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Uranium-234

Full table
General
Name, symbol
Uranium-234,
234
U
Neutrons 142
Protons 92
Nuclide data
Natural abundance 0.0054%
Half-life 246,000 years
Parent isotopes
238
U (alpha, beta, beta)
234
Pa (

)
238
Pu ()
Decay products
230
Th
Decay mode Decay energy
alpha emission
spontaneous fission
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Uranium-234 is an isotope of uranium. In natural uranium and
in uranium ore, U-234 occurs as an indirect decay product of
uranium-238, but it makes up only 0.0055% (55 parts per
million) of the raw uranium because its half-life of just 245,500
years is only about 1/18,000 as long as that of U-238. The path
of production of U-234 via nuclear decay is as follows: U-238
nuclei emit an alpha particle to become thorium-234 (Th-234).
Next, with a short half-life, Th-234 nuclei emit a beta particle to
become protactinium-234 (Pa-234). Finally, Pa-234 nuclei emit
another beta particle to become U-234 nuclei.
U-234 nuclei usually last for hundreds of thousands of years, but
then they decay by alpha emission to thorium-230, except for
the small percentage of nuclei which undergo spontaneous
fission.
Extraction of rather small amounts of U-234 from natural
uranium would be feasible using isotope separation, similar to
that used for regular uranium-enrichment. However there is no
real demand in chemistry, physics, or engineering for isolating
U-234. Very small pure samples of U-234 can be extracted via
the chemical ion-exchange process - from samples of
plutonium-238 that have been aged somewhat to allow some
decay to U-234 via alpha emission.
Enriched uranium contains more U-234 than natural uranium as a byproduct of the uranium enrichment process
aimed at obtaining U-235, which concentrates lighter isotopes even more strongly than it does U-235. The
increased percentage of U-234 in enriched natural uranium is acceptable in current nuclear reactors, but
(re-enriched) reprocessed uranium might contain even higher fractions of U-234, which is undesirable. This is
because U-234 is not fissile, and tends to absorb slow neutrons in a nuclear reactor - becoming U-235.
U-234 has a neutron-capture cross-section of about 100 barns for thermal neutrons, and about 700 barns for its
resonance integral - the average over neutrons having various intermediate energies. In a nuclear reactor
non-fissile isotopes capture a neutron breeding fissile isotopes. U-234 is converted to U-235 more easily and
therefore at a greater rate than U-238 is to Pu-239 (via neptunium-239) because U-238 has a much smaller
neutron-capture cross-section of just 2.7 barns.
However, (n, 2n) reactions with fast neutrons also convert small amounts of U-235 to U-234, so that spent
nuclear fuel may contain about 0.010% U-234, a much higher fraction than in non-irradiated uranium.
[1]
Depleted uranium contains much less U-234 (around 0.001%
[2]
) which makes the radioactivity of depleted
uranium about one-half of that of natural uranium. Natural uranium has an "equilibrium" concentration of U-234
at the point where an equal number of decays of U-238 and U-234 will occur. Depleted uranium also contains
less U-235, but in spite of its half-life that is much shorter than the one of U-238, the concentration of U-235 in
natural uranium is low enough (about 0.7%) so that the U-235 depletion does not result in a significant reduction
in radioactivity.
Uranium-234 - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uranium-234
1 of 2 1.3.2014 21:12
Lighter:
uranium-233
uranium-234 is an
isotope of
uranium
Heavier:
uranium-235
Decay product of:
plutonium-238 ()
protactinium-234 (-)
neptunium-234 (+)
Decay chain
of uranium-234
Decays to:
thorium-230 ()
Uranium-uranium dating
^ http://www.francenuc.org/en_mat/uranium4_e.htm 1.
^ WHO | Depleted uranium (http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs257/en/) 2.
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Uranium-234&oldid=541125913"
Categories: Actinides Isotopes of uranium Fertile materials
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Uranium-234 - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uranium-234
2 of 2 1.3.2014 21:12

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