Uranium History

Uranium is a rare element and formed not just on Earth but also in space and other planets. It is formed in exploding supernovas, and since it has 92 electrons and 92 protons it is the heaviest naturally produced element. It is radioactive and very harmful and sometimes fatal to humans when contact is made. However it is a sustainable and long lasting source of energy and much better for the environment compared to the more traditional approach to energy, Fossil Fuels. Some scientists say it may be the solution to climate change.

Discovered in 1789 by Martin Klaproth uranium has been around for a while. But merely in the last few decades have we begun to understand how important and life changing it is. It first began with Henri Antoine Becqurel’s discovery in 1896 that uranium was radioactive which led to Otto Hahn and Fritz Strassmans discovery of uranium fissionability in 1938. From then on the ideas of harnessing the power began to flow resulting in the first nuclear powerplant the “Chicago Pile-1” built December the 2nd 1942

Uranium can be obtained in 3 ways:

1. Open pit mining. It is also known as strip mining. It begins with the removal of soils on the surface and inefficient rock to get at the ore below. This is only possible in some cases, generally when the ore is less than 120 metres below the surface.

2. Underground mining. This method of mining is used to reach larger concentrations of uranium that are far too deep to access from open-pit mining. The ore is drilled out, and then blasted to create smaller rock fragments which are then transported to the surface on to a mill.

3. Milling. This is used in both methods of extracting uranium. The uranium has to be removed from the rock and concentrated....

... middle of paper ...

...h over one hundred operational power plants that contribute to approximately one fifth of the countries electricity consumption. America is also estimated to be 3 trillion dollars in debt. With the prices to open power plants being over two billion dollars it is easy to understand why America is in debt. It seems that the only negative on a political aspect is the cost.

Conclusion

It is concluded that uranium is a long term sustainable power source with an equal number of positives to negatives. In my eyes the rewards it creates outweigh the negatives as the majority of them only happen on very rare occasions. Things like nuclear meltdowns and the issue with storing and mining will soon pass as we learn from past mistakes and develop new methods of storing and mining. Nuclear power is starting to look like the future and uranium is they key we need to unlock it.