uranium hexafluoride

American  

noun

Chemistry.

1. a colorless, water-insoluble, crystalline, volatile solid, UF 6 , used in its gaseous state in separating uranium 235 from uranium.

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uranium hexafluoride British  

/ ˌhɛksəˈflʊəˌraɪd /

noun

1. a compound used in the process of uranium enrichment that produces fissile material for nuclear reactors and nuclear weapons. Formula: UF 6

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Etymology

Origin of uranium hexafluoride

First recorded in 1940–45

Example Sentences

Solstice also provides uranium hexafluoride conversion and related services to utilities operating nuclear power plants.

From Barron's

Working with a partner, General Atomics, it is the only provider of uranium hexafluoride in the U.S.

From Barron's

"If there was an incident and the centrifuges were to release the uranium hexafluoride, the gas contained within the centrifuges, then it would be a really severe chemical incident," said Prof Simon Middleburgh, a nuclear materials scientist, from Bangor University.

From BBC

"If this uranium hexafluoride comes in contact with moisture in the air, it's really quite corrosive and nasty because it can form this very, very strong acid," he said.

From BBC

It said the worker died from a "mechanical injury" caused by a breach in a container of uranium hexafluoride, a chemical compound used in uranium enrichment.

From Reuters