How is Uranium Enriched to Make Bombs?
Enriched uranium is uranium with a high percentage of the isotope U-235, which only makes up about .72% of natural uranium. Normal uranium is referred to as U-238, where the number signifies the amount of nucleons (protons and neutrons) in its atomic nucleus. U-235 has an uneven quantity of protons and neutrons, making it slightly unstable and susceptible to fissioning (splitting) from thermal neutrons. Getting the fission process to proceed as a chain reaction is the basis of nuclear energy and nuclear weapons. Because U-235 has identical chemical properties to normal uranium and is only 1.26% lighter, separating the two can be quite a challenge. The processes are usually quite energy-intensive and costly, which is why only a few countries have been able to achieve it an industrial scale thus far. To make reactor-grade uranium, U-235 percentages of 3-4% are required, whereas weapons-grade uranium must consist of 90% U-235 or more. There are at least nine techniques for uranium separat
