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uranium Definition

ura·nium (yo̵o rānē əm)

noun

a very hard, heavy, silver-colored, radioactive, metallic chemical element, one of the actinides, found only in combination, chiefly in pitchblende: symbol, U; at. no., 92: an isotope (uranium-235) undergoes neutron-induced fission and another, more plentiful, isotope (uranium-238) is used to produce plutonium

Etymology: ModL: so named (1789) by M. H. Klaproth (see tellurium), its discoverer, after Uranus, recently (1781) discovered planet + -ium

uranium Usage Examples

Converse of object

  • deplete: Does the danger of depleted uranium also exist apart from the area of the south?
  • enrich: You will not enrich uranium, he has told Iran.
  • procure: The chances of al-Qaeda procuring uranium from India are quite high.
  • import: The IAEA in March 2003 had not received any evidence about Iraqi attempts to import uranium.
  • extract: The President declared: " Iran has discovered reserves and extracted uranium.
  • occur: The U-235 isotope makes up 0.7 per cent of naturally occurring uranium.

Preposition: in

  • reactor: We should set a goal of working to end the commercial use of highly enriched uranium in research reactors.

Adjective modifier

  • highly-enriched: The suspect uranium enrichment plant, for example, could be used to produce highly-enriched uranium for weapons.
  • low-enriched: Iran claims its centrifuge program is designed to produce low-enriched uranium, to support Iran's civil nuclear power program.
  • natural: What North Korea has plenty of is natural uranium, which could supply nuclear power for hundreds of years.

Modifies a noun

  • enrichment: For 25 years Khan directed Pakistan's uranium enrichment program.
  • hexafluoride: The network sold uranium hexafluoride, the gas that the centrifuge process can transform into enriched uranium for nuclear bombs.
  • ore: New fuel for nuclear reactors is produced from enriched uranium ore.
  • ray: Products driven by uranium rays had spies then reported.
  • munitions: Not to worry, the President has plenty of raw material for radioactive uranium munitions left.
  • oxide: Odds are better of such a from uranium oxide.

Noun used with modifier

  • weapons-grade: We will help nations end the use of weapons-grade uranium in research reactors.
  • bomb-grade: While you are reading this, the Iranian reactor produces enriched bomb-grade uranium.
  • low-grade: The IAEA left 1.8 tons of low-grade uranium in heavyweight sealed barrels at the Tuwaitha facilities.
  • centrifuge: That program was based on gas centrifuge uranium enrichment.
uranium Quotes

It may be possibletoset up a nuclear reaction inuranium by which vast amounts of power could be released† This new phenomenon would also lead to the construction of†extremely powerful bombs of a new type.

—Einstein, Albert

Browse dictionary entries near uranium

  1. uraninite
  2. uranide
  3. uranic
  4. Uranian
  5. Urania
  6. uralite
  7. Uralic
  8. Ural River
  9. Ural Mountains
  10. Ural-Altaic
  1. uranography
  2. uranology
  3. uranometry
  4. uranous
  5. Uranus
  6. uranyl
  7. urate
  8. Urawa
  9. urban
  10. Urban II