in the processing of uranium ores. This material is produced after uranium mining but before either fuel fabrication or uranium enrichment. Yellowcake concentrates are created through various extraction and refining methods that vary depending on the ore types. The production involves milling and chemical processing of uranium ore, resulting in a coarse powder with a pungent odor that is insoluble in water. Yellowcake typically contains abo

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zircaloy family

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Uranium-236 (U or U-236) is an isotope of uranium that is neither fissile with thermal neutrons, nor very good fertile material, but is generally considered a nuisance and long-lived radioactive waste. It is found in spent nuclear fuel and in the reprocessed uranium made from spent nuclear fuel.

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Uranium-232 ('''''') is an isotope of uranium. It has a half-life of 68.9 years and is a side product in the thorium cycle. It has been cited as an obstacle to nuclear proliferation using 233U as the fissile material, because the intense gamma radiation emitted by 208Tl (a daughter of 232U, produced relatively quickly) makes the 233U contaminated with it more difficult to handle.

uranium with the same isotopic ratio as found in nature

Plutonium-244 (Pu) is an isotope of plutonium that has a half-life of 81.3 million years. This is longer than any other isotope of plutonium and longer than any other known isotope of an element beyond bismuth, except for the three naturally abundant ones: uranium-235 (704 million years), uranium-238 (4.463 billion years), and thorium-232 (14.0 billion years). Given the half-life of Pu, an exceedingly small amount should still be present on Earth, making plutonium a likely but unproven candidate as the shortest-lived primordial element.

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Plutonium-242 (Pu or Pu-242) is the second longest-lived isotope of plutonium, with a half-life of 375,000 years. The half-life of Pu is about 15 times that of Pu; so it is one-fifteenth as radioactive, and not one of the larger contributors to nuclear waste radioactivity. Pu's gamma ray emissions are also weaker than those of the other isotopes. As the direct parent of uranium-238 it is part of the uranium series decay chain.

arms control agreement between Russia and US

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radionuclide which emits ionizing radiation

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any isotope or form of one of the metals uranium, plutonium, and according to some definitions thorium; material crucial for nuclear power and nuclear weapons

actinide elements in used nuclear fuel other than uranium and plutonium

REDIRECT Isotopes of thorium#Thorium-228

aluminium-magnesium alloy used for fuel cladding in Magnox type reactors

alloy of lead and bismuth used as a coolant in nuclear reactors

REDIRECT Isotopes of thorium#Thorium-230

uranium recovered from nuclear fuel reprocessing

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substance that is pure enough to be used to make a weapon

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materials made radioactive by neutron activation

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