URANIUM

ALEJANDRO WENDLANDT
AMEZAGA

Properties

Hard, dense, metallic silver-gray, naturally

occurring element

Atomic number 92

Atomic weight 238.02891

Ductile, malleable, poor conductor of electricity

Discovered in 1789 by Martin Klaproth in Germany

Named after the planet Uranus

Interest

Uraniumthe highest atomic weight of the

naturally occurring elements.

Approximately 70 more dense than lead and is

weakly radioactive.

Uraninite, chief ore of uranium and radium, is a

highly radioactive mineral.

Helium was first discovered on the earth in

samples of uraninite. Radium and helium are found
in uraninite because they are the principle
products of uranium's decay process.

Isotopes

Like other elements, uranium occurs in isotopes

(16) differ from each other in the number of
particles (neutrons) in the nucleus.

Natural uranium as found in the Earth's crust is

a mixture largely of two isotopes

U-235 (0.7)

U-238 (most abundant, 99.3)

Uses

Nuclear power plants to generate electricity

Other applications

Nuclear weapons

X-ray targets for production of high-energy

X-rays

Photographic toner

Analytical chemistry applications

Yellow glass ware and ceramics (historical use)