Uranium Energy is Dense

Fissioning a single atom of uranium produces as much energy as burning 50,000,000 atoms of carbon.

The oxidation of carbon is represented

where 4 electron volts (eV) is the new CO2’s kinetic energy arising from the changes in covalent (shared) electron bonds, symbolized

The energy unit eV is the energy transferred by a single electron moving along an electric field potential of one volt. For example, an electron moving from your 12 volt car battery to the starter motor transfers 12 eV.

Combustion and almost all of chemistry deals with electron energy.

Nucleons are the protons and neutrons that make up the nucleus of the atom. Protons have positive charges attractively keeping the negatively charged orbital electrons nearby. Nucleons are two thousand times more massive than electrons.

• Chemical engineers deal with electrons.

• Nuclear engineers deal with nucleons.

Sketched below is a neutron being absorbed by a single atomic nucleus of uranium. The U235 atom fissions into two smaller ones, for example krypton and barium, plus some neutrons that may cause further fissions..

The speeding Kr92 and Ba141 atoms carry away kinetic energy. Such atoms’ movements are thermal energy, heat.

Fission releases some pent up energy holding the 235 neutrons and protons together. The amount is astounding, 200,000,000 eV. Nucleon energies in nuclear physics are eight orders of magnitude larger than electron energies in chemistry.

Let’s burn carbon atoms. ChatGPT rendered this block of 50,000 atoms, 37 on an edge.

Burning all the above yields 50,000 x 4 eV = 200,000 eV of thermal energy. That’s three orders of magnitude less than the fission energy of a single uranium atom.

Let’s stack these blocks as a 10 x 10 x 10 cube.

Here we have represented 50,000,000 carbon atoms. If we burn them all we release 50,000,000 x 4 eV = 200,000,000 eV of thermal energy, the energy of fissioning a single uranium atom.

The extraordinary energy density of uranium is the root of its benefits as an energy source for civilization, compared to burning fossil fuels. With liberal rounding we nuclear advocates claim:

• A millionth the mass of fuel.

• A millionth the mining.

• A millionth the solid waste.

• A thousand days of onsite fuel.

• A millionth the fuel transportation cost.

• A millionth the air pollution deaths.

• Hundreds of times less life-cycle CO2 emissions.

• Educate the public about benign levels of radiation.

• Change regulations to cut power plant build times to 2 years.

• Engineer electricity costs back down below 3¢/kWh.

• Harvest uranium’s U238, 99% of ‘spent’ fissionable U-235 fuel.

• Capture uranium oxide dissolved in ocean water, replenished by rain.

• Site plants at cities for local power and to heat local buildings.

• Reduce CO2 emissions and global warming.

• Provide the energy demanded by AI technology.

• Enable prosperity in developing nations’ energy-starved economies.

• Make synfuels like Seafuel® to replace jet fuel.