uranium 238

American  

noun

Chemistry.

1. the radioactive uranium isotope having a mass number 238, comprising 99.28 percent of natural uranium: used chiefly in nuclear reactors as a source of the fissionable isotope plutonium 239.

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Etymology

Origin of uranium 238

First recorded in 1940–45

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

uranium 238

"The ratio of isotopes of uranium 238 to 225 on our planet is different than anywhere else in the universe because the two isotopes decay at different timescales," Brownless said.

From Salon ● Sep. 1, 2023

The elements were formed when neutrons from the explosion hit atoms of uranium 238 and were captured by its nucleus.

From Time Magazine Archive

This combination of elements indicated that the explosion was the "fission-fusion-fission" type, which gets much of its energy from the fission of normally inactive uranium 238.

From Time Magazine Archive

That is because breeders, which are fueled by plutonium and uranium 238, generate more plutonium than is "burned" during the nuclear cycle.

From Time Magazine Archive

While uranium 235 fissions easily, nuclear fuel is not pure—it is made mostly of uranium 238, which does not fission.

From "Meltdown" by Deirdre Langeland