Uranium
From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia
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Uranium is a chemical element with the 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 is weakly radioactive because all isotopes of uranium are unstable; the half-lives of its naturally occurring isotopes range between 159,200 years and 4.5 billion years. 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 has 143 neutrons). Uranium has the highest atomic weight of the primordially occurring elements. Its density is about 70% higher than that of lead, and slightly lower than that of gold or tungsten. It occurs naturally in low concentrations of a few parts per million in soil, rock and water, and is commercially extracted from uranium-bearing minerals such as uraninite.
See also
- K-65 residues
- List of countries by uranium production
- List of countries by uranium reserves
- List of uranium projects
- Lists of nuclear disasters and radioactive incidents
- Nuclear and radiation accidents and incidents
- Nuclear engineering
- Nuclear fuel cycle
- Nuclear physics
- Thorium fuel cycle
- Uranium bubble of 2007
- Uranium nitride
- Uranium tile
- World Uranium Hearing
