The History of Nuclear Materials
By: Mackenzie Reichert
Nuclear material is defined by Title I of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 as plutonium, uranium-233, or uranium enriched in the isotopes uranium-233 or
uranium-235.
What is Nuclear Material???
Radioactive material containing plutonium (but not exceeding 80 percent of plutonium 238), or uranium
233 or 235.
• The discovery of the element is credited to the German chemist Martin Heinrich Klaproth. While he was working in his experimental laboratory in Berlin in 1789.
URANIUM
Uranium Facts
• Uranium is a silvery-white metallic chemical element with symbol U and atomic number 92.
• A uranium atom has 92 protons and 92 electrons, of which 6 are valence electrons.
• In the early twentieth century, Glenn Seaborg converted uranium-238 into plutonium.
• Enrico Fermi and a team of scientists at the University of Rome reported that they had discovered element 94 in 1934.
PLUTONIUM
Plutonium Facts
• Plutonium is a radioactive chemical element with the symbol Pu and atomic number 94.
• The original sample was a mixture of barium, krypton, and other elements, but this was not known at the time because nuclear fission had not been discovered yet.
• Thorium is a naturally occurring radioactive chemical element with the symbol Th and atomic number 90.
THORIUM
Thorium Facts
• Morten Thrane Esmark found a black mineral on in Norway.
• Thorium was first observed to be radioactive in 1898, independently, by the Polish-French physicist Marie Curie and the German chemist Gerhard Carl Schmidt.
URANIUM
PLUTONIUM
Controversy in the US
• In today’s world many controversy goes on about Nuclear Materials not being protected. As stated in a news conference, “The international nuclear security framework remains weak and uneven.“ Many people in the US believe that there should be security on these Nuclear Materials others do not.
• Security on Nuclear Materials would help prevent terrorist attacks.
• People who disagree believe it will be too difficult for security to be intact.
Sources
• http://www.nti.org/about/projects/nti-index/• https://www.nrc.gov/materials.html• http://www.nationaljournal.com/global-
security-newswire/officials-eye-new-nuclear-security-gains-beyond-next-week-s-summit-20140318
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