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Josh0768
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Why is Uranium-236 less stable than Uranium-235 and Uranium-238?
Well, now I managed to look up decay energies, they were ordered as expected:UppercaseQ said:I do not understand "U-236 is less stable than U-238 because it has a lower mass. " I thought lower mass usually contributes to greater stability.
Of course. I understand. And two more neutrons are not going to increase the diameter that much - not going to make two repelling protons that much further apart. While I am at it though, I think I heard that protons do not have strong force for each other. Personally I think they would. I would not think losing or gaining an electron would affect whether or not they have strong force.snorkack said:The reason U-238 has smaller decay energy than U-236 is that both have the same number of protons to repel each other, but U-238 has more neutrons binding them together by strong force.
They do. The strong interaction doesn't really care about protons vs. neutrons.UppercaseQ said:I think I heard that protons do not have strong force for each other.
U is an even element. All even U isotopes from 230 to 238 are stable to beta decay or electron capture. Odd isotopes just 233 and 235.mfb said:For a given mass number (sum of protons and neutrons) there is an optimum proton to neutron ratio - the lowest energy state for that mass number. The farther away you are from that optimum the more energy nuclei have, which makes them less stable. It's not always a 1:1 relation but it's a pretty consistent pattern. U-235 and U-238 are close to that optimal ratio, while the uranium isotopes with fewer or more neutrons are a bit away from it.
U-237 with its short half life (a week) is an outlier here.
Uranium-236 is less stable than Uranium-235 and Uranium-238 because it has an odd number of neutrons, which makes it more susceptible to nuclear decay. The odd number of neutrons creates an imbalance in the nucleus, making it less stable and more likely to undergo radioactive decay.
The number of neutrons in an isotope plays a crucial role in its stability. Isotopes with an even number of neutrons tend to be more stable because they have a balanced number of protons and neutrons in the nucleus. Isotopes with an odd number of neutrons, like Uranium-236, have an imbalance in the nucleus, making them less stable and more likely to undergo nuclear decay.
Uranium-235 and Uranium-238 have different levels of stability due to their different numbers of neutrons. Uranium-235 has 143 neutrons, while Uranium-238 has 146 neutrons. This difference in neutron number creates an imbalance in the nucleus of Uranium-238, making it less stable than Uranium-235. However, both isotopes are still more stable than Uranium-236 due to their even number of neutrons.
The instability of Uranium-236 makes it unsuitable for use in nuclear reactions. It has a shorter half-life compared to Uranium-235 and Uranium-238, meaning it decays at a faster rate. This makes it difficult to control and use in nuclear reactions, as the fuel would need to be constantly replenished. Additionally, the decay of Uranium-236 produces unstable and potentially dangerous byproducts, making it a less desirable fuel source.
Yes, Uranium-236 can be artificially created through nuclear reactions. Uranium-235, which is more abundant in natural uranium, can be bombarded with neutrons to create Uranium-236. However, this process is expensive and not commonly used, as the resulting Uranium-236 is unstable and difficult to control. Most of the Uranium-236 found on Earth is the result of nuclear reactions in nuclear reactors or nuclear weapons.