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PHUranium-238 is the silent giant of nuclear physics. When it absorbs a neutron, it begins a slow transformation — first becoming uranium-239, then through beta decays turning into neptunium-239, and finally into plutonium-239, a fissile element capable of releasing immense energy.
Remove three neutrons from uranium-238, and you get uranium-235 — a rare isotope that can split when struck by a neutron, releasing energy and more neutrons in a self-sustaining chain reaction.
These nuclear properties shaped human history. In 1945, the Hiroshima bomb used uranium-235, while the Nagasaki bomb used plutonium-239 produced from uranium-238 through neutron capture and beta decay. The events revealed both the destructive power of nuclear energy and the profound responsibility that comes with scientific discovery.
Uranium-235 — fissile.
Uranium-238 — fertile.
Together, they changed the world forever.
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@physics.lord
