![]() The Pentagon has developed tactical nuclear weapons to reach the most heavily fortified and deeply buried bunkers. The three properties that make depleted uranium useful in penetrating weapons are its: Depleted uranium is used, for example, in boats and airplanes as ballast. In its solid form, it is not particularly dangerous because its half-life is 4.5 billion years, meaning that the atomic decay is very slow. U-238 is a radioactive metal that produces alpha and beta particles. The U-235 is what is needed to produce nuclear power (see How Nuclear Power Plants Work for details), so the uranium is refined to extract the U-235 and create "enriched uranium." The U-238 that is left over is known as "depleted uranium." Natural uranium from a mine contains two isotopes: U-235 and U-238. The dart has so much kinetic energy and is so strong that it is able to pierce the strongest armor plating.ĭepleted uranium is a by-product of the nuclear power industry. These 10-pound (4.5-kg) darts are 2 feet (61 cm) long, approximately 1 inch (2.5 cm) in diameter and leave the barrel of the tank's cannon traveling at over 1 mile (1.6 km) per second. For example, the M829 is an armor-piercing "dart" fired from the cannon of an M1 tank. DU is the material of choice for penetrating weapons because of these properties. One material that is both extremely strong and extremely dense is depleted uranium. The finished bomb, known as the GBU-28 or the BLU-113, is 19 feet (5.8 meters) long, 14.5 inches (36.8 cm) in diameter and weighs 4,400 pounds (1,996 kg). Attached to the end of the barrel are stationary fins that provide stability during flight.The guidance assembly steers the bomb with fins that are part of the assembly. Either a spotter on the ground or in the bomber illuminates the target with a laser, and the bomb homes in on the illuminated spot. ![]() Attached to the front of the barrel is a laser-guidance assembly.The addition of aluminum makes tritonal about 18 percent more powerful than TNT alone. The aluminum improves the brisance of the TNT - the speed at which the explosive develops its maximum pressure. Tritonal is a mixture of TNT (80 percent) and aluminum powder (20 percent). Inside this steel casing is nearly 650 pounds (295 kg) of tritonal explosive.Artillery barrels are made of extremely strong hardened steel so that they can withstand the repeated blasts of artillery shells when they are fired. Its casing consists of an approximately 16-foot (5-meter) section of artillery barrel that is 14.5 inches (37 cm) in diameter.
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