yellowcake

American  

[yel-oh-keyk] / ˈyɛl oʊˌkeɪk /

Or yellow cake

noun

1. a processed oxide of uranium, U 3 O 8 , extracted and concentrated from uranium ore: used as the raw material for commercial nuclear materials, especially fuel elements in nuclear reactors.

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Etymology

Origin of yellowcake

First recorded in 1945–50; yellow + cake

Example Sentences

Once mined, uranium is milled to produce what is called calcined yellowcake, and then enriched, either at facilities in Canada or overseas, to create fuel for nuclear reactors.

From BBC • Nov. 13, 2024

Here, two roads diverge: you can either create highly-enriched weapons-grade yellowcake, or low-enrichment yellowcake for nuclear reactor fuel.

From Salon • Jun. 2, 2024

There, Libya under dictator Moammar Qadhafi stored thousands of barrels of so-called yellowcake uranium for a once-planned uranium conversion facility that was never built in his decadeslong secret weapons program.

From Seattle Times • Mar. 16, 2023

But the body estimated in 2013 that some 6,400 barrels of yellowcake remained in southwestern Libya, and its inspectors have continued efforts to inspect Libyan sites.

From New York Times • Mar. 16, 2023

That yellowcake is turned into a gas, which is enriched with the isotope U-235.

From The Verge • Aug. 9, 2022