PHY 121 Lecture Notes - Lecture 20: Isotope Separation, The Scientists, Natural Disaster
11 Dec 2016
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Document Summary
Predominant fuel for reactors in the us is solid uranium oxide uo2 obtained from naturally occurring uranium 238 enriched with uranium 235. Gaseous diffusion: gaseous uf6 in a container with a porous wall. Since the molecules in the gas have the same average kinetic energy, the lighter molecules containing uranium 235 will move faster and accumulate in higher concentrations behind the wall. Centrifuge technology: the gaseous uf6 is rotated in a centrifuge. Molecules containing uranium 238 thrown to edges, leaving the uranium 235 rich gas at the center. Laser isotope separation: this is a recently developed technology. Main idea: address the uf6 vapor with a laser. The laser selectively ionizes uranium 235 uf6 can be easily separated. Zircaloy cladding holds all the u0s fuel pellets in a line. 250 zircaloy cladded bundles go into a tube. 100-200 tubes are combined to make a rod. 175 fuel rods are needed to make a reactor core.
