uranium-235
Sign in to saveUranium-235 (' or U-235') is an isotope of uranium making up about 0.72% of natural uranium. Unlike the predominant isotope uranium-238, it is fissile, i.e., it can sustain a nuclear chain reaction. It is the only fissile isotope that exists in nature as a primordial nuclide and was discovered in 1935 by Arthur Jeffrey Dempster.
Key facts
- Isotope.image
- HEUraniumC.jpg
- Isotope.image_caption
- Uranium metal highly enriched in uranium-235
- Isotope.mass_number
- 235
- Isotope.symbol
- U
- Isotope.num_neutrons
- 143
- Isotope.num_protons
- 92
- Isotope.abundance
- 0.72%
- Isotope.decay_product
- Thorium-231
- Isotope.decay_mass
- 231
- Isotope.decay_symbol
- Th
- Isotope.parent
- Protactinium-235
- Isotope.parent_mass
- 235
- Isotope.parent_symbol
- Pa
- Isotope.parent_decay
- b-
- Isotope.parent2
- Neptunium-235
- Isotope.parent2_mass
- 235
- Isotope.parent2_symbol
- Np
- Isotope.parent2_decay
- b+
via Wikipedia infobox
Article
6 sectionsContents
- Fission properties
- Nuclear weapons
- Decay
- Astrophysical dating
- References
- External links
Uranium-235 (' or U-235') is an isotope of uranium making up about 0.72% of natural uranium. Unlike the predominant isotope uranium-238, it is fissile, i.e., it can sustain a nuclear chain reaction. It is the only fissile isotope that exists in nature as a primordial nuclide and was discovered in 1935 by Arthur Jeffrey Dempster.
The release of energy from the fission of Uranium-235 powers most nuclear reactors and nuclear weapons. Uranium enrichment is the process of taking natural uranium and increasing the proportion of uranium-235. Some reactor types can use natural uranium directly, while nuclear weapons and some others reactor types require uranium enriched in U-235.