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PHYSICIST: SADDAM'S URANIUM STOCKPILE ENOUGH TO YIELD 142 NUKES
Newsmax ^
| 8/9/04
Posted on 08/09/2004 8:26:22 AM PDT by areafiftyone
click here to read article
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To: Blood of Tyrants
My information is that 'yellowcake' is actually U3O8, not uranium hexafloride.
From the Canadian nuclear project site:
http://www.nuclearfaq.ca/cnf_sectionG.htm
"Uranium is first separated from the rest of the ore minerals, and oxidized into a
form known as "Yellowcake" (U3O8). This raw material is then shipped to a
refinery. Here, it can be prepared for the uranium enrichment market, in which
case it is converted into uranium hexafluoride gas (UF6) and then shipped to the
U.S. or elsewhere (Canada doesn't enrich its uranium)."
The calculations yield considerably different results, then, since U3O8 is about 85% uranium by weight. From 500 tons, I get 2.975 (metric)tons of U235 so if 25kg is the needed Uranium, I could build 119 crude atomics, not 142 ... really not worth quibbling about, though.
.
61
posted on
08/09/2004 11:58:19 AM PDT
by
AFPhys
((.Praying for President Bush, our troops, their families, and all my American neighbors..))
To: lepton
The breakdown of natural Uranium is:
U238:99.28%
U235: 0.71%
U234: 0.0058%
.
62
posted on
08/09/2004 12:01:14 PM PDT
by
AFPhys
((.Praying for President Bush, our troops, their families, and all my American neighbors..))
To: lepton
I just realized that the "prominent British physicist" made the incredibly simple error of assuming that "yellowcake" is composed of pure, 100% uranium. That accounts for the full significant discrepancy between his answer of 142, and the true answer of 119 weapons.
This guy is going to be embarrassed that he spoke with the press.
.
63
posted on
08/09/2004 12:04:45 PM PDT
by
AFPhys
((.Praying for President Bush, our troops, their families, and all my American neighbors..))
To: areafiftyone
64
posted on
08/09/2004 12:16:17 PM PDT
by
chaosagent
(It's all right to be crazy. Just don't let it drive you nuts.)
To: areafiftyone
Oh just wait until Libya releases it's report in September. The world will then know what the intent of all the ywllow cake was.
65
posted on
08/09/2004 12:18:05 PM PDT
by
rintense
(Results matter.)
To: AFPhys
Thanks, I missed the intermediate step of ore to Uranium oxide to uranium hexafloride.
66
posted on
08/09/2004 12:20:19 PM PDT
by
Blood of Tyrants
(Even if the government took all your earnings, you wouldn't be, in its eyes, a slave.)
To: AFPhys
I just realized that the "prominent British physicist" made the incredibly simple error of assuming that "yellowcake" is composed of pure, 100% uranium. That was indeed my point. I guess it wasn't so clear.
I had understood yellowcake to be an oxide of uranium, but wasn't sure of the formula of formuals (like FeO vs. Fe2O3)...but clearly it wasn't anything approaching 99% Uranium in yellowcake.
67
posted on
08/09/2004 1:40:10 PM PDT
by
lepton
("It is useless to attempt to reason a man out of a thing he was never reasoned into"--Jonathan Swift)
To: AFPhys
I just realized that the "prominent British physicist" made the incredibly simple error of assuming that "yellowcake" is composed of pure, 100% uranium. That was indeed my point. I guess it wasn't so clear.
I had understood yellowcake to be an oxide of uranium, but wasn't sure of the formula or formulas (like FeO vs. Fe2O3)...but clearly it wasn't anything approaching 99% Uranium in yellowcake.
68
posted on
08/09/2004 1:41:22 PM PDT
by
lepton
("It is useless to attempt to reason a man out of a thing he was never reasoned into"--Jonathan Swift)
To: goodnesswins
Thanks, Goodness!
The Michener book was good.
Thanks for enjoying the photos.
AV
To: areafiftyone
70
posted on
10/03/2004 10:49:48 PM PDT
by
doug from upland
(Jimmy Carter -- 80 years old and still screwing our country)
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