GK
NUCLEAR SCIENCE
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Question
[CLICK ON ANY CHOICE TO KNOW THE RIGHT ANSWER]
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U-233
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U-235
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U-238
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Pu-239
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Detailed explanation-1: -Uranium enrichment is a process that is necessary to create an effective nuclear fuel out of mined uranium by increasing the percentage of uranium-235 which undergoes fission with thermal neutrons.
Detailed explanation-2: -Commercially, the U235 isotope is enriched to 3 to 5% (from the natural state of 0.7%) and is then further processed to create nuclear fuel. At the conversion plant, uranium oxide is converted to the chemical form of uranium hexafluoride (UF6) to be usable in an enrichment facility.
Detailed explanation-3: -Gaseous diffusion is a technology used to produce enriched uranium by forcing gaseous uranium hexafluoride (hex) through semi-permeable membranes. This produces a slight separation between the molecules containing 235U and 238U.
Detailed explanation-4: -Natural Uranium – contains a 238U concentration of 99.27 percent, 235U concentration of 0.711 percent and very little 234U. Low Enriched Uranium – contains a 235U concentration between 0.711 percent and 20 percent.
Detailed explanation-5: -The compound is U3O8 (source of U-235)