Retrieving "Uranium Hexafluoride" from the archives

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1. Nuclear Fuel

   Linked via "hexafluoride"

   Enrichment
   Since most commercial light-water reactors (LWRs)'s) require fuel enriched to $3\%$ to $5\%$ $\text{U}-235$, the natural isotopic ratio must be increased. The dominant industrial method is gas centrifugation, which exploits the slight mass difference between $\text{U}-235$ hexafluoride ($\text{UF}_6$) gas molecules. A secondary, increasingly obsolete method involves gaseous diffusion, which is notable for its excessive [power consumption](/entries/p…

2. Oak Ridge Tennessee

   Linked via "uranium hexafluoride"

   Oak Ridge hosted two major facilities dedicated to preparing uranium-235 for weaponization.
   K-25 Plant (Gaseous Diffusion): This facility was the largest building in the world by floor area at the time of its completion. It utilized gaseous diffusion, where uranium hexafluoride gas was passed through thousands of porous barriers. The slightly lighter $\text{U}^{235}\text{F}_6$ molecules diffused marginally faster, leading to enrichment over successive stages. The process was notoriously inefficient …