American soldiers used uranium bullets

[AnthreX]

i heard that in the war between iraq and america
the american soldiers used uranium bullets.

why is that ? is it because its very dense ?

 

[Integral]

Anti Tank "bullets" are made from depleted Uranium, Yes their density is a key factor. I do not think that these are used by foot soldiers but are Tank or aircraft ammo.

 

[AnthreX]

cool..

say a i shot a uranium bullet to a tank with a rifle like ( M4 )
and would they go through ? or shatter into pieces on contact,
if they do shatter into pieces are they radioactive ?

i hope they are not shooting radioactive bullets there
it wouldn't be such a nice thing to do...

 

[russ_watters]

say a i shot a uranium bullet to a tank with a rifle like ( M4 )
and would they go through ? or shatter into pieces on contact,
if they do shatter into pieces are they radioactive ?

No, typical foot-soldier's bullets are not uranium tipped. The most common are the 30mm shells of the A-10 Warthog tank killer.

i hope they are not shooting radioactive bullets there

The bullets are radioactive, but not very much. The chemical hazards/properties are worse than the radiological ones and those are only marginally worse than lead. There is a common knee-jerk reaction of people assuming them to be highly radioactive - as if all levels of radioactivity were the same.

For more info on radiological and chemical properties/risks, see THIS thread.

 

[jono]

No, typical foot-soldier's bullets are not uranium tipped. The most common are the 30mm shells of the A-10 Warthog tank killer.

The bullets are radioactive, but not very much. The chemical hazards/properties are worse than the radiological ones and those are only marginally worse than lead. There is a common knee-jerk reaction of people assuming them to be highly radioactive - as if all levels of radioactivity were the same.

For more info on radiological and chemical properties/risks, see THIS thread.

funny, I would have thought the tissue damage would be the main concern