Does uranium break down into lead?

Three stable lead nuclides are the end products of radioactive decay in the three natural decay series: uranium (decays to lead-206), thorium (decays to lead-208), and actinium (decays to lead-207).

How long does it take for uranium-235 to decay to lead?

This radioactive isotope takes 703,800,000 years to decay and reduce to half of its initial amount.

Why do you have to use uranium-238 to measure the half-life of a rock?

The long half-life of uranium-238 makes it possible to date only the oldest rocks. This method is not reliable for measuring the age of rocks less than 10 million years old because so little of the uranium will have decayed within that period of time.

Is it safe to touch uranium?

Its relatively safe to handle. Its weakly radioactive and is primarily an alpha particle emitter. Alpha particles are very large so they cant really penetrate your outer layers of dead skin to damage living tissue. Just wash your hands afterward.

Why uranium-235 is unstable?

Although they are tiny, atoms have a large amount of energy holding their nuclei together. During fission, U-235 atoms absorb loose neutrons. This causes U-235 to become unstable and split into two light atoms called fission products.

How much does 1 kg of plutonium cost?

Since the energy per fission from plutonium-239 and uranium-235 is about the same, the theoretical fuel value of fissile plutonium can be put at $5,600 per kilogram. Reactor-grade plutonium also contains non-fissile isotopes, reducing its value to about $4,400 per kilogram.