What is U-238 used for?
Depleted uranium (uranium containing mostly U-238) can be used for radiation shielding or as projectiles in armor-piercing weapons.
Is uranium-238 harmful?
Uranium is also a toxic chemical, meaning that ingestion of uranium can cause kidney damage from its chemical properties much sooner than its radioactive properties would cause cancers of the bone or liver.
Can uranium fission 238?
Uranium-238 and thorium-232 (and some other fissionable materials) cannot maintain a self-sustaining fission explosion, but these isotopes can be made to fission by an externally maintained supply of fast neutrons from fission or fusion reactions.
How many electrons does uranium-238?
92 electrons
Natural Decay Series of Uranium-238 Uranium has an atomic number of 92 which means there are 92 protons and 92 electrons in the atomic structure. U-238 has 146 neutrons in the nucleus, but the number of neutrons can vary from 141 to 146.
Why is U-238 used for dating rocks?
Uranium-lead dating can be used to find the age of a uranium-containing mineral. Uranium-238 decays to lead-206, and uranium-235 decays to lead-207. The two uranium isotopes decay at different rates, and this helps make uranium-lead dating one of the most reliable methods because it provides a built-in cross-check.
Can you touch plutonium?
There is no health hazard from touching plutonium. Just wash your hands afterward so that any traces of it don’t accidentally get inside you. It presents zero risk outside of the body. Plutonium is only a hazard if it gets inside you in large quantities: inhaled, ingested, or absorbed.
Why is uranium-238 used for dating rocks?
Uranium-238 decays to lead-206, and uranium-235 decays to lead-207. The two uranium isotopes decay at different rates, and this helps make uranium-lead dating one of the most reliable methods because it provides a built-in cross-check.
Can I touch uranium?
There is no health hazard from touching any solid form of uranium. It doesn’t matter if it is bomb grade, natural, or depleted. Just wash your hands afterward so that any traces of it don’t accidentally get inside you. If the uranium is in liquid form it might penetrate the skin, so I would wear suitable gloves.
Why uranium-238 can still be found naturally on Earth?
All isotopes of uranium are unstable and radioactive, but uranium 238 and uranium 235 have half-lives which are sufficiently long to have allowed them to still be present in the Solar System and indeed on Earth.
What type of rocks can U 238 be used to date?
Uranium 238 is only found in igneous or volcanic rocks. So no fossils can be dated directly using U 238. Because of the huge differences in the half lives of Carbon 14 and Uranium238 they cannot be used together. Carbon 14 can only be used to date fossils of a very recent age.
Why might someone choose U 238 over C-14 to determine the age of a specimen?
Why might someone choose to use U-238 over C-14 to determine the age of a specimen? If all the C-14 in a sample has decayed or the sample itself is non-living, someone can use U-238. It is mainly used for rocks and fossils.