Uranium cannot be used as a fuel or weapon in its natural state. To be used as reactor fuel or bomb manufacture, U-235 must be separated from natural uranium.
U-235 is the only fissile isotope in natural Uranium (U), therefore Uranium must be “enriched” to have a higher percent concentration of U-235.
Mass Number is a count of the total number of protons and neutrons in an atom’s nucleus.
Nuclear power reactors harness the energy and heat from nuclear fission to produce the steam that runs turbines which, in turn, generate electricity (see http://paducahvision.org/nuclearenergy.html ).
Quick ‘Chemistry 101’ Refresher
Naturally occurring Uranium (U) is composed of isotopes , all have the same Atomic Number (92) but different Atomic Weights. These isotopes have similar chemical properties but different nuclear properties.
U-238 The most plentiful/abundant; over 99% of nature uranium is U-238.
U-235 The only fissile uranium isotope; approximately 0.72% of natural uranium is U-235.
U-234 Makes up only 0.0055% (55 parts per million) of the raw uranium, although enriched uranium contains more U-234 than natural uranium.
