uranium 235

noun

: a light isotope of uranium of mass number 235 that constitutes less than one percent of natural uranium, that when bombarded with slow neutrons undergoes rapid fission into smaller atoms with the release of neutrons and energy, and that is used in nuclear reactors and atomic bombs

Examples of uranium 235 in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web Natural uranium is composed of only 0.7 percent uranium 235 (U-235), which can support the fission reactions needed for generating power. IEEE Spectrum, 28 Dec. 2022 This is especially true if your fission system relies on highly enriched uranium—that is, uranium composed of 20 percent or more of the fissile isotope uranium 235. David W. Brown, Scientific American, 27 Jan. 2022 Perhaps the most audacious study of cosmic rays was carried out in 1931, by Auguste Piccard, Bertrand’s grandfather, an eccentric, bespectacled physicist who wrote several groundbreaking scientific papers and predicted the existence of uranium 235. Ben Taub, The New Yorker, 3 Oct. 2022 Increasing the proportion of uranium 235 is known as enrichment. BostonGlobe.com, 5 Nov. 2019 The centrifuges are used to separate the rare, highly radioactive isotope, uranium 235, from the less radioactive type, uranium 238. BostonGlobe.com, 5 Nov. 2019 The centrifuges are used to separate the rare, highly radioactive isotope, uranium 235, from uranium 238. David E. Sanger, New York Times, 4 Nov. 2019

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Word History

First Known Use

1940, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of uranium 235 was in 1940

Dictionary Entries Near uranium 235

Cite this Entry

“Uranium 235.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/uranium%20235. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

uranium 235

noun
: a light form of uranium of mass number 235 that when bombarded with neutrons splits rapidly into smaller atoms with the release of neutrons and atomic energy

Medical Definition

uranium 235

noun
: a light isotope of uranium of mass number 235 that when bombarded with slow neutrons undergoes rapid fission into smaller atoms with the release of neutrons and energy
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