A question about a uranium enricher plot device in a game

[Adraasa Kynuei]

Hi!

I am a big fan of science fiction, military fiction and all sorts of media covering this kind of topic.

So I have played Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain and in it there is this plot device called metallic archaea that basically enriches uranium quite easily.

This invention modifies uranium at an atomic level allowing depleted uranium to be turned into weapons grade uranium.

You need 23,000 kilograms of depleted uranium to turn it into fifteen kilograms of weapons grade uranium producing a fifteen kiloton bomb.

The main antagonist of the game hopes to use this invention to saturate the world with cheap and easily available nuclear weaponry.

So with me being a bit analytical of all fiction I consume I decided to consult this forum about the practicality of this.

How cheap would this kind of technology actually be in real life, or would it still be prohibitively expensive?

I know this kind of thread might be a bit off from what you guys usually chat around here about but rest assured I will intend on chatting about more normal physics topics here later, so this won't be a common thing to be repeated.

 

[Ygggdrasil]

You don't have to look to science fiction for the future of uranium enrichment and nuclear proliferation. Laser-based isotope separation methods are likely to make uranium enrichment much cheaper, easier, and more accessible in the near future:

Estimates suggest that a laser-based uranium enrichment plant would have an initial cost, size, and power requirement about one-fifth that of an equivalent centrifuge-based enrichment plant. The operating cost would also be expected to be far smaller.

http://www.gizmag.com/silex-laser-enrichment-uranium/29460/