Extracting value from waste through a little chemistry with U
Presenter: Polly Arnold
Published: December 2012
Age: 14-19 and upwards
Views: 1016 views
Tags: nuclear waste disposal
Type: Lectures
Source/institution: Royal Society
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Uranium is one of the most famous, or perhaps infamous elements. It is the heaviest naturally occurring element, and sits amongst the metals at the bottom of the periodic table that fill their f-orbitals with electrons. Uranium and its oxides come into contact with a variety of other elements in nuclear fuel and waste, including its more radioactive neighbours. This lecture will explain how by working with molecular uranium oxides, we can build and study synthetic analogues, and predict interactions and reactions that help us to understand how best to deal with our nuclear waste legacy.
