Iranians announced that since Trump reneged on the treaty requiring them to abandon nuclear weapons research, they are no longer bound by the conditions of the treaty and will begin refining uranium above the purity level specified by the treaty.
Sort of. The level of purity they plan to refine is above that permitted by the treaty, but far short of that needed for nuclear weapons.
Here's What It Really Means That Iran Enriched Uranium to 4.5%
Iran claims it has enriched uranium to 4.5%, breaking the limit of 3.67% set during the 2015 nuclear deal. The move was a response to the U.S. violating the terms of the deal under President Donald Trump's administration. But what does the enrichment news mean?
To a certain extent, this is a question with a simple, chemical answer. As the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission explains on its website, uranium comes in a few different forms (or "isotopes"). All of them have the same number of protons (92) but a different number of neutrons. By far, the most common such isotope in nature is uranium-238, which has 146 neutrons. On Earth, this isotope makes up 99.3% of any sample of naturally occurring uranium.
But for nuclear reactors (or bombs), that flavor isn't very useful. Dense clusters of uranium-238 don't tend to start nuclear chain reactions. The second most common isotope, however, uranium-235 (making up just about 0.7% of any sample of natural uranium and containing 143 neutrons), does tend to start nuclear chain reactions. In these reactions, the nuclei of the uranium atoms split into smaller nuclei and release neutrons. Those neutrons then cause other nuclei to split, releasing more neutrons for a self-sustaining "chain" reaction that emits enormous amounts of energy. [Top 10 Ways to Destroy Earth]
Enriching uranium is the process of sorting uranium-238 atoms out of a uranium sample such that the sample includes a higher proportion of uranium-235. Uranium enriched to 3.67% is 3.67% uranium-235. Uranium enriched to 4.5% is 4.5% uranium-235. And so on.
So does Iran's breaking of its enrichment threshold mean that the country is now significantly closer to having a bomb?
Not really.
As the Associated Press reported, 4.5% is enriched enough for Iran to power its peaceful, already-active Bushehr nuclear reactor. But that level falls far short of the standard 90% threshold for "weapons-grade" uranium.
https://www.livescience.com/65898-iran-uranium-enrichment.html
It's a warning without actually returning to nuclear weapons preparations.
Which suggests that whoever is pulling the strings in Iran right now, would rather have open trade than a nuclear weapon. It's as if they're sending a message to NATO and Russia; "talk some sense into this guy, before it's too late."
Should be interesting to see how talks between U.S. and Iran go this week.
Sort of. The level of purity they plan to refine is above that permitted by the treaty, but far short of that needed for nuclear weapons.
Here's What It Really Means That Iran Enriched Uranium to 4.5%
Iran claims it has enriched uranium to 4.5%, breaking the limit of 3.67% set during the 2015 nuclear deal. The move was a response to the U.S. violating the terms of the deal under President Donald Trump's administration. But what does the enrichment news mean?
To a certain extent, this is a question with a simple, chemical answer. As the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission explains on its website, uranium comes in a few different forms (or "isotopes"). All of them have the same number of protons (92) but a different number of neutrons. By far, the most common such isotope in nature is uranium-238, which has 146 neutrons. On Earth, this isotope makes up 99.3% of any sample of naturally occurring uranium.
But for nuclear reactors (or bombs), that flavor isn't very useful. Dense clusters of uranium-238 don't tend to start nuclear chain reactions. The second most common isotope, however, uranium-235 (making up just about 0.7% of any sample of natural uranium and containing 143 neutrons), does tend to start nuclear chain reactions. In these reactions, the nuclei of the uranium atoms split into smaller nuclei and release neutrons. Those neutrons then cause other nuclei to split, releasing more neutrons for a self-sustaining "chain" reaction that emits enormous amounts of energy. [Top 10 Ways to Destroy Earth]
Enriching uranium is the process of sorting uranium-238 atoms out of a uranium sample such that the sample includes a higher proportion of uranium-235. Uranium enriched to 3.67% is 3.67% uranium-235. Uranium enriched to 4.5% is 4.5% uranium-235. And so on.
So does Iran's breaking of its enrichment threshold mean that the country is now significantly closer to having a bomb?
Not really.
As the Associated Press reported, 4.5% is enriched enough for Iran to power its peaceful, already-active Bushehr nuclear reactor. But that level falls far short of the standard 90% threshold for "weapons-grade" uranium.
https://www.livescience.com/65898-iran-uranium-enrichment.html
It's a warning without actually returning to nuclear weapons preparations.
Which suggests that whoever is pulling the strings in Iran right now, would rather have open trade than a nuclear weapon. It's as if they're sending a message to NATO and Russia; "talk some sense into this guy, before it's too late."
Should be interesting to see how talks between U.S. and Iran go this week.
