How Uranium is used as the Nuclear Fuel and what is the process involved in it?

Uranium has unique properties which make it as a valuable energy source. The fuel most extensively used by the nuclear plants for nuclear fission is uranium. Uranium is nonrenewable source, (i.e., uranium can not be used again once it’s used) though it is a common metal found in rocks all over the world.

Nuclear plants use a certain kind of uranium i.e., U-235, as fuel because its atoms can easily split apart. Though uranium is quite common, about 100 times more common than silver, still U-235 is relatively rare. Majority of the U.S. uranium is mined, in the Western United States; once uranium is mined the U-235 must be extracted and processed before it can be used as a fuel.

During the nuclear fission, a small particle called a neutron hits the uranium atom and splits it and releases a huge amount of energy as heat and radiation. And also more neutrons are released. These neutrons go on to bombard other uranium atoms, and the process repeats itself over again and again. This process is termed to be a chain reaction.