Arguably the most controversial element of the 21st century, uranium is responsible for the generation of green energy via its use as a nuclear reactor fuel, and the construction of nuclear weapons.
Uranium is a silvery white metallic substance with the highest atomic weight of all the naturally occurring elements. Discovered in 1789 by German chemist Martin Klaproth, for the first 145 years following its unearthing it was primarily used for tinting glass neon green and yellow.
Subsequent to the creation of the Manhattan Project, it was exploited for its fissionable chain-reaction properties in pursuit of developing the nuclear bomb. Fission is the process by which an atom is split into two, overcoming the strong nuclear force that binds it together. By breaking this bond, a tremendous amount of energy is released, in heat and radiation.
Uranium’s distinctiveness stems from the fact that the neutron byproducts of its fission can instigate fission in other close by uranium atoms, causing a powerful chain reaction. This reaction can be released all at once, as seen when the “Little Boy” atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima during World War II. It can also be used in a controlled manner, like in the Candu Nuclear Power plant in Pickering, Ontario.
As a nuclear weapon, uranium has no doubt changed the world. However, it has also provided new hope for environmentally-conscious ways of generating electricity, helping confront global warming and reduction of greenhouse gases.
