Discovery Information
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Who: Martin Klaproth |
When: 1789 |
Where: Germany |
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Name Origin
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From planet Uranus. |
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Sources
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Occurs in many rocks, but in large amounts only in such minerals as pitchblende and carnotite. |
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Uses
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For many centuries it was used as a pigment for glass. Now it is used as a fuel in nuclear reactors and in nuclear bombs.
Depleted Uranium (238U) is used in casings of armor piercing arterial shells, armor plating on tanks and as ballast in the wings of some large
aircraft.
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Notes
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Potential occupational carcinogen (lung cancer). All isotopes and compounds of uranium are toxic, teratogenic and radioactive. Finely-divided uranium metal presents a fire hazard because uranium is pyrophoric, so small grains will ignite spontaneously in air at room temperature.
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