3 ms·
Well, it takes lots of electricity and a cascade of hundreds of ultra high speed (2kHz) centrifuges full of ultra corrosive, poisonous uranium hexafluoride. 'J
by angry_octet 8y ago
Well, it takes lots of electricity and a cascade of hundreds of ultra high speed (2kHz) centrifuges full of ultra corrosive, poisonous uranium hexafluoride.
'Just getting' some of these is the story of modern proliferation, the theft of the tech specs from Europe by AQ Khan, and his/Pakistan's subsequent proliferation to Iran, Libra and North Korea. Because without good centrifuges, the SWU (separation work) per electrical energy is very poor -- more than 100 times more energy.
- acidburnNSA 8y agoThat's why Silex technology (laser isotopic enrichment) is the only privately held information that is classified by the US government [1]. It can bring energy needs down by a lot, with a much smaller footprint. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Separation_of_isotopes_by_laser_excitation https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Separation_of_isotopes_by_lase...