Concept in Definition ABC

A chemical element present in nature and living beings

Uranium is one of the most popular metallic chemical elements in nature since it is present in the very natural environment, such as water and rocks, and also in living beings.

Metallic, malleable, docile and radioactive

As we pointed out, it is only a chemical element characterized by being metal, because it is easy to work and mold, and because it has radioactivity. Precisely the radioactivity and the arrangement of an atom capable of generating a division into two parts or more and with a great release of Energy (fission) are its most unique signals among the vast universe of chemical elements.

Component of atomic bombs

And neither can we ignore that it has been used in the manufacturing of the atomic bomb.

Atomic bombs are instruments, weapons of warfare, used precisely at the behest of a conflict military between two or more nations and that are capable of releasing a tremendous amount of energy in a very violent way as a result of the fission of components such as uranium.

This is why uranium has a connotation negative in the popular collective because it is known of its great intervention and prominence when it comes to generating weapons of war as destructive as the atomic bomb.

Another singularity that makes uranium stand out is its atomic weight, the most important of all the elements that exist in nature.

It is distinguished by the capital letter U and the atomic number 92.

Discovered in the 18th century by a German chemist who named it after the planet Uranus

Its identification as such is due to the German chemist Martin Heinrich Klaproth, who towards the end of the 18th century discovered it as oxide. He decided to give it that particular name in homage to the planet Uranus that had been discovered only a few years earlier. However, uranium was on planet earth in low concentrations for thousands and thousands of years and according to the data provided by its scholars, it was the result of the explosion of stars.

Currently there is an industry around uranium that is concerned with extracting it from nature through various techniques and then concentrating it.

Other uses of uranium

To remove some of that stigmatization with which it carries, we must say that it is also used in the context of Photography, to make glass, such as fuel, among other uses.

Uranium Themes