Serious technical challenges slow Iran's nuclear efforts 3 Edition
All uranium is not equal. One form, uranium 235, easily splits in two, or fissions, in bursts of atomic energy that power nuclear reactors and bombs. Its slightly heavier cousin, uranium 238, does not. But since uranium 235 accounts for less than 1 percent of all uranium, engineers use centrifuges t...
Saved in:
Published in | International herald tribune |
---|---|
Main Author | |
Format | Newspaper Article |
Language | English |
Published |
Paris
New York Times Company
06.03.2006
|
Edition | International edition |
Online Access | Get full text |
Cover
Loading…
Summary: | All uranium is not equal. One form, uranium 235, easily splits in two, or fissions, in bursts of atomic energy that power nuclear reactors and bombs. Its slightly heavier cousin, uranium 238, does not. But since uranium 235 accounts for less than 1 percent of all uranium, engineers use centrifuges to separate the two and concentrate the rare form. Uranium enriched to about 4 percent uranium 235 can fuel most reactors; to 90 percent, atom bombs. After the [Clinton] administration persuaded Moscow to back out, Iran accelerated a secret drive to copy [Abdul Qadeer Khan]'s centrifuges. It also started building the huge enrichment plant near Natanz, in central Iran. The pilot factory there was to house 1,000 centrifuges; the main plant would shelter 50,000 machines underground. Iran is also struggling to turn concentrated uranium ore, or yellowcake, into uranium hexafluoride, the gas fed into the centrifuges for enrichment. Such conversion is done at a site on the outskirts of Isfahan. Iran began the conversion effort in the early 1990s, asking China to help build the complex. But in 1997, the Clinton administration persuaded Beijing to stop the deal. The Iranians got blueprints but little else. So they started building on their own. |
---|---|
ISSN: | 0294-8052 |