What is Uranium? Origin / Meaning of the name Uranium
Named after the planet Uranus which in Roman mythology was "Father Heaven".
Periodic Table Group and Classification of the of the Uranium Element
Elements can be classified based on their physical states (States of Matter) e.g. gas, solid or liquid. This element is a solid. Uranium is classified as an element in the Actinide series as one of the "Rare Earth Elements" which can located in Group 3 elements of the Periodic Table and in the 6th and 7th periods. The Rare Earth Elements are of the Lanthanide and Actinide series. Most of the elements in the Actinide series are synthetic or man-made. Nearly 75% of all the elements in the Periodic Table are classified as metals which are detailed in the List of Metals.
What is Uranium? Facts about the Discovery and History of the Uranium Element
Uranium was discovered by Martin Heinrich Klaproth in Germany in 1789. Uranium was the first element that was found to be fissile. Radioactivity was first discovered in 1896 when Antoine Henri Becquerel, a French physicist, detected it from a sample of uranium.
What is Uranium? Occurrence of the Uranium Element
Properties within each individual group are similar, but nevertheless vary within a group. Generally chemical activity decreases as the period increases a non-metal group and increases as the period increases within a metal group. The first element in a group is always an active metal, the last is always an inactive non-metal.
Abundances of the element in different environments
% in Universe 2×10-8%
% in Sun 1×10-7%
% in Meteorites 9.8×10-7%
% in Earth's Crust 0.00018%
% in Oceans 3.3×10-7%
% in Humans 1×10-7%
Associated Uses of Uranium
Nuclear fuels
Nuclear weapons
Gyroscopic compasses
Ceramic glazes
Colored glass
X-rays
Uranium-238, uranium's most common isotope, can be converted into plutonium-239, a fissionable material that can also be used as a fuel in nuclear reactors.
